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Chen Yi (; August 26, 1901 – January 6, 1972) was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as Mayor of Shanghai from 1949 to 1958 and as Foreign Minister of China from 1958 to 1972.


Early life

Chen was born in
Lezhi County Lezhi County () is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Ziyang Ziyang () prefecture-level city in eastern Sichuan province, China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Chengdu to the northwest, Deyang to ...
near
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
,
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family.


War

A comrade of
Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...
from their guerrilla days, he was prominent in the Jiangxi Soviet. Later, due to a leg injury, he was the only one of the later Ten Marshals to have not participated in the Long March. Thus, Chen was later made a commander under Ye Ting in the New Fourth Army. After the Wannan Incident, Chen succeeded Ye Ting as commander of the
New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
during the
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific The ...
. He played a pivotal role as commander of the 3rd Field Army working closely with his close friend and comrade Su Yu. When Su Yu showed his expertise and talent in large formational warfare, the division of labour between them meant that Chen Yi remained in command of 3rd Field Army, but mainly focused on rallying support for Su Yu's plans as well as focusing on political work, which was his area of expertise. Thus, he and Su Yu spearheaded the
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
counter-offensive during the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, and later commanded the Communist armies that defeated the KMT forces during the Huaihai Campaign and conquered the lower
Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
region in 1948–49. After the capture of Shanghai, he remained in Shanghai as Mayor where he oversaw the economic stabilisation and reconstruction. In 1950, he offered to take command of the People's Volunteer Army in Korea, but Mao declined, possibly because Chen's partner Su Yu was in poor health due to shrapnel injury and selected Peng Dehuai instead. He was made a Marshal of the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) in 1955.


People's Republic

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen became mayor of Shanghai. He also served as vice premier from 1954 to 1972 and foreign minister from 1958 to 1972 and president of the
China Foreign Affairs University China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU; ) is a public university for diplomats located in Beijing, China. It is jointly administrated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. It is a Chinese state Double First Class Un ...
from 1961 to 1969. As vice premier, he was present during the breakup of Sino-Soviet relations. In August 1960, Chen Yi attempted to ease tensions with the Soviets, declaring on one instance to the Soviet Ambassador to Beijing that Moscow should stop "severing the friendship between the two nations," and two weeks later to the Soviet ''deputy'' foreign minister that Moscow and Beijing should ''both'' try to save the alliance. During the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, he was criticized in 1967, but never dismissed, so
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
performed the duties of foreign minister in his place. He was a member of the
8th CPC Politburo The 8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee on September 28, 1956, consisting of 17 members and 6 alternate members. This Politburo was preceded by the 7th Politburo of the C ...
from 1956 to 1967 but was not admitted to the 9th Politburo (1969), though he was a member of the 9th CPC Central Committee. After Marshal
Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...
's death in 1971, he was restored to favour, although not to his former power.
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
attended Chen's funeral in 1972. This was Mao's last public appearance and his first appearance at anyone's funeral during the Cultural Revolution.


See also

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List of officers of the People's Liberation Army This is a list of marshals and full generals and admirals of the People's Republic of China, including all branches of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police. Marshals Ten PLA officers were awarded the rank of Marshal ('' ...
*
Historical Museum of French-Chinese Friendship Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry and farming, ...


References


External links

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Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...
Leaders
Chen Yi
(by Paul Noll)
陈毅纪念馆
(Chen Yi memorial site; )

(The poet-general Chen Yi; )
Handbook for the Chinese Civil War
(US Naval War College) , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yi Foreign Ministers of the People's Republic of China Marshals of the People's Republic of China Mayors of Shanghai 1901 births 1972 deaths New Fourth Army generals Chinese Communist Party politicians from Sichuan Politicians from Ziyang People of the Chinese Civil War People's Republic of China politicians from Sichuan Chinese expatriates in France 20th-century Chinese politicians Members of the 8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Secretaries of the Communist Party Shanghai Committee Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery