Cheng Shicai () (August 8, 1912 – November 15, 1990) was a

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, ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He was born in Xingchong village (杏冲村), Xuanhuadian,

Dawu County, Hubei Dawu County () is a county of northeastern Hubei, People's Republic of China, bordering the prefecture-level city of Xinyang in Henan province to the north. It is under the administration of Xiaogan City. Administrative divisions Dawu County comp ...

. Cheng joined the Chinese Red Army (predecessor of the

) in 1930, and the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

later in the same year. He graduated from the

Counter-Japanese Military and Political University Counter-Japanese Military and Political University (), also commonly known as Kàngdà () and Kangri Junzheng University (), was a comprehensive public university located in Yan'an, Shaanxi, the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party during t ...

(1938), the

Central Party School The Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party (), commonly known as the Central Party School (), located in Beijing, is the higher education institution which trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. As of 2012, it has around 1,60 ...

(1944) and (after the founding of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) the Advanced Course of the Nanjing Military Academy of the PLA (1951). A veteran of both the

Second Sino-Japanese War 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 Th ...

and 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 ...

, he served as commander of the

Andong Province Andong / Antung ( Wade-Giles) (), or Liaodong () was a former province in Northeast China, located in what is now part of Liaoning and Jilin provinces. It was bordered on the southeast by the Yalu River, which separated it from Korea. History Th ...

Military District and participated in the Liaoshen Campaign. In April 1949, he was made commander of the

Liaoxi Province Liaoxi () was a former province in Northeast China, located in what is now part of Liaoning and Jilin provinces. It existed from 1949 to 1954, and its capital was Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city ...

Military District. After the Communist victory in the Civil War and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, he served as deputy commander of the People's Public Security Forces (1950–1957), commander of the

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

city garrison (1957–1959), and, most notably, deputy commander of the PLA Armored Forces for 23 years (1959–1982). He was a member of the 5th

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

and of the

Central Advisory Commission The Central Advisory Commission () (CAC) was a body of the Chinese Communist Party that existed during the era of the paramount leadership of Deng Xiaoping. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the Party' ...

References

{{Authority control 1912 births 1990 deaths Chinese Red Army generals Eighth Route Army generals People's Liberation Army generals from Hubei Members of the Standing Committee of the 5th National People's Congress Members of the Central Advisory Commission People from Dawu County, Hubei Commanders of the Andong Military District Commanders of the Liaoxi Military District People's Republic of China politicians from Hubei Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hubei Politicians from Xiaogan