He Jian (; 10 April 1887 – 25 April 1956) was a Chinese Nationalist (KMT) general and politician in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. He was

governor of Hunan The Politics of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The Governor of Hunan is the highest-ranking official in the People's Governme ...

province between 1929 and 1937, and

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 1937 to 1939. He was best known for fighting the Communists, and he once ordered his subordinates to execute

Yang Kaihui Yáng Kāihuì (; courtesy name: Yúnjǐn (); 6 November 1901 – 14 November 1930) was the second wife of Mao Zedong, whom he married in 1920. She had three children with Mao Zedong: Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao Anlong. Her father w ...

(

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) ...

's wife) and Wu Ruolan (

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

's wife).

Names

His courtesy name was Yunqiao () and his

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

was Rongyuan ().

Biography

Education

He Jian was born into a family of farming background in Liling County,

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

, on April 10, 1887. In 1903 he attended Zhuzici School () and then transferred to Liling County Lujiang Middle School (). In 1906 he enrolled at Chonggu School () and three years later he studied at Hunan Public Law School (). After the outbreak of the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

, he was educated in Wuchang Army High School. After graduating from

Baoding Military Academy Baoding Military Academy or Paoting Military Academy () was a military academy based in Baoding, during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China, in the first two decades of the 20th century. For a time, it was the most important military ...

in 1916 he was assigned to the 1st Brigade of 1st Division of Hunan Ground Force.

Northern Expedition

In March 1918, Chang Ching-yao attacked

, He Jian threw down his arms and fled the field. He returned to his hometown and rebuilt an guerrilla forces. In May, Cheng Qian, the commander-in-chief of

Xiang Army 150px, Zeng Guofan, the leader of the Xiang Army The Xiang Army or Hunan Army () was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces called '' tuanlian'' to contain the Taiping Rebellion in Qing China ...

, commissioned him as commander of Liuyang-Liling guerrilla forces. In 1919, T'ang Sheng-chih incorporated his army and he became a brigade commander. He joined the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

and took part in the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

. After

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

was captured he was promoted to army commander of the 35th Army.

Encirclement and suppression

In April 1927 he fought against Chang Tso-lin's army in

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

. At the same time, Communist revolutionaries Guo Liang,

Liu Zhixun Liu Zhixun (; November 1898 – September 14, 1932), also known as Liu Keming (), was a member of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. He was purged by Communist leader Xia Xi and executed. Biography He was born in Changsha, Hunan Province ...

(purged by Xia Xi and executed), and Xia Xi in alliance with Kuomintang leftist pressed ahead with rural land reform in Hunan, this incident lead to intensification of the contradictions between Communist Party and Kuomintang. On May 21, 1927, the Mari Incident broke out, He Jian began to crack down the Communists. In November 1928, the Nationalist government commissioned him as commander-in-chief of Hunan-Jiangxi Jiaofei Headquarters. His army marched towards the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base. The

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

were defeated and fled to the Central Soviet Base Area. In 1929, he was appointed governor of Hunan province. That same year, his subordinates arrested and then executed Wu Ruolan, wife of Communist military leader

. In 1930, the Communist Party sent troops to attack

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

, He Jian's car was destroyed in the war, in reprisal, he participated in the "encirclement and suppression" led by

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

and

Ho Ying-chin He Yingqin, (; April 2, 1890 – October 21, 1987) also Ho Ying-chin, was a politician and one of the most senior generals of the Kuomintang (KMT) during history of the Republic of China, Republic of China, and a close ally of Chiang Kai-shek. E ...

in jiangxi. On November 14, his subordinates executed

(

's wife) in

. In 1933, the Nationalist government commissioned him as commander-in-chief of West Route Army.

Second Sino-Japanese War

He was

in 1937 and chairman of Military Committee in 1939.

Chinese Civil War

After 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 ...

, he resigned from his post because of illness. He recuperated at Heng Mountain, in

Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 ...

. He Jian relocated to

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

in the Spring of 1949 and one year later he settled down in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. He served as national policy advisor to the President

until his death. On April 25, 1956, He Jian died of

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in Taipei.

Personal life

He had a daughter, He Lian, who was married to

Tang Fei-fan Tang Feifan (; July 23, 1897 – September 30, 1958) was a Chinese medical microbiologist best known for culturing the ''Chlamydia trachomatis'' agent in the yolk sacs of eggs. Tang was persecuted during the "Pulling Out Bourgeois White Flag Mo ...

, a virologist best known for culturing the Chlamydia trachomatis agent in the yolk sacs of eggs.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:He, Jian 1887 births 1956 deaths Politicians from Zhuzhou Baoding Military Academy cadets National Revolutionary Army generals from Hunan Republic of China warlords from Hunan Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Hunan