Hong Xuezhi (; February 2, 1913 – November 20, 2006) was a general in the

Chinese Red Army The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army or Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, commonly known as the Chinese Red Army or simply the Red Army, are the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party. It was formed when Communist ...

and a politician in 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 ...

. He was the only person awarded the rank of general in 1955 who was reawarded the same rank in 1988 as an active PLA officer when the PLA readopted a rank system.China promotes three generals
/ref>

Biography

Hong was born in

Jinzhai Jinzhai County (), previously Lihuang County (, named after Wei Lihuang), is a county in the west of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, bordering the provinces of Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. It is under the jurisdi ...

county,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

. In 1929 Hong joined 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 ...

. He survived and gained promotions during

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 ...

Encirclement Campaigns Encirclement campaigns (), officially called in Chinese Communist historiography as the Agrarian Revolutionary War were the campaigns launched by forces of the Chinese Nationalist Government against forces of the Chinese Communist Party during the ...

during the early

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 ...

. In 1935, Hong joined the

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...

with the New Fourth Army. During 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 ...

, Huang joined the

Hundred Regiments Offensive The Hundred Regiments Offensive also known as the Hundred Regiments Campaign () (20 August – 5 December 1940) was a major campaign of the Chinese Communist Party's National Revolutionary Army divisions. It was commanded by Peng Dehuai against ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Hong was the deputy commander and director of logistics of the

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...

. He participated in the armistice negotiations that ended the Korean War in 1953. In 1955, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General (

Shang Jiang (; ja, 将, Shō; ) is the rank held by general officers in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police use ...

). Hong was removed from his position in 1959 for his connections with marshal Peng Dehuai, who was dismissed from office for criticizing

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 economic policies during the

Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...

. He was rehabilitated in the early 1960s, but was persecuted by

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

during the Cultural Revolution. After the

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

came to power in the late 1970s, Hong was rehabilitated. He joined the Central Military Commission and became the vice chairman of the 7th and 8th

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

National Committees. In 1988 when ranks were readopted by the PLA, Hong became the only 1955 Shang Jiang to be reawarded the same rank. Thus, he earned the nickname of Six-Star General. In 1989, Hong retired from the position of the deputy secretary-general of the Central Military Commission. Hong married Zhang Wen. They had three sons and five daughters, including Hong Hu, the Governor of the

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

between 1999 and 2004.

References

Leaders bid farewell to General Hong Xuezhi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Xuezhi People's Liberation Army generals from Anhui Victims of the Cultural Revolution 1913 births 2006 deaths Chinese Communist Party politicians from Anhui People's Republic of China politicians from Anhui People from Jinzhai County People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department Politicians from Lu'an Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery