(; ja, 将, Shō; ) is the rank held by
general officer
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
s in some
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
n militaries. The ranks are used in both 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 ...
and 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 ...
on
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 ...
. 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, ...
and the
People's Armed Police
)
, abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates
, patch ...
use three levels at present while the
Republic of China Armed Forces
The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu ...
use four.
In both
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
the rank is also used.
Chinese variant
People's Liberation Army
The same rank names are used for all services, prefixed by ''haijun'' () or ''kongjun'' ().
Under the rank system in place in the PLA in the era 1955–1965, there existed the rank of () or Grand General. This rank was awarded to 10 of the veteran leaders of the PLA in 1955 and never conferred again. It was considered equivalent to the Soviet rank of (
Army General
Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.
In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...
) which is generally considered a five-star rank, although the insignia itself had only four. The decision to name the equivalent rank when it was briefly re-established in 1988-1994 was likely due to a desire to keep the rank of an honorary one awarded after a war, much as
General of the Armies
General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States Army. The rank has been conferred three times: to John J. Pershing in 1919, as a personal accola ...
in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. It was offered to Deng Xiaoping who declined the new rank. Thus it was never conferred and scrapped in 1994.
Republic of China Armed Forces
Japanese Self Defense Forces
The same rank names are used for all services, prefixed by ( ja, 陸, lit=land), ( ja, 海, lit=sea) or ( ja, 空, lit=air).
Korean variant
North Korea
South Korea
See also
*
Xiao (rank)
() is the rank held by field officers in the militaries of China and Taiwan. The Chinese military (PLA) uses four grades while the Taiwanese military uses only three, with the rank equivalent to the fourth being treated as a general officer ra ...
*
Wei (rank)
(; ) is the rank held by company-grade 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, and both North and South Korea.
Chinese variant People's Liberation Ar ...
*
Shi (rank)
*
Ranks of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has not always used ranks or insignia. In common with the practice of the Red Army at the time of its founding in 1927, neither were used until 1955 when a system of ranks was established. As a result of the Cult ...
*
Ranks of the People's Liberation Army Navy
*
Ranks of the People's Liberation Army Air Force
The ranks in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force are similar to those of the Chinese Army, formally known as the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, except that those of the PLA Air Force are prefixed by 空军 (Kong Jun) meaning Air ...
*
Ranks of the People's Armed Police
*
Republic of China Armed Forces rank insignia The Military ranks of the Republic of China are the ranks used by the Republic of China Armed Forces. The official military rank names in Traditional Chinese are identical across all different military branches, but their English translations may ...
References
{{Reflist
Jiang
Military ranks of the People's Republic of China
Military of the Republic of China