Nie Rongzhen (; December 29, 1899 – May 14, 1992) was a prominent

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

military leader, and one of ten

Marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

in 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, ...

of China. He was the last surviving PLA officer with the rank of Marshal.

Biography

Nie was born in Jiangjin County in

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 ...

(now part of

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

municipality), the cosmopolitan and well-educated son of a wealthy family. In his 20s, Nie applied to the ''Université du Travail'' (University of Labour) in

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, with a scholarship from the Socialist Party, and was thus able to study science in Charleroi.

Political leanings

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 ...

spent a night in Charleroi and met with Nie. Nie agreed to join the group of Chinese students in France on a work-study program, where he studied

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

and became a protégé of Zhou Enlai. He 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 ...

in 1923. A graduate of the Soviet Red Army Military College and

Whampoa Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China's ...

, Nie spent his early career first as a political officer in Whampoa's Political Department, where Zhou served as the Deputy Director, and in the Chinese

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 ...

World War II

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 ...

, he was first assigned as the deputy division commander of the 115th division of the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

, with the commander being

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 ...

, and in the late 1930s he was given a field command close to

Yan Xishan Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960, ) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. He effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

stronghold.

Civil War

In 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 commanded the Northern China Military Region, and with his deputy

Xu Xiangqian Xu Xiangqian (November 8, 1901 – September 21, 1990) was a Chinese Communist military leader and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was the son of a wealthy landowner, but joined the Kuomintang's National Revolutio ...

, his force defeated

Fu Zuoyi Fu Zuoyi () (June 2, 1895 − April 19, 1974) was a Chinese military leader. He began his military career in the service of Yan Xishan, and he was widely praised for his defense of Suiyuan from the Japanese. During the final stages of the Chines ...

's forces in

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

near Beijing. 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 ...

, Nie took part in high level command decision making, military operations planning, and shared responsibility for war mobilization. Nie was made a Marshal of the PLA in 1955 and later ran the

Chinese nuclear weapons program The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964, and its first hydrogen bomb test occurred in 1967 ...

. He established the

Beijing Bayi School Beijing Bayi School (), also known as the August 1st School, is a public elementary through high school with three campuses in Haidian District, Beijing. Tetsushi Takahashi of '' Nikkei Shimbun'' wrote that Beijing Bayi School is "prestigious". ...

in 1947.

Chinese nuclear programme

By spring 1969, "The whole Chinese nuclear weapons program asunder the authority of Nieh Jungh-chen ongzhen the head of the Seventh Ministry for Machine Building." An Australian journalist spoke to several staff at a Chinese

gaseous diffusion Gaseous diffusion is a technology used to produce enriched uranium by forcing gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF6) through semipermeable membranes. This produces a slight separation between the molecules containing uranium-235 (235U) and uranium-2 ...

plant near

Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...

and reported his findings shortly before being imprisoned by China for more than three years. See: . See also:

Purge and rehabilitation

He was purged 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 ...

, but was later rehabilitated and became vice chairman of the Central Military Committee, which controlled the nation's armed forces, and also became the vice chairman of the National People's Congress. He retired in 1987 and died in Beijing.

Personal life

Nie had a daughter with Zhang Ruihua (张瑞华) in 1930, who was named

Nie Li Nie Li (born September 1930) is a Lieutenant General of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the first woman to hold the rank. Early life Nie was born in Shanghai in 1930, the daughter of Nie Rongzhen, who would become a Marshal of the PLA, ...

. She was imprisoned with her mother by 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 ...

in 1934 and did not see her father again until 1945. Nie Li is a lieutenant general of the

and the first woman to hold that rank.

References

Citations

Sources

People's Daily article

US Naval War College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nie, Rongzhen 1899 births 1992 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Chongqing Chinese military personnel of World War II Marshals of the People's Republic of China Chinese Communist Party politicians from Chongqing Mayors of Beijing People of the Chinese Civil War Eighth Route Army generals Communist University of the Toilers of the East alumni Members of the 12th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 11th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery