Wu Qiwei (or Wu Chi-wei , Dabu, Guangdong; 1890–1953) was a Chinese military commander, who served under both 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 ...

and, after 1949, 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 ...

Life

Wu Qiwei attended the Wuchang Army School in his early years, and then the

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 ...

. During 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 ...

, he served successively as the Chief of Staff of the 36th Regiment, the 34th Regiment, the 12th Division and the 30th Regiment of the 4th Army of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

. 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 Thea ...

, he led the 4th Army to participate in the Battle of Songhu. He was then promoted to command the 9th Army in the Battle of Wanjialing. In the fall of 1938, he was appointed as the Deputy Commander of the 4th War Theater, and then Deputy Commander of the 6th War Theater and commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

. After the end of the war, he became Governor of

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 ...

until 1946, and then he was appointed 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 ...

as Commander of the "Bandit Suppression Headquarters" in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. In 1948 he began negotiations with

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) ...

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 ...

, and defected to the Communist side. In September 1949, he attended the First Plenary Session of the

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 ...

and was elected a member of the CPPCC National Committee. After the founding of the

, he was appointed a member of the Central–South Military and Political Committee and the

Provincial People's Government. He died in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 1953.

Awards and decorations

Order of Blue Sky and White Sun The Order of Blue Sky and White Sun with Grand Cordon (Chinese:青天白日勳章 or 青天白日勛章) is the Republic of China's second highest military award. Created in 1929, it is awarded for "outstanding contributions to national security ...

吴氏, 吴奇伟, 万家岭全歼日军106师团1万多人

Order of the Sacred Tripod The Order of the Sacred Tripod (寶鼎勳章), also referred to as the Order of the Precious Tripod or Pao Ting, is a military award of the Republic of China. It was created on 15 May 1929 by Chiang Kai-shek for significant contributions to nation ...

References

Chinese wars and campaigns 1927-1937
National Revolutionary Army generals from Guangdong Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Politicians from Meizhou Hakka generals 1890 births 1953 deaths People from Dabu {{China-mil-bio-stub