Xu Jishen () (March 10, 1901-November 1931) was a member of the
Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. He was born in
Lu'an,
Anhui Province. In 1919, he participated in the
May Fourth Movement. In 1920, he went to
Anqing
Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...
. In April 1921, he joined the
Communist Youth League of China
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...
. In 1923, Xu left Anhui for
Shanghai, enrolling in
Shanghai University. In 1924, Xu entered the
Whampoa Military 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 ...
and joined the
Communist Party of China. He quickly rose through the ranks from platoon commander to deputy company commander to company commander, ultimately rising to the rank of major. After the
Zhongshan Warship Incident, he was made a battalion commander under
Ye Ting. During his participation in the
Northern Expedition, he was wounded due to the actions of
Xia Douyin
Xia Douyin () (1885–1951) was a Republic of China National Revolutionary Army general. He was born in Macheng, Hubei. Originally a member of the Qing Dynasty New Army, he participated in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. In 1917, he joined the ...
.
Chinese Civil War
After the breakdown of the alliance between the communists and the
Kuomintang, Xu left 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 ...
. In March 1930, he went to the border region of
Hubei,
Henan and Anhui Provinces, where he was made commander of the Red 1st Army. Under his command, the Red Army inflicted 7,000 casualties on the Kuomintang forces. In December 1930, the Kuomintang launched their first offensive on the area. Xu's forces defeated 3 Kuomintang regiments totalling 3,000 troops. In January 1931, Xu's command was downgraded to divisional with the merging of the Red 1st Army into the Red 4th Army. Xu was able to defeat a Kuomintang brigade and take 2,000 prisoners. A later offensive resulted in the capture of a Kuomintang general (a descendant of
Song Dynasty general
Yue Fei
Yue Fei ( zh, t=岳飛; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general who lived during the Song dynasty, Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song force ...
) and 5,000 soldiers.
In April 1931,
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 ...
ordered another offensive on the area, with
He Yingqin in direct command.
Ji Hongchang, one of the generals in this campaign, refused to fight the communists and attempted negotiations instead. Using this to frame Xu as collaborator with the Kuomintang,
Zhang Guotao ordered his execution, which took place at
Guangshan County
Guangshan County (; postal: Kwangshan) is a county in the southeast of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Xinyang city. The regional dialect is the Xinyang city dialect of Southwestern Mandarin.
The 13th five-year plan of Xi ...
, Henan.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Jishen
1901 births
1931 deaths
People from Lu'an
Chinese Red Army generals
Whampoa Military Academy alumni
Generals from Anhui
Executed Republic of China people
People executed by firing squad
Executed people from Anhui