HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

() was a Chinese military rank that corresponds to a
marshal 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 other nations. It was given to distinguished generals during China's dynastic and republican periods. A higher level rank of ''
Dayuanshuai Dayuanshuai (ta-yuan-shuai; ) was a Chinese military rank, usually translated as grand marshal or generalissimo. During the early Republic of China, the rank of "grand marshal of the army and navy" (陸海軍大元帥 ''lù hǎijūn dàyuá ...
'' (), which corresponds to ''
generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...
'' was awarded to Chiang Kai Shek of the Republic of China. It was also proposed for
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, 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 List of national founde ...
on the mainland, but he ultimately never accepted it.


Song dynasty

File:Yue_Fei.jpg,
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 Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song forces in the wa ...


Jin dynasty

File:Púxiān Wànnú.jpg,
Puxian Wannu Púxiān Wànnú ({{zh, t=蒲鮮萬奴, s=蒲鲜万奴, w=P'u-hsien Wan-nu) was a Jurchen warlord who established the short-lived Eastern Xia dynasty in 13th-century China. He originally served the waning Jin dynasty under pressure from the Mon ...


Republic of China

File:Chiang Kai-shek(蔣中正).jpg,
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 ...
File:Lu Rongting.jpg,
Lu Rongting Lu Rongting (; September 9, 1859 – November 6, 1928), also spelled as Lu Yung-ting and Lu Jung-t'ing, was a late Qing/early Republican military and political leader from Wuming, Guangxi. Lu belonged to the Zhuang ethnic group.吴振汉. � ...
File:Tang_Jiyao_9.jpg,
Tang Jiyao Tang Jiyao () (August 14, 1883 – May 23, 1927) was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of early Republican China. He was military governor of Yunnan from 1913-27. Life Tang was born in Huize county in 1883 in ...


People's Republic of China

The rank Marshal of the People's Republic of China () was awarded to ten veteran generals of the
People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...
in 1955. However, it was abolished in 1965 and was never restored. There are five most important criterion for the rank of Marshal: # The candidate must have played a leading role in the establishment of one or more
Revolutionary base area In Mao Zedong's original formulation of the military strategy of people's war, a revolutionary base area ( ''gémìng gēnjùdì''), or simply base area, is a local stronghold that the revolutionary force conducting the people's war should attem ...
s # Been a Corps Commander, equivalent or above in the Chinese Red Army # Been a Divisional Commander, equivalent or above in 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 Chines ...
or a commander of the
New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
# A Field Army Commander, Area Army commander or equivalent in the
Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (RO ...
# Been at least a National Defence Commission Deputy Commissioner prior to receiving the rank In addition, Chairman Mao, upon refusing the rank of
Dayuanshuai Dayuanshuai (ta-yuan-shuai; ) was a Chinese military rank, usually translated as grand marshal or generalissimo. During the early Republic of China, the rank of "grand marshal of the army and navy" (陸海軍大元帥 ''lù hǎijūn dàyuá ...
, decreed that cadres who no longer serve in the PLA should lose eligibility for military ranks. Thus,
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 China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
,
Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and ...
and
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 from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...
declined the rank upon offer. Chen Yi also initially refused the rank in accordance to Mao's decree since he now primarily worked in government rather than the PLA. However, Zhou Enlai insisted he took it, citing that because all of the other nine Marshals came from 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 Chines ...
, if he didn't take the rank, there would be nobody of the Marshal rank to represent the legacy of the
New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
, whilst simultaneously citing Nikolai Bulganin who held the rank of
Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...
whilst working primarily in government as precedence. Thus, he was given an exception and was awarded the rank. As a result, the recipients of the rank were: File:Zhu De.jpg, 1.
Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...
File:General Peng Dehuai.jpg, 2.
Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...
File:Lin Biao.jpg, 3.
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 ...
File:Liu Bocheng.jpg, 4. Liu Bocheng File:He Long.jpg, 5. He Long File:Chen Yi(communist).jpg, 6.
Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...
File:Luo_Ronghuan.jpg, 7.
Luo Ronghuan Luo Ronghuan (; November 26, 1902 – December 16, 1963) was a Chinese communist military leader. He served as a Vice Chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Biography Luo was born in a village in Hengshan County, ...
File:Xu Xiangqian.jpg, 8. Xu Xiangqian File:Marshal_Nie_Rongzhen.jpg, 9. Nie Rongzhen File:Ye Jianying.jpg, 10.
Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...
Su Yu was left out but he became the most senior of the ten Da Jiang. Many were surprised at this decision but he did not meet the first and second criterion. Eight of the ten Marshals took part in the
Nanchang Uprising The Nanchang Uprising () was the first major Nationalist Party of China–Chinese Communist Party engagement of the Chinese Civil War, begun by the Chinese Communists to counter the Shanghai massacre of 1927 by the Kuomintang. The Kuomi ...
in various capacities with
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 from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...
. Of the other two, Peng Dehuai led the Pingjiang Uprising. The other was
Luo Ronghuan Luo Ronghuan (; November 26, 1902 – December 16, 1963) was a Chinese communist military leader. He served as a Vice Chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Biography Luo was born in a village in Hengshan County, ...
, who instead assisted
Mao Tse-tung 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 ...
in the
Autumn Harvest Uprising The Autumn Harvest Uprising was an insurrection that took place in Hunan and Kiangsi (Jiangxi) provinces of China, on September 7, 1927, led by Mao Tse-tung, who established a short-lived Hunan Soviet. After initial success, the uprising was ...
. Lin Biao was the youngest and Zhu De was the oldest of the ten Marshals aged 48 and 69 respectively at time of conferment. Luo Ronghuan was the first to die at age 61 in 1963 and Nie Rongzhen was the last to die aged 93 in 1992. Four of the ten Marshals were addressed by their honorific of 老总 (Lao Zong, or "Old Chief") by Chairman Mao himself due to their seniority and long service. These were
Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...
,
Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...
, He Long and
Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...
. Nie Rongzhen was sometimes also addressed as Lao Zong but not by Chairman Mao personally. One, Lin Biao, was simply addressed as 总 Zong due to his battle honours. He was not addressed as Lao Zong due to his youth and lesser seniority. He was also the only Marshal not to have deceased in Beijing.


See also

*
Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...
* Other pronunciations of the
Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...
元帥 ** '' Gensui'', the Japanese equivalent ** '' Wonsu'', the Korean equivalent ** ''
Nguyên soái Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this ...
'', the Vietnamese equivalent * ''Grand yuanshuai'' (大元帥), a rank higher than ''yuanshuai'' ** ''
Dayuanshuai Dayuanshuai (ta-yuan-shuai; ) was a Chinese military rank, usually translated as grand marshal or generalissimo. During the early Republic of China, the rank of "grand marshal of the army and navy" (陸海軍大元帥 ''lù hǎijūn dàyuá ...
'' in Chinese ** ''
Dai-gensui The Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy ( ja, 大元帥陸海軍大将, Dai-gensui-riku-kai-gun-taishō) was the highest rank of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy from the 1870s to 1945, when the ...
'', the Japanese equivalent ** '' Taewonsu'', the Korean equivalent ** '' Đại nguyên soái'', the Vietnamese equivalent


References


External links

* {{Chinese Civil War
Yuanshuai () was a Chinese military rank that corresponds to a marshal in other nations. It was given to distinguished generals during China's dynastic and republican periods. A higher level rank of '' Dayuanshuai'' (), which corresponds to '' generali ...
Military ranks of the People's Republic of China Military history of China