Zhang Yan (; 1917 – 3 August 2003) was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

('' shaojiang'') of 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, ...

(PLA) who served as president of the

National University of Defense Technology The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT; ) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Changsha, Hunan, China. Founded in 1953 as the People's Liberation Army Military Academy of Engineering, ...

from 1978 to 1983. He was a member of the 6th and 7th National Committee 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 ...

Biography

Zhang was born Zhang Jiankai () in Lingbi County,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

, in 1917, while his ancestral home was in

Tengzhou Tengzhou () is a county-level city of Zaozhuang, Shandong province of the People's Republic of China, and is the site of the feudal vassal Teng (state), State of Teng during the Spring and Autumn period. Tengzhou was likely the birthplace of the ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. In 1928, he attended Liji Primary School (). Influenced by teacher and Communist Wang Jianmin (), he joined the Student Counter Japanese Volunteer Army. In 1937, he was admitted to Counter-Japanese Military and Political University. 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 ...

(CCP) in February 1938. He fought under Liu Bocheng and

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 People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

at the Battle of North

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

in 1943 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 ...

. In September 1948, he became deputy director of the Political Department of Zhongyuan Military and Political University, he remained at there until June 1949, when he took office as director of the Propaganda and Education Division of the Political Department of the Second Field Army Military and Political University. After the founding of the Communist State in 1949, Zhang participated in the preparatory work of Harbin Institute of Military Engineering and served as director of its Political Department. He was promoted to the rank of

('' Shaojiang'') in 1961. In October 1965, he was made political commissar of Xi'an Military Telecommunication Engineering College. 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 ...

, he was brought to be persecuted and suffered political persecution. He was named party secretary of Northwest Institute of Telecommunication Engineering in October 1973 and then party secretary of the Tenth Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense in July 1976. In July 1977, he became deputy director of the State Planning Commission. In September 1978, he was appointed president of

, and served until December 1983, when he was transferred to the Central Military Commission. He retired in July 1998. On 3 August 2003, he died from an illness 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 ...

, aged 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Yan 1917 births 2003 deaths People from Lingbi County Counter-Japanese Military and Political University alumni Presidents of the National University of Defense Technology People's Liberation Army generals from Anhui People's Republic of China politicians from Anhui Chinese Communist Party politicians from Anhui Members of the 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 7th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference