Zhang Zhen (; 5 October 1914 – 3 September 2015) was a general 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, ...

of China and a member of the Central Military Commission of 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 ...

Biography

Zhang was born in

Pingjiang County Pingjiang County () is a county in the northeast of Hunan province, China. It is the easternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Yueyang. The county is located on the eastern margin of the province, the Miluo River runs thr ...

Hunan Province 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 t ...

, with Hakka ancestry from Pingyuan County,

Guangdong Province 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) ...

. His original name was Zhang Jiansheng (), also named as Zhang Zushou (), Zhang Zhongtian (). He joined the Communist Youth League in April 1930, and the Chinese Communist Party that summer. From 1957–66, Zhang was vice president, and later president of PLA Nanjing Military Academy. 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 ...

, he was rehabilitated in 1975 and appointed vice director, and later director of the PLA General Logistics Department, and a member of the CCP Central Military Commission. From 1980–85, he was the vice chief of staff in PLA General Staff Department. From 1985–90, he served as the president of

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

. In 1990, Zhang became president, political commissar and CCP chief of the

PLA National Defense University The People's Liberation Army National Defence University () is a Beijing-based national military university administered by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and funded by the Central Military Commission. The university is the highest milita ...

. He was an alternate member of the 11th CCP central committee, and a full member of the 12th CCP central committee. He celebrated his 100th birthday in October 2014 and died on September 3, 2015, just over a month before his 101st birthday.

Children

*Zhang Xiaoyang, major general, former Dean of PLA University of Foreign Language *Zhang Lianyang, major general, former Director of Military Representative Office of

People's Liberation Army General Staff Department The Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (JSDCMC) () is the command organ and the headquarters for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), superseding the former PLA General Staff Department (GSD). It was established on 11 Jan ...

* Zhang Haiyang, general, former political commissar of the PLA

Second Artillery Corps The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; ), formerly the Second Artillery Corps (), is the strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and c ...

*Zhang Ningyang, major general, former vice minister of Military Transportation Department of the PLA General Logistics Department

References

External links

Biography of Zhang Zhen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Zhen People's Liberation Army generals from Hunan 1914 births 2015 deaths Chinese centenarians Men centenarians Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Hakka people Hakka generals Politicians from Yueyang People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department