Zhang Zongxun (; 7 February 1908 – 14 September 1998) 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, ...

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 ...

Career

Zhang was born in

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

Province on 7 February 1908. He was enrolled in

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 ...

in 1926, and joined the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

in the same year. Zhang was the head of the 12th army group of

Chinese Red Army The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army or Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, commonly known as the Chinese Red Army or simply the Red Army, are the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party. It was formed when Communist ...

, the principal and Political commissar of the Red Army University in Ruijin, the chief of staff of the 4th army of the Red 4th army group, the chief of staff of Red Army University, and the head of the 1st bureau of central military commission. 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 ...

, he was the head of the 358 brigade, affiliated with the 120 division of 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 Chinese ...

. In 1945, he became the commander and political commissar of the Luliang military region. He later became the vice commander of the Northwest Field Army, vice commander of the First Field Army and vice commander of the Northwest Military Region. 1949pengdehuai zhangzongxun

He participated in many famous battles, and was regarded as one of "Ten Anti-Japan Generals" of CPC. He was awarded the General (

Shang Jiang (; ja, 将, Shō; ) is the rank held by general officers in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police use ...

) rank in 1955. He was promoted to the deputy chief of staff of PLA, the director of the department of military academy and the vice-director of the department of training superintendence. In 1971, he was appointed as the vice commander of

Jinan Military Region The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first commander ...

. In 1973, he was promoted to the director of the logistics department, until his retirement in 1978. He died on 14 September 1998 at the age of 90.

Family

Zhang Zongxun's son,

Zhang Youxia Zhang Youxia (; born July 1950) is a general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and currently the second-ranked Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Central Military Commission (CMC). He previously served as Head ...

, is a veteran of the 1979

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by #Names, other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's Cambodian–Vietnamese War, actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1 ...

, and a top general of the PLA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Zongxun 1908 births 1998 deaths People from Weinan People's Liberation Army generals from Shaanxi National Revolutionary Army generals from Shaanxi Victims of the Cultural Revolution