Su Zhenhua (; June 2, 1912 – February 7, 1979), born Su Qisheng (蘇七生), was a Chinese Communist general and politician. He fought for the Communists in the

Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

. After the founding of the People's Republic, Su became an admiral in the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

, the Party Secretary of

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

province, the First Secretary of Shanghai, and a member of the

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

. Su 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 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 to ...

province. Su joined a guerrilla fighting force in 1926 at age 14, and entered the Communist Youth League three years later. He joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in June 1930 and the Communist Party several years later. He participated in the

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...

and was instrumental in the Communist takeover of

Zunyi Zunyi () is a prefecture-level city in northern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, situated between the provincial capital Guiyang to the south and Chongqing to the north, also bordering Sichuan to the northwest. Along with Guiyang an ...

. He then served successively in a series of roles as political commissar. In December 1949, following the Communist takeover of Guizhou province, Su became the Party Committee Secretary of Guizhou.徐行<讀者·作者·編者>，《明報月刊》 (''Ming Pao''), Hong Kong, December 1993, p. 143 In April 1954, he became a deputy political commissar in the PLA Navy. He joined the Central Military Commission in 1959. 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 ...

, Su was purged and called "a time bomb in the navy planted by

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 ...

." He was rehabilitated in 1972 and became the First Political Commissar of the Navy. Su played a pivotal role during the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976, when he was commissioned by

Hua Guofeng Hua Guofeng (; born Su Zhu; 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), alternatively spelled as Hua Kuo-feng, was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the People's Republic of China. The design ...

and

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 overthrew ...

to 'invade' the

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

, central television and radio stations, and the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language ...

'' headquarters, which were all then under the control of elements friendly to the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

. In order to prevent a coup by the Gang of Four in their power base of Shanghai, Su was then sent to Shanghai as First Secretary to oversee the party organization in collaboration with

Ni Zhifu Ni Zhifu (; May 1933 – 24 April 2013) was a Chinese engineer, inventor, and high-ranking politician. When he worked as a technician in the 1950s, he invented the "Ni Zhifu drill" which earned him a patent and the honour of "model worker". Durin ...

and

Peng Chong Peng Chong (; March 1915 – October 18, 2010 ), born Xu Tieru (), was a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee (1969–87) and its politburo (1977–82); and Secretary General of the National People’s Congress betwe ...

. He was an alternate member of the 8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and a full member of the 10th and 11th Central Committees. He was also a member of the 11th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. He died on February 7, 1979 and was eulogized with high honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Zhenhua 1912 births 1979 deaths People from Yueyang People of the Chinese Civil War Members of the 11th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party People's Liberation Army generals from Hunan Political commissars of the People's Liberation Army Navy Secretaries of the Communist Party Shanghai Committee