Marshal who commanded the Fourth Front Army through Zhang Guotao’s split and as defence minister directed the 1979 war with Vietnam
Hospitalized after a tuberculosis relapse in June 1990, he died on 21 September 1990 at eighty-nine, asking that there be no memorial or farewell and that his ashes be scattered over the Dabie, Daba and Taihang Mountains and the Hexi Corridor, where they were divided and scattered after cremation.
A Shanxi native in Whampoa’s first class, he became commander of the Fourth Front Army in the Eyuwan Soviet after the Guangzhou Uprising, followed Zhang Guotao’s southward decision on the Long March and in 1936 saw the Western Route Army destroyed in the Hexi Corridor. Deputy commander of the 129th Division in the war with Japan and of the North China Military Region in the civil war, he took Taiyuan in 1949. A marshal in 1955, he was sidelined after the “February Countercurrent” of 1967, returned in 1978 and as minister of defence directed the 1979 war with Vietnam.
Also known as: Hsu Hsiang-chien
Activities and affiliations
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1925–1927
Republic of China state institutionsNational Revolutionary Army officer (Whampoa 1st class)
Military command -
1927–1949
Chinese Communist revolutionary forces (before 1949)Red Fourth Front Army and West Route Army commander
Military command -
1927–1990
Political and party leadership
- Member of the CCP Politburo1966–1985
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1949–1954
People’s Republic of China state institutionsChief of the PLA General Staff
Military command -
1966–1985
People’s Republic of China state institutionsVice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Military command -
1978–1981
People’s Republic of China state institutionsVice Premier
Government and administration -
People’s Republic of China state institutionsMinister of National DefenceMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1924–1927Whampoa 1st class; NRA officer on the Northern Expedition; joined the CCP in Wuchang
- 1927.12Took part in the Guangzhou Uprising
- 1931–1936Commander of the Fourth Front Army
- 1936–1937Commander of the West Route Army, destroyed in the Hexi Corridor
- 1937–1945Deputy commander of the 129th Division; built base areas in Shandong and Shanxi–Suiyuan
- 1948–1949Defeated Yan Xishan in North China and took Taiyuan
- 1949–1954Chief of the PLA General Staff
- 1955Marshal of the People’s Republic of China
- 1966–1985Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
- 1967.02Criticized over the “February Countercurrent”
- 1978–1981Minister of National Defence
Related historical events
- 1924–1927The first united front, the Northern Expedition and the catastrophe of 1927Whampoa first-class graduate in the Guangzhou UprisingGraduated in Whampoa's first class, fought in the expedition and joined the Guangzhou Uprising.
- 1927–1936From Jinggangshan to Yan’an: the soviet bases and the Long MarchCommander of the Fourth Front ArmyWent south under Zhang Guotao and saw the Western Route Army destroyed in 1936.
- 1937–1945The war with Japan and the second united frontDeputy commander of the 129th DivisionDuring the war with Japan, he served as deputy commander of the 129th Division.
- 1945–1949The Chinese Civil WarDeputy commander of the North China Military RegionDuring the civil war, he took Taiyuan as deputy commander of the North China Military Region.
- 1966–1976The Cultural RevolutionMarshal denounced for the “February Countercurrent”In February 1967 he joined Ye Jianying in accusing the Group of undermining the army and was ordered to criticise himself.
- 1978–1979The Sino-Vietnamese WarChinese minister of defenceAs defence minister stood at the head of the war effort.
The Western Route Army in the Hexi Corridor
In October 1936 the Central Military Commission ordered Red Army units that had crossed the Yellow River to carry out the Ningxia Campaign. After the plan changed, on 8 November it organized the Western Route Army to advance west through the Hexi Corridor. Commander Xu Xiangqian and political commissar Chen Changhao replied on 12 November that they could carry out the westward mission. Xu argued that the army should not expend itself in the corridor but press on toward Xinjiang; Chen favored stopping to establish a base around Liangzhou and Yongchang. The Central Military Commission ordered them to fight locally, and the advance halted. Losses mounted: in January 1937 the fall of Gaotai annihilated the Fifth Army. As orders from the Center alternated between eastward and westward movement, the Western Route Army faced encirclement and pursuit.