Hong Xuezhi (; February 2, 1913 – November 20, 2006) was a general in the Chinese Red Army and a politician in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. He was the only person awarded the rank of general in 1955 who was reawarded the same rank in 1988 as an active PLA officer when the PLA readopted a rank system.China promotes three generals
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Biography

Hong was born in Jinzhai 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 Riv ...

. In 1929 Hong joined the

Chinese Communist Party 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 Ci ...

. He survived and gained promotions during

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

Encirclement Campaigns Encirclement campaigns (), officially called in Chinese Communist historiography as the Agrarian Revolutionary War were the campaigns launched by forces of the Chinese Nationalist Government against forces of the Chinese Communist Party during th ...

during the early

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 main ...

. In 1935, Hong joined the

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

with the New Fourth Army. 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 T ...

, Huang joined the Hundred Regiments Offensive. During the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, Hong was the deputy commander and director of logistics of the

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...

. He participated in the armistice negotiations that ended the Korean War in 1953. In 1955, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General ( Shang Jiang). Hong was removed from his position in 1959 for his connections with marshal Peng Dehuai, who was dismissed from office for criticizing

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

’s economic policies during the

Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstr ...

. He was rehabilitated in the early 1960s, but was persecuted by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. After the

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

came to power in the late 1970s, Hong was rehabilitated. He joined the Central Military Commission and became the vice chairman of the 7th and 8th

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 ...

National Committees. In 1988 when ranks were readopted by the PLA, Hong became the only 1955 Shang Jiang to be reawarded the same rank. Thus, he earned the nickname of Six-Star General. In 1989, Hong retired from the position of the deputy secretary-general of the Central Military Commission. Hong married Zhang Wen. They had three sons and five daughters, including Hong Hu, the Governor of the

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

between 1999 and 2004.

References

Leaders bid farewell to General Hong Xuezhi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Xuezhi People's Liberation Army generals from Anhui Victims of the Cultural Revolution 1913 births 2006 deaths Chinese Communist Party politicians from Anhui People's Republic of China politicians from Anhui People from Jinzhai County People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department Politicians from Lu'an Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery