Lu Han (; 6 February 1895 – 13 May 1974) was a Chinese general of Yi ethnicity, who served in important military and political positions under both the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

and 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 ...

. A prominent

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

, he was closely associated with Long Yun, who was first an ally and then a rival, although both ended up collaborating with 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 Ci ...

. A graduate of the Yunnan Military Academy, Lu Han notably commanded the 1st Group 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 ...

. After the Communist victory 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 main ...

, he joined the

Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang The Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK), also commonly known, especially when referenced historically, as the Left Kuomintang or Left Guomindang, is one of the eight legally recognised minor political parties in the Peo ...

, and went on to serve as Vice President of the National Sports Commission (today the General Administration of Sport), member of both the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

and

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 ...

, as well as Vice Chairman of the

Southwest China Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China. Geography Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...

Military and Political Committee.

Military career and Republic of China

Born in

Zhaotong Zhaotong () is a prefecture-level city located in the northeast corner of Yunnan province, China, bordering the provinces of Guizhou to the south and southeast and Sichuan to the northeast, north, and west. History Zhaotong has historic and ...

, Lu Han studied at the Yunnan Military Academy and joined the Yunnan Army, serving under Long Yun for many years. Long and Lu had a close relationship with each other, and there were rumors that Lu Han was Long Yun's half-brother, but this was denied by Long Yun's son Long Shengwu. In 1914, Lu Han married Long Yun's cousin Long Zeqing. In 1937, he served as commander of the 60th Army of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

of the Republic of China, with more than 40,000 troops. In 1938, he participated in the

Battle of Taierzhuang The Battle of Taierzhuang () was a battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, which was fought between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The battle was that war's first major Chinese victory. It humiliated the Jap ...

. Subsequently, the 60th Army was reorganized into the 30th Army, and later expanded into the 1st Army. Lu Han served as the commander of the Army and participated in the

Battle of Wuhan The Battle of Wuhan (武漢之戰), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defense of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui ...

. In 1939, he commanded units in the Battle of Changsha. In 1945, Long Yun was overthrown and removed from the governorship of Yunnan by

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 ...

. Chiang made Lu Han Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Government. In early 1945, the General Headquarters of the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Border Region was reorganized into the 1st Front Army, and Lu Han was promoted to the rank of full General. In August,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

unconditionally surrendered, and Lu Han led the 60th Army, 93rd Army, and

Guan Linzheng Guan Linzheng (; 1905–1980) was a highly successful Chinese general in the Kuomintang who fought against both the Communists and the Imperial Japanese Army, and was a recipient of Order of Blue Sky and White Sun, the highest honor for a Chinese ...

's 9th Army (in total 200,000 troops) to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

. On September 28, Lu presided over a ceremony at the Hanoi headquarters (formerly the French Governor's Office in Vietnam) to accept the surrender of the Japanese 38th Army Commander

Yuitsu Tsuchihashi was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Biography Early career Tsuchihashi was born in Saga prefecture and graduated from the 24th class of Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1912 and the 32nd class of the Army S ...

on behalf of the Allied Powers.

People's Republic of China

As the Communists gained the upper hand in the

, Lu Han, on February 5, 1949, ordered the

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

Branch of the Central Bank to stop the transportation of gold and silver to the central government; later, he met with journalists in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, indicating that he had broken with Chiang Kai-shek. Soon the 36th Army of the

Second Field Army The Second Field Army (第二野战军), initially known as the Central Plains Field Army (中原野战军) or the Liu-Deng Army, was a major military formation of the Chinese Communist Party during the last stages of the Chinese Civil War. The ...

of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

entered

Guizhou Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...

. On November 3, 1949, Li Zongren, as acting president, flew to

with Zhang Qun and Hong Lanyou to encourage Lu Han not to break with the Nationalist Government. On the evening of December 9, Lu Han placed Zhang Qun under house arrest and issued a notice in Zhang Qun's name to hold an emergency meeting in Lu Han's residence. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Government, Lu Han announced that Yunnan had joined the

. On December 10, Lu sent a telegram to Liu Wenhui in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

, asking Liu to arrest Chiang Kai-shek, who was in the city (Chengdu was the last mainland city to fall to the Communists). On February 20, 1950,

Chen Geng Chen Geng (; 27 February 1903 - 16 March 1961) was a Chinese military officer who served as a senior general in the People's Liberation Army. Enlisting in a warlord's army at the age of 13, Chen Geng joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1922 an ...

and

Song Renqiong Song Renqiong (; 11 July 1909 – 8 January 2005), born Song Yunqin (), was a general in the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and one of the Eight Elders of the Chinese Communist Party. Biography Song Renqiong w ...

led a PLA force into

, where they were warmly welcomed by Lu Han. On February 22, Chen Geng announced that Yunnan had been completely occupied with no major incidents. In March 1950, the Yunnan Provincial Military and Political Committee was established, with Lu Han as the chairman.

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 ...

appointed Lu Han to several important positions; he served as a member and Vice Chairman of the

Military and Political Committee, a representative of the

, a member of the National Committee of the

, member of the Central Military Commission, Vice President of the National Sports Commission under Marshal

He Long He Long (; March 22, 1896 – June 9, 1969) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was from a poor rural family in Hunan, and his family was not able to provide him with any formal ...

, member of the Central Committee of the

, and member of the Working Committee for the Peaceful Liberation of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. In 1956, Lu Han participated in the Chinese delegation to visit

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. On May 13, 1974, Lu Han died in Beijing at the age of 79 due to lung cancer. On May 18, a memorial service for Lu Han was held in Beijing. Marshal

Xu Xiangqian Xu Xiangqian (November 8, 1901 – September 21, 1990) was a Chinese Communist military leader and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was the son of a wealthy landowner, but joined the Kuomintang's National Revoluti ...

presided over the memorial service and

Xu Deheng Xu Deheng (; October 17, 1890 – February 8, 1990) was a Chinese male politician, who served as the vice chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. References 1890 births 1990 deaths Vice Chairpersons of ...

, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, delivered a eulogy.

References

External links

Generals from China: Lu Han
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Han 1895 births 1974 deaths National Revolutionary Army generals from Yunnan Members of the Kuomintang Yi people Governors of Yunnan Republic of China politicians from Yunnan People's Republic of China politicians from Yunnan People from Zhaotong Republic of China people who surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party