Li Zhaolin 李兆麟 (1910-1946), known earlier as Li Chaolan 李超兰, was the founder and leader of the 3rd Route Army, a division of the

Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army was the main anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Northeast China (Manchuria) after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Its predecessors were various anti-Japanese volunteer armies organized by local ...

in 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 Thea ...

. Li was born in

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of ...

county, Liaoning Province. After the

Mukden Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...

, he joined the Anti-Japanese National Salvation movement in Beijing. He later returned to organize his hometown volunteers against Japan. In May 1932 Li joined the Youth League and in the fall of 1932 he 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 ...

and was engaged in to the

Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,6 ...

coal mine labor movement. In December 1932 with the Japanese defeating the Anti Japanese Volunteer Armies, Lu came to Harbin to direct the military actions of the local party organization. By November 1933, Li went to

Zhuhe Shangzhi () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It is away from central Harbin and has an area of approximately . The city proper has a population of around ...

county to lead its guerrilla forces as deputy commander and political officer under

Zhao Shangzhi Zhao Shangzhi (; 1908–1942) was a Chinese military commander. Born in Chaoyang, Liaoning, he participated in the May Thirtieth Movement in 1925, and joined the Communist Party of China in the same year. In November 1925, he went to study in th ...

. By 6 June 1934 he became director of the Political Department of the

, and director of the General Political Department of the anti-Japanese forces in and around

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

. In the next few years with

and

Li Yanlu Li Yanlu, 李延禄, (1895–1985), soldier, communist, and leader of anti-Japanese forces in Manchuria. Li was born in Yenchi, Kirin (now Jilin) Province, in April 1895. He became involved in the opposition to Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore ...

made coordinated raids and attacked and occupied Linkou for a time, and founded the Tangyuan guerrilla base in the lower Songhua River. In May 1939, Li assumed the command of the 3rd Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. He then carried out guerrilla war in the Songnen Plain against the Japanese, and overran

Nehe Nehe () is a county-level city of western Heilongjiang in Northeast China, It is located near the border with Inner Mongolia to the west and is under the administration of Qiqihar City, to the north-northeast. Administrative divisions Nehe C ...

, Keshan, Zhaoyuan and other counties. Statue of Li Zhaolin - panoramio

By the end of 1940, the resistance forces were in an extremely difficulty situation and had suffered serious setbacks. By November 1941 Li was forced to withdraw into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and for the rest of the war cooperated with Soviet Red Army. In 1945 he returned to

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

with the liberating Soviet army. He became the vice commander of the Harbin Garrison Headquarters, and party secretary of the Songhua-jiang zone, vice president of Binjiang province, chairman of Sino-Soviet Friendship Association. On 9 March 1946 Li was killed in Harbin by

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

agents. To commemorate him, Harbin changed the name the

Lam Kam Road Park Lam or LAM may refer to: Organizations * Laguna Art Museum, California, US * Lam Eng Rubber, a Malaysian manufacturer * Lam Research, American semiconductor equipment company * LAM Mozambique Airlines, flag carrier airline of Mozambique * Librar ...

to Zhaolin Park. He has a large memorial tomb, depicted on the stamps issued by the North East People's Post on 9 March 1948 to commemorated the second anniversary of his death.

External links

Li Zhaolin
in Chinese, with photo {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Zhaolin 1910 births 1946 deaths Chinese military personnel of World War II Chinese Communist Party politicians from Liaoning Republic of China politicians from Liaoning Republic of China Army generals Politicians from Liaoyang Generals from Liaoning People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade