Wang Shu-ming (November 10, 1905 – October 28, 1998) was a

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

and a

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

of the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force ( Chinese, 中華民國空軍), or the ROCAF; known colloquially as the Taiwanese Air Force ( Chinese, 臺灣空軍) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Air Force ...

. He was born in Town of Xiangzhou, Zhucheng,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.王叔銘將軍談空軍
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Biography

In 1924, Wang was admitted to the

Republic of China Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy ( zh, t=中華民國陸軍軍官學校, p=Zhōnghúa Mīngúo Lùjūn Jūnguān Xúexiào, poj=Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Lio̍k-kun Kun-koaⁿ Ha̍k-hāu), also known as the Chinese Military Academy (CMA), is ...

(1st term), then went to the Guangdong Military Aviation school in December. He attended the battle against warlords

Yang Xiwen Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...

and

Liu Zhenhuan Liu (; or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'battle axe', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the clas ...

in June 1925. In September 1925, Wang entered the

Lipetsk fighter-pilot school The Lipetsk fighter-pilot school (), also known as WIWUPAL from its German codename ''Wissenschaftliche Versuchs- und Personalausbildungsstation'' "Scientific Experimental and Personnel Training Station", was a secret training school for fighter pi ...

in the Soviet Union and graduated in 1931. While studying in the Soviet Union, Wang joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

, though he later cut the relations with the CCP when he came back to China. After he graduated, he became a flight Instructor at the Central Aviation School. Wang then served as an Air Force officer and director of Air Force schools. He participated in the

Fourth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet The fourth encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet () was the fourth campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government in hope to destroy the Red Army in Jiangxi. The Nationalist headquarters in the provincial border of Jiangxi-Gu ...

, bombing the

Fujian People's Government The Fujian People's Government (also spelled as the Fukien People's Government, ), officially the People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China (), was a short-lived anti-Kuomintang government that established a Democratic Republi ...

, and later during the War of Resistance-World War II at the

Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan ( Chinese: 滇西緬北戰役 October 1943 – March 1945) was the name of the Chinese campaign with their allies in the 1943–45 Burma Campaign. The campaign ended in an Allied victory. It is one of ...

, the

Battle of West Hubei The Battle of West Hubei (), was one of 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was also one of four major battles that took place in Hubei ...

, the

Battle of West Henan–North Hubei The Battle of West Henan–North Hubei () was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was fought in March–May 1945 in northern Hubei an ...

and others with his Air Group. During the

Second Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermittently from 1 August 1927 until Communist victory resulted ...

, Wang conducted various air attacks directed at Communist Militia in Northern

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

. Under his command, the Air Force helped to seize the largest city CCP controlled,

Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...

. He was awarded the

Order of Blue Sky and White Sun Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

(青天白日勋章) from his native ROC on August 14, 1944 and the Order of Golden Grain (嘉禾勋章) fin June 1945. In 1946, Wang was promoted to vice-commander of the Air Force and major general, then

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1951. In March 1952, Wang became the commander-in-chief of Air Force and promoted to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. Wang then appointed as Chief Staff of the

Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...

, after his Commander term ended, and was succeeded by his student

Chen Jia-shang Chen Jia-Shang (Chinese: 陳嘉尚 - pinyin: Chén Jiashang) (March 1909 - March 6, 1972) was a colonel general of the Republic of China Air Force and the Third Commander in Chief of the ROCAF whose term spanned July 1, 1957 to July 1, 1963. He a ...

. In February 1962, Wang was sent to the United Nations and served as Air Force representative of the China to the United Nations Security Council. In May 1972, Wang replaced Chen Jia-shang and became the Ambassador to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

until May 1975. After moving back to Taiwan, he served as Strategy Consultant for the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, and died in Taipei on October 28, 1998.

References

{{Reflist 1905 births 1998 deaths Members of the Kuomintang Chinese aviators Chinese people of World War II Ambassadors of China to Jordan People from Zhucheng Taiwanese people from Shandong

Biography

See also

References