Xiang Ying (; 1895(?) – 1941) was a war-time Chinese communist leader and an early founding member of 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 ...

who reached the rank of political chief of staff of the

New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army (N4A) () was a military unit nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China, established in 1937 as part of the Second United Front against Japan. However, in practice, the New ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

until his assassination by a member of his staff in 1941 during the Sino-Japanese War.

Biography

Initially a labor organizer, he joined the

(CCP) in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

in 1921. He continued to work in labour actions and helped lead the famous Beijing–Hankou railway workers' strike in February 1923. He went on to serve in the CCP political and military leadership during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between the Nationalists (

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

) and the CCP. He held high office during the CCP's

Jiangxi Soviet The Jiangxi Soviet, sometimes referred to as the Jiangxi-Fujian Soviet, was a soviet area that existed between 1931 and 1934, governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was the largest component of the Chinese Soviet Republic and hom ...

period (1931–1934). In October 1934, at the beginning of the

Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...

, Xiang stayed behind to fight a rearguard action that would allow the marchers to get out of the ring of surrounding Nationalist forces. The marchers, with

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

as their leader, went on to

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

, while Xiang remained in the Jiangxi region, coordinating guerrilla operations to harass Nationalist forces. When the Japanese invaded in July 1937, a united front (the

Second United Front The Second United Front ( zh, t=第二次國共合作 , s=第二次国共合作 , first=t , l=Second Nationalist-Communist Cooperation, p=dì èr cì guógòng hézuò ) was the alliance between the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Co ...

) was declared between Nationalists and CCP, and Xiang's guerrillas became the nucleus of a legitimate fighting force: the

. This army operated behind Japanese lines, and was subject to orders coming from both the CCP leadership in Yan'an, and the Nationalist leadership, which had moved inland from Nanjing to Chongqing. Xiang and Mao had a relationship based on mistrust and conflict; Xiang was considered the military officer Mao trusted the least. In the spring of 1939, Xiang ordered the secretary of the New Fourth Army Headquarters, Yang Fan, to investigate the activities of

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of the Communis ...

, Mao's fiancée, better known as Madame Mao, when she had been an actress in Shanghai. The report by Yang, which was signed by Xiang, was cabled to Yan'an and explicitly stated that Mao should not marry Jiang Qing. Contradictory orders from these groups led to confusion, and eventually the

New Fourth Army incident The New Fourth Army Incident (), also known as the South Anhui Incident or Wannan Incident (), occurred in China in January 1941 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the Chinese Civil War was in theory suspended, uniting the Commun ...

, in which Xiang was killed in an assault on the army by the Nationalist forces in March 1941. He was killed by a member of his own staff, Liu Houzong for the gold resources of the New Fourth Army. Xiang had carried the gold on his own person in the aftermath of the incident. After Liu killed Xiang and two other officers, he absconded with the gold and surrendered to the Nationalists, who promptly accepted the gold and jailed him. He was later freed, and spent the rest of his life working at a salt shop in Xinyu under an assumed identity. In 1952, Liu was identified by Huang Yifan, deputy director of the Xinyu County Public Security Bureau and former guard in the New Fourth Army. Liu was quickly arrested, and executed for treason in August the same year. The incident was a result of either mistrust or disobedience, or both, between the two parties that would lead to the resumption of full-scale civil war once the Japanese began a full retreat out of China's interior in the summer of 1945, prior to their surrender later that year. Some historians have argued that Xiang was the victim of the indecision of Mao Zedong. Mao's supporters argued that Xiang's misunderstanding of the potential threats posed by the Nationalists, along with his own ambitions, led to his demise.

References

Sources

External links

Book review dealing in part with Xiang Ying
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiang, Ying 1890s births 1941 deaths Assassinated Chinese military personnel Burials in Nanjing Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hubei Delegates to the 3rd National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 4th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 5th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Labor relations in China Members of the 4th Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 6th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Military personnel of the Second Sino-Japanese War People of the Chinese Civil War Politicians from Wuhan Republic of China politicians from Hubei Heads of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party