Xiao Wangdong (; August 1910 – 11 May 1989) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and a

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 ...

of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA). He briefly served as acting Minister of Culture of China at the beginning of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, before being persecuted and imprisoned for nine years.

Early life and wartime career

Xiao Wangdong was born in August 1910 in

Ji'an County Ji'an County () is a County (People's Republic of China), county of west-central Jiangxi province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Ji'an. Administrative divisions In the present, Ji'an County has 1 subdistrict ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

province. His original name was Xiao Huicun (), and he also used the name Xiao Ke (). He joined the

Communist Youth League The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC; also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League or CYL) is a people's organization of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, r ...

in November 1927. In July 1929, he 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 ...

(CCP) and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. In October 1934, he participated in 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 ...

, and reached 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 ...

a year later. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, Xiao served as Director of the Political Department of the Fourth Division 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 ...

, under commander Peng Xuefeng, and then the same position in the Second Division based in the

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

region, under commander Luo Binghui. During the subsequent

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, he participated in several major battles in

East China East China () is a geographical region in the People’s Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, ...

People's Republic of China

From April 1949 to November 1952, Xiao Wangdong served as

Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

of Subei (northern

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

) region, and political commissar of the Subei Military District, under commander Zhang Zhendong. From November 1952 to July 1953, he was

Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary In modern politics of China, Chinese politics, a Deputy Party Committee Secretary (; also translated as Deputy Party Secretary, deputy party chief, vice party chief) serves as the lieutenant to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, ...

of Jiangu province. From 1953 to 1965 he served in the East China Military Region, later

Nanjing Military Region The Nanjing Military Region () was one of the former seven military command regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Its jurisdiction covered all military and armed police located in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Shangh ...

, as a political commissar. In September 1955, he was among the first group of PLA commanders to be awarded the rank of

. In April 1965, Xiao Wangdong was appointed Vice Minister of Culture of China, under minister Lu Dingyi. After Lu Dingyi was purged at the beginning of the

, Xiao became the acting minister in May 1966. Although Xiao was a military official, he followed

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1954 to 1959, first-ranking Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communis ...

and attempted to limit the disruptions of the radical

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

. In February 1967 he was denounced as a

counterrevolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...

and

capitalist roader In Maoism, a capitalist roader is a person or group who demonstrates a marked tendency to bow to pressure from bourgeois forces and subsequently attempts to pull the Chinese Communist Revolution in a capitalist direction. If allowed to do so, thes ...

. He was purged and subsequently imprisoned for nine years. His superior

Tao Zhu Tao Zhu (; 16 January 1908 – 30 November 1969) was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Biography Tao was born in Qiyang, Qiyang County, Hunan, on 16 January 1908. He was imprisoned in Nanjing by the K ...

, who sought to protect him, was also purged. Xiao was politically rehabilitated at the end of the Cultural Revolution and became Political Commissar of the

Jinan Military Region The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first comman ...

from 1976 to 1982. He was also elected as an alternate member of the

11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in a five-year session from 1977 to 1982. The 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party preceded it. It held seven plenary sessions in the five-year period. It was formally ...

(1977−82). He became a member of the Central Advisory Commission in 1982, and was re-elected in 1987. Xiao Wangdong died in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

on 11 May 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Wangdong 1910 births 1989 deaths Ministers of culture of the People's Republic of China Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangxi People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangxi People's Liberation Army generals from Jiangxi Politicians from Ji'an Victims of the Cultural Revolution Political office-holders in Jiangsu Chinese military personnel of World War II