Yang Chengwu ( zh, s=杨成武, t=楊成武, p=Yáng Chéngwǔ; October 27, 1914 – February 14, 2004), alias Yang Nengjun ( zh, links=no, s=杨能俊, p=Yáng Néngjùn) was a Communist Chinese revolutionary and general 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 ...

. He was the Deputy Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army from 1954 to 1965 and 1974–1980. He was named Acting Chief of General Staff in 1966 after

Luo Ruiqing Luo Ruiqing (; May 31, 1906 – August 3, 1978), formerly romanized as Lo Jui-ch'ing, was a People's Republic of China, Chinese army officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. As the first Ministry of Public Security ...

was purged 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 ...

. Yang was born in

Changting County (; Hakka: Tshòng-tin), also known as Tingzhou or Tingchow (), is a county in western Fujian province, People's Republic of China. With a population of 397,470 in 2020 and an area of , Changting is one of the largest counties in the province. Th ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Province of China on October 8, 1914. He died on February 14, 2004, in Beijing, at the age of 90. As deputy chief in early 1964, Yang commissioned a report which evaluated how prepared the national economy was for a sudden attack by foreign foes. The report evaluated the distribution of Chinese industry, noted that they were primarily concentrated in 14 major coastal cities which were vulnerable to nuclear attack or air raids, and recommended that the General Staff research measures to guard against a sudden attack. The report was issued on April 25, 1964, and read by

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 ...

the next month. This evaluation prompted Mao to advocate for the creation of a heavy industrial zone as a safe haven for retreat in the event of foreign invasion during State Planning Meetings, consistent with his view of the necessity for building constructing the Third Front. In March 1968,

Lin Biao Lin Biao ( zh, 林彪; 5 December 1907 – 13 September 1971) was a Chinese politician and Marshal of the People's Republic of China who was pivotal in the Chinese Communist Party, Communist Chinese Communist Revolution, victory during the Chines ...

and the rest of the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

accused Yang, Yu Lijian (second secretary of the Party Committee of the Air Force), and Fu Chongbi (commander of the Beijing garrison) of "overturning the case of the February Countercurrent." This event became known as the "Yang, Yu, Fu Incident." Based on allegations later deemed by the Party to be false, the Gang of Four and their allies contended that Yang, Yu, and Fu sought to had sought to seize power with respect to the air force and the Beijing garrison. Yang, Yu, and Fu were persecuted and some of their allies attacked and even killed. In March 1979, the Central Committee issued a Notice of Open Rehabilitation and repudiated the allegations made by the Gang of Four during the "Yang, Yu, Fu Incident." The Central Committee resolved that the accusations were slanderous, officially restored the reputations of those targeted in the incident, and paid compensation for those who were injured or killed as a result. Yang Chengwu's son Yang Dongming is a retired lieutenant general who was appointed Deputy Commander of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

(PLAAF) in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Chengwu 1914 births 2004 deaths People from Changting County Politicians from Longyan People's Liberation Army generals from Fujian Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fujian People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian People's Liberation Army Chiefs of General Staff Hakka generals 20th-century Chinese generals Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery Members of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party