Ye Ting Legend

Author: Liu Zhanying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Ye Ting (1896.9.10～1946.4.8), founder of the People's Liberation Army of China and leader of the New Fourth Army, military strategist. Originally named Xun, styled Xiying. Born into a peasant family in Zhoutian Village, Guishan (now Huaiyang), Guangdong Province. At the age of 7, he entered the primary school in his hometown. In 1911, he enrolled in Huizhou Prefecture's Sericulture School. He was arrested for cutting off his queue in opposition to the Qing Dynasty and for supporting the Huanggang Uprising in Guangzhou, but was released and transferred to Huizhou Prefecture's secondary school. In October of the same year, inspired by the Wuchang Uprising, he resolved to pursue a military path to save the nation and studied at Guangdong Military Primary School, Hubei Military Second Reserve School, and Baoding Military Academy. During his studies, he diligently pursued military courses, actively participated in the struggle against Yuan Shikai's restoration of monarchy, and widely read progressive publications, exploring philosophy, social politics, and more. In winter 1918, he graduated from Baoding Military Academy and, in early 1919, joined Sun Yat-sen's "Fujian Aid" Guangdong Army in Zhangzhou, Fujian, serving as an adjutant in the First Brigade and joining the Chinese Nationalist Party in the same year. In August 1920, he returned with the Guangdong Army to Guangdong and participated in the campaign to drive out the Guangxi warlord Lu Rongting. Later, he served as a second lieutenant, a staff officer in the engineering battalion, and the commander of the second battalion of the security unit in Sun Yat-sen's National Military Council. In June 1922, when the Guangdong Army commander Chen Jiongming rebelled, he was ordered to defend the front courtyard of Sun Yat-sen's presidential palace, engaging in fierce battles all day to protect Sun Yat-sen's wife, Song Qingling, and others from danger. In October 1924, after the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party of China formed an alliance, he was sent to Moscow, Russia, and studied at the Oriental Laborer Communist University and the Chinese class of the Red Army School. In October of the same year, he joined the Communist Youth League of China, and on December 1, he transferred to the Communist Party of China. In September 1925, he returned to Guangzhou and served as the chief of staff of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, participating in the second eastern expedition against the warlord Chen Jiongming. During the Northern Expedition, he was known for his strategic brilliance and numerous military achievements, earning him the title of "Northern Expedition Famous General," and his unit was called the "Ye Ting Independent Brigade," which played a significant role in earning the Fourth Army the nickname "Iron Army." After the Northern Expedition forces captured Wuhan, he was promoted to deputy commander of the 25th Division of the Fourth Army and commander of the 24th Division of the Eleventh Army. In July 1927, when Chiang Kai-shek launched a counter-revolutionary coup, ordering Xia Douyin and Yang Sen to attack Wuhan, he was given the urgent task of organizing the remaining forces in Wuhan to counter the rebels. After three days of fierce fighting, from Zhangfang Town to Tingxi Bridge, he defeated the rebels, ensuring the safety of Wuhan, the revolutionary center. In late July of the same year, he became a member of the Central Committee's Front Committee. On August 1, he joined Zhou Enlai, He Long, Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, and others in leading the Nanchang Uprising. After the failure of the Guangzhou Uprising, he became depressed due to criticism from the "Leftist" leadership within the party and the indifference of some from the Comintern, left for Europe, and severed ties with the Communist Party of China. After the "September 18th Incident" in 1931, he returned to Macau, eager to participate in the anti-Japanese resistance. In 1933, at the invitation of the generals of the 19th Route Army of the Nationalist Party, he joined anti-Japanese and anti-Guomindang activities in Fujian. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he supported the Kuomintang-Communist cooperation to resist Japan and actively participated in the transformation of the Red Army guerrilla units in eight southern provinces into the New Fourth Army, becoming its commander. In October 1937, he was summoned to Yan'an to meet with Mao Zedong, the leader of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and fully accepted its leadership, vowing to fight the war to the end. In 1938, he joined Xiang Ying, the secretary of the Southeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (later the Southeast Bureau) and deputy commander of the New Fourth Army, in leading the troops to advance into the rear areas of the enemy in Central China and conduct guerrilla warfare, establishing anti-Japanese bases. In November 1940, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to appoint him as the commander of the joint headquarters of the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army in Central China, with Chen Yi as the deputy commander (before Ye Ting went north to take office, Chen Yi temporarily assumed his duties). During his tenure in the New Fourth Army, he engaged in numerous negotiations and struggles with Chiang Kai-shek and relevant authorities of the Nationalist Party over issues such as the army's structure, funding, operational areas, and relations between the two armies. At the same time, he used his influence to promote the anti-Japanese united front, raising supplies, weapons, and funds from patriotic individuals, overseas Chinese, international figures, and friends within the Nationalist Party, and mobilizing scholars, old acquaintances, and relatives to join the New Fourth Army to strengthen the anti-Japanese forces. In January 1941, the Chiang Kai-shek clique of the Nationalist Party launched the second anti-communist campaign,ing the shocking and far-reaching Anhui South Incident. When his troops were surrounded by heavy forces of the Nationalist Party, and with the main leaders of the New Fourth Army, Xiang Ying, vacillating and temporarily abandoning leadership, he remained fearless under the dire circumstances, following the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to command the troops in a desperate breakout, fighting bravely for eight days. However, due to being outnumbered, the troops ran out of ammunition and supplies, with only over 2,000 people breaking through the encirclement, while the majority were scattered, killed, or captured. He himself was detained while negotiating with the Nationalist Party forces and was later transferred to prisons in Shangrao, Guilin, Chongqing, and Enshi, where he was held for five years and two months. Despite the threats and temptations from Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, and Gu Zhutong, he refused firmly and remained unyielding. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he was rescued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and released on March 4, 1946. On April 8, he traveled from Chongqing to Yan'an to attend a meeting but died in a plane crash en route in Heiye Mountain, Xing County, Shanxi. His remains were buried in the "April 8th Martyrs" Cemetery in Yan'an. His posthumous works include "The Failure from Nanchang Uprising to Chaoshan" and "The Nature and Characteristics of Modern Warfare and Command."