Tian Xing Jian: General of the People's Liberation Army, Lü Zhengcao

Author: Fang Xiaoning
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: It's not how long one lives, but how much one accomplishes. — Lu Zhengcao
Vow: Wouldn't dance again until the Japanese invaders were driven out. Witnessed the Xi'an Incident alongside Zhang Xueliang; fought in the Anti-Japanese War for 14 years, fired over 300,000 rounds of ammunition alone; built railways through countless hardships, expanding the territory; oversaw the million-man military reduction, bringing an end to the Railway Corps; entrusted with a mission, crossed the ocean, and reunited with Zhang Xueliang; from Snow's astonishment to the national team winning Olympic gold; longevity secret: 3+1. The only marshal of the People's Republic of China to be recorded in the world's authoritative military compendium.
Lu Zhengcao (1905-), born in Haicheng County, Liaoning Province, joined the Northeast Army in 1922 and entered the Northeast Military Academy the following year. After graduation, he served as a company commander, battalion commander, and deputy major of the Northeast Army, director of the Shenyang Tongze Club, chief of staff of the 116th Division of the 53rd Army, and commander of the 647th and 696th Regiments. In 1936, he became the commander of the Northeast Armed Anti-Japanese Salvation Advanced Corps. In May 1937, he joined the Communist Party of China. During the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the commander of the Hezhong People's Self-Defense Army, the commander of the Third Column of the Eighth Route Army and the commander of the Hezhong Military Region, the director of the Hezhong Administrative Office, the deputy commander of the Hezhong Regional Command, the commander of the Jin-Sui Military Region, and a member of the Jin-Sui Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. During the War of Liberation, he served as the deputy commander of the Northeast Democratic and the commander of the Western Manchurian Military Region, the deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region and the director of the Northeast Railway General Bureau, the minister of railways in the Northeast People's Government, a member of the Northeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the deputy minister of railways in the Military Commission of the Central Committee and the deputy commander of the Railway Corps.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the deputy minister and acting minister of railways in the Central People's Government, the commander of the Military Transport Command of the Central Military Commission, the minister of Military Transportation in the General Staff Department, and the political commissar of the Railway Corps of the People's Liberation Army. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of marshal. He was a member of the Defense Committee of the , the second and third sessions of the National People's Congress, the second and third standing committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the vice chairman of the sixth session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in the seventh session, and a member of the Central Committee in the eighth and eleventh sessions. At the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, he was elected as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Central Committee. Like many of the founding marshals, Lu served in both battles and construction, striving tirelessly to ensure the Chinese nation stood tall in the world. He possessed the three great emotions spoken of by French philosopher Bertrand Russell: the longing for love, the pursuit of knowledge, and the compassion for human suffering. Even more admirable was his courage to "search high and low, though ready to die nine times, never regretting," coupled with his ability to "not rejoice at others' success or grieve for one's own misfortune." His long and authentic years of hardship were inseparable from China's progress and his personal character.