Biography of Ye Jianying

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: Born on April 28, 1897, originally named Ye Yiwei, styled Cangbai. He was from Meixian County, Guangdong Province. In 1917, he entered the Yunnan Military Academy. He participated in the establishment of the Whampoa Military Academy and served as the Deputy Director of the Teaching Department. In 1926, he became the Commander of the New Second Division of the National Revolutionary Army and later the Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army. In 1927, he joined the Communist Party of China. In December 1927, he led his teaching unit to participate in the Guangzhou Uprising and served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Military Command Headquarters. In 1928, he went to Moscow for studies. He returned to China in 1930. In 1931, he arrived in the Central Revolutionary Base Area of Jiangxi and held successive positions, including Member of the Central Revolutionary Military Committee of the Chinese Soviet Republic and Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Red Army First Front, Chief of Staff of the Northwest Military Commission and Chief of Staff of the Red Army First Front, President of the Red Army Military School, Commander of the Ruijin Garrison, Commander of the Fujian-Jiangxi Military Region, and Commander of Fujian Military Region. He participated in the Long March and served as the Commander of the First Column and Chief of Staff of the Front Command Headquarters. After arriving in Shaanxi, he participated in the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Eighth Route Army and worked with Zhou Enlai on united front work in the Guomindang-controlled areas. In February 1941, he became the Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission. During the War of Liberation, he held successive positions, including President of the North China Military and Political University, Chief of Staff of the Eighteenth Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army, Director of the Military Control Commission of Beijing, and Mayor of Beijing. In 1946, he became the Chief Chinese Representative of the Military Mediation Commission in Beijing. From December 1948 to August 1949, he served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he held successive positions, including Commander and Political Commissar of the Guangdong Military Region, Director of the Military Control Commission of Guangzhou, Mayor and Secretary of the Municipal Committee of Guangzhou, Commander and Political Commissar of the South China Military Region, Deputy Commander and Acting Commander of the Central Military Commission, and Acting Secretary of the Central Committee of the Central South Region. In October 1949, he was elected as a member of the Council of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association, a member of the Committee on Overseas Chinese Affairs of the Central People's Government, and a member of the Committee on People's Revolutionary Military Affairs of the Central People's Government. From December 1949 to January 1953, he served as the Vice Chairman of the Central South Military and Political Commission. In April 1950, he became the Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government. From September 1950 to July 1954, he served as the Director of the Financial and Economic Commission of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government (). In January 1953, he became the Vice Chairman of the Central South Administrative Commission. In June 1954, he became the Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government. In September 1954, he became the Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission. In November 1954, he became the Minister of the Military Affairs Supervision Department of the People's Liberation Army. In March 1958, he became the President and Political Commissar of the Military Academy of Sciences. In April 1959 and January 1965, he served as the Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission. In January 1965, he was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In January 1975, he became the Minister of National Defense. In March 1978, he was elected as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress (resigned in 1983). In September 1982, he became the Vice Chairman of the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In June 1983, he became the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China. He also served as the Honorary Chairman of the China Fishing Association, a member of the Eighth Central Political Committee and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, a member of the Ninth Central Political Committee, and the Vice Chairman of the Tenth and Eleventh Central Committees, as well as a Standing Committee Member of the Twelfth Central Political Committee. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in the Seventh National Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth National Congresses, and a representative of the People's Liberation Army in the Fourth National People's Congress. This book was approved for establishment by the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, organized and compiled by the Military Academy of Sciences, and after more than ten years of effort, it recorded 56 recollections of Ye Jiangyin during his lifetime, reviewed historical materials from more than 100 archives both within and outside the military, and interviewed nearly a thousand people, based on a wealth of first-hand materials to recreate the glorious history and legendary life of the respected Marshal Ye Jianying. The manuscript was reviewed and approved by the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Research Office of the Central Committee. Deng Xiaoping wrote the title for this book. Ye Jianying was a great military strategist and a revolutionary of the working class who made great contributions to the revolutionary cause of our country. So, how did this great military strategist embark on the path of revolution? The compilers of this book spent more than ten years of effort, recorded 56 recollections of Ye Jiangyin during his lifetime, reviewed historical materials from more than 100 archives both within and outside the military, and interviewed nearly a thousand people, based on a wealth of first-hand materials to recreate the glorious history and legendary life of the respected Marshal Ye Jianying.