The Legend of He Minxue, the Good Person Praised by Mao Zedong

Author: He Yinming, Zhong Zhaoyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Although he was a close relative of Mao Zedong, he never used his special status and position to demand any special compensation or treatment from the Party and people. He even never had a single photograph taken with Mao Zedong alone. Although he was one of the founding heroes who participated in the earliest armed uprising, established the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area, and was among the first to cross the river to liberate the entire country, he was never promoted beyond the rank of a full army commander and never held a position higher than deputy provincial level. Despite once saying during a dispute with his sister He Lize, "I have only been dragged into trouble because of you," he never relaxed his self-discipline and always adhered to the principle of "not rejoicing in one's own success and not grieving over one's own misfortunes." As a result, Mao Zedong held him in very high regard.
He Minxue (1904-1988) was a native of Yongxin County, Jiangxi Province. In his early years, he actively organized and led progressive students and peasants' movements, dedicating himself to the revolution. In March 1927, he joined the Communist Party of China and served as the deputy commander, commander, and chairman of the Yongxin Peasants' Self-Guard Army, as well as the chairman of the county revolutionary committee and the secretary of the county party committee. After the failure of the Northern Expedition, he joined his sister He Zizhen in leading troops to Jinggangshan. In 1928, he merged with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army led by Mao Zedong. During the first to fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaigns in the Central Soviet Region, he held various positions, including class leader, platoon leader, and company commander in the second regiment of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, party secretary of the 32nd Red Army, commander of the 14th Corps in the Hunan-Jiangxi Border Region, commander of the Jiangxi Soviet Union's gendarmerie detachment, party secretary and commander, chief of staff of the 23rd Army of the Red Army Front, and acting commander of the 22nd Division. After the main force of the Central Red Army began the Long March, he persisted in the three-year guerrilla war in southern China, holding positions such as section chief in the Central Military Commission and Central Military Region, chief of staff of the 71st Regiment, and commander of the guerrilla forces in the Hunan-Guangdong-Jiangxi Border Region.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as the director of the Jiangnan Office of the New Fourth Army, the commander of the Anhui-North Education Team and its party secretary, the chief of staff of the Jiangnan Advanced Corps, the president of the East China Military and Political School, the deputy education director and training director of the fifth branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and the section chief of the New Fourth Army headquarters. In August 1941, He Minxue was appointed chief of staff of the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance." Together with other leaders, he led the troops to fight in the complex environment of Xingdongtai under the advantage of the enemy. During enemy offensives, he skillfully maneuvered to exploit the enemy's weaknesses. Meanwhile, he used gaps in battles to carry out united front work among friendly forces, to weaken stubborn and puppet forces, and to mobilize the masses to establish anti-Japanese democratic governments in enemy-occupied areas.
By the end of 1942, He Minxue led the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance" forces, with the support of the third division of Suzhong, to launch a counterattack against the stubborn troops stationed in Duntou, eliminating stubborn strongholds such as Duntou and Zhoujiaduo. This victory temporarily brought relative stability to the northern border of the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance." In 1943, Japanese and puppet forces launched a large-scale "sweeping campaign" in Xingdongtai. He Minxue immediately ordered the troops to resist, inflicting casualties on some enemy and puppet forces before, to preserve combat strength, withdrawing from their base in Lijiajiao and Weiqiao to the safe area of Cao to the north. Aftering the enemy's spring "sweeping campaign," He Minxue led the troops to carry out anti-"puppetization" and anti-"encroachment" struggles. Using flexible tactics, he seized opportunities to strike the enemy, preventing the enemy from annihilating the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance" forces. Some enemy and puppet forces, under the of the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance," dared not leave their strongholds and were even afraid to stay in the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance" base area.
In early July 1943, a Japanese company and a puppet army division, with over ten armored steamboats, suddenly attacked Duntou Town. He Minxue and other leaders led the troops to bravely resist, engaging in a bloody battle at Caozhuang. After hours of fighting, they defeated the enemy's offensive and dealt them a heavy blow. After 1943, the "United Anti-Japanese Resistance" actively cooperated with the fourth division of Suzhong in anti-"clearance" and anti-"sweeping campaigns," continuously attacking and harassing enemy and puppet forces in strongholds and transportation lines. At times, they even advanced near Haian Town to set ambushes, seeking opportunities to strike the enemy, causing the enemy and puppet forces to be constantly on edge.
Later, He Minxue served as the commander of the special forces detachment of the first division, the commander of the seventh division, and the chief of staff of the command headquarters of the Su-Zhe Military Region, as well as the commander of the third division. During the War of Liberation, he served as the chief of staff of the fifth corps of the East China Field Army, the commander of the twelfth division of the fourth corps, and the deputy army commander of the twenty-seventh army of the third field army, participating in major battles such as Yuzhou, Jinan, Huaihai, the Yangtze River Crossing, and Shanghai.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he successively served as the commander and party secretary of the East China Military Region Air Defense Command, as well as the deputy commander of the Shanghai Air Defense Command. In 1952, he transferred to civilian work and held positions such as the director and party secretary of the East China Construction Engineering Bureau, the director and party secretary of the Northwest Construction Engineering Bureau, member of the standing committee of the Xi'an Municipal People's Congress, deputy governor of Fujian Province, deputy director of the fifth standing committee of the Fujian Provincial People's Congress, deputy chair of the fourth political consultative conference of Fujian Province, and the fourth secretary of the Fujian Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission. He was a member of the second, fourth, and fifth national people's congresses, a member of the fourth national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a standing committee member of the fifth and sixth national committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the seventh national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.