Chen Yi (1901-1972)

Outstanding proletarian revolutionary, politician, statesman, military leader, diplomat and poet who has endured severe tests throughout his career; one of the founders and leaders of the People's Liberation Army, awarded by the People's Republic of China the military rank of marshal since 1955; one of the founding outstanding leaders of the Party and the State. Chen Yi was also named Shijun and his secondary personal name was Zhonghong. He was born in Le Zhi County, Sichuan Province. He went to France for a work-study program in 1919. In October 1921, he was deported to outside France for participating in the patriotic movement of Chinese students in France and 102 others were expelled from France.

He joined the Chinese Socialist Youth League in 1922. He became a member of the CPC in November 1923.

In 1924, he served as the Secretary of the League of Beijing Student Federation and representative of the CPC in the Beijing Municipal Party Committee of the KMT. Between 1924 and 1925, he served as the Secretary of the Xishan Branch (Sino-French University) of the CPC, in Beijing. In 1926, he was sent to Sichuan to engage in revolutionary activities as part of the Northern Expedition that started in 1926. He became the Secretary of the CPC Party Committee of Wuhan Central Military and Political Academy in 1927. During the August 1st Nanchang Uprising, he joined the uprising army forces in Linchuan, Jiangxi Province, under the command of Zhu De and Chen Yi, the army moved to the borders of Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Hunan and took part in the uprising in southern Hunan with a remaining regiment of 800 people; later and served as the Party Committee leader of the 73rd Brigade of the 25th Division.

In January 1928, he participated in leading the Xiangnan (South Hunan) Uprising and served as the Party Committee leader of the First Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasant’s Revolutionary Army. Since April 1928, he served as director of the political department and commander of the 12th division of the Fourth Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army (later renamed the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army). In May 1928, he served as the secretary of the Military Commission of the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and as the member of the special CPC committee of the Hunan-Jiangxi border area. After marching into the west of Fujian Province in March 1929, the army was re-organized into three divisions and he served as the Party leader of the First Division concurrently. Between February to June 1930, he served as the political commissar of the sixth Red Army, in June 1930 he was appointed as the political commissar of the Red Army; In July 1930, he began to serve as the military commander and political commissar of the 22nd Red Army, and in October became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Soviet Republic at Ruijin in Jiangxi Province. Between January and June 1931, he served as the Secretary of the CPC Special Committee for Southwest Jiangxi, and from June to August, as the Secretary of the county Party Committee of the Xingguo, and in November 1931, he served as the Standing Committee member of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the CPC.

In November 1931 and February 1934, he was successively elected as the member of the First and Second Central Executive Committees of the Chinese Soviet Republic. Between January 1932 and August 1934, he was the Chief-Commander of the general headquarters of Jiangxi Military Region (command), during that period, he concurrently served as the Political Commissar since 1932. In 1934, he was elected as the member of the Central Executive Committee of the Central Workers' and Peasants' Democratic Govermment at the First and Second National Congresses of Workers' and Peasants' Representatives. He took part in three years of guerrilla warfare in the South China, after the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army began its Long March. During this period, he served as a member of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area of the CPC and director of the Southern Branch of the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic. Between December 1936 and July 1937, he was a member of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic and Director of the Southern Branch of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic of China. After the full-fledged outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War’s Aggression, he participated in the formation of the New Fourth Army. Between December 1937 and April 1941, he was a member and Deputy Secretary of the New Fourth Army Branch of the Central Military Commission of the CPC. Between December 1937 and October 1938, he served as the member of the Southeast Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

In January 1938, he was appointed as the Chief-commander of the First Division of the New Fourth Army. Between November 1938 and May 1941, he served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Southeast Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. In 1939, he assumed the military command of Jiangnan Headquarters of the New Fourth Army (later changed to Northern Jiangsu Headquarters). Since November 1940, he became a member of the Central Plains Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC, acting Chief-commander and Deputy Commander in chief of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army of Central China respectively. And he was served as the President and the Political Commissar of the Fifth branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. He was appointed as the acting commander of the New Fourth Army after the South Anhui Incident in January 1941. Between April 1941 to August 1945, he served as a member and acting Secretary of the Central China Bureau of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee (since April 1942). In May 1941, he became a member of Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. From October 1941 to the early days of 1943, he served as the President and Political Commissar of Huazhong Branch of Anti-Japanese Military and Political University.

In May 1942, he became acting Secretary of Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, in August 1945, became a member of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee; Deputy Secretary of the Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee; Chief-commander of the New Fourth Army and the Chief-commander of the Shandong Military Region. In January 1947, Chen Yi served as the Chief-Commander of East China Military Region, Commander and Political Commissar of East China Field Army. In May 1948, he began to serve as the Second Secretary of the Central Plains Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; the First Deputy Chief-commander of the Central Plains Military Region and the Central Plains Field Army (In this period he continued his duties in the East China Bureau and in the East China Field Army). In November 1948, he was a member of the General Front Committee of the Huaihai Campaign. In February 1949, he was appointed as the Chief-Commander and Political Commissar of the Third Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Since May 1949, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee of the CPC and Mayor of Shanghai and in July 1949, he was appointed as President and Political Commissar of the East China Military and Political University. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as a Council member to form the Central People's Government Council, a member and the Vice-Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government, and as a member of the East China Military and Political Commission. Between October 1949 and November 1954, he served as the Second Secretary of the East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC, Chen Yi served as the mayor of Shanghai between October 1949 to November 1958, and between January 1950 to October 1954, and he served the first Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Since September 1954, he served as Vice Premier of the State Council and was consecutively re-elected in April 1959 and in January 1965. In December 1954, he was elected as Standing Committee Member of the Second National Committee of the CPPCC. He served as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee from September 1956 to April 1969. Since February 1958 to January 1972, he served concurrently as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as the Secretary of the Leading Party Group and the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since March 1958 to June 1970, he served as the director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the State Council. In April 1959 and January 1965, he was successively elected as the Vice-Chairmen of the Third and Fourth National Committees of the CPPCC. He was elected as the member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the CPC in September 1959. Between 1961 to 1969, he served concurrently as the President of the China Foreign Affairs University. In January 1966, he was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the CPC. He was coarsely critized during the “Cultural Revolution” and was dropped from the Political Bureau at the Ninth Congress of the CPC in 1969. He served as Vice-Chairmen of the First, Second and Third National Defense Commissions. He was granted the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China in September 1955. He was member of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Central Committees and member of the Eighth Political Bureau of the Eighth Central Committee of the CPC. He died in Beijing on January 6, 1972.