Xiao Jinguang

Xiao Jinguang (Former name Xiao Yucheng 萧玉成 Nickname: Man Ge 满哥) (January 4, 1903 – March 29, 1989) was a revolutionary and military leader, one of the main leaders of the Red Army and the People's Liberation Army, and one of the ten senior flag officers of the PLA and the only Fleet Admiral in PLA Navy history.

In 1917 Xiao was admitted to the Changsha Changjun High School.

In 1919, influenced by the May Fourth Movement, Xiao and his classmates joined strikes, parades, and the boycott of Japanese goods.

In 1920, Xiao joined the Research Society of Russia with his friend Ren Bishi, and listened to the speeches of famous social activists in Hunan including Mao Zedong and He Shuheng.

In August, Xiao and Ren joined the "Foreign Language Society", established by the Shanghai Communist Group for the young to study in Russia.

They went to the Communist University of the Toilers of the East in 1921, and became members of the first Chinese students' group of the university, where they studied Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto, Vladimir Lenin's Youth League, and Nikolai Bukharin's Communism ABC.

Xiao became a Communist Party member in 1922.

Two years later, he returned to China and engaged in the workers' movement.

In 1926, Xiao was officially appointed as the representative of the Sixth Division of the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army, awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and participated in the Northern Expedition.

In 1927, Xiao married Zhu Zhongzhi (朱仲芷) in Wuhan.

In September of the same year, Xiao was sent to the Soviet Union to study strategics.

After returning to China in 1930, Xiao took up the post of Chief of Staff and Director of the Political Department of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi Military Region and participated in the Counter-Campaign against "Encirclement and Suppression".

In 1931, Xiao was appointed Political commissar of the fifth corps of the Central Red Army, responsible for its strengthening and transforming it.

In 1933, as the Commander of Fujian and Jiangxi Provincial Military District, Xiao was defeated in a battle in Huchuan (浒川), Jiangxi.

The leaders of "Leftism" Wang Ming blamed Xiao for losing Lichuan (黎川) to the enemy, expelled him from CCP and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment.

Fortunately, due to the effort of Mao Zedong and others, Xiao Jinguang was released to the Red Army University as a teacher and participated in the Long March with the Central Red Army.

Owing to Xiao's contribution in defending the security of the Central Committee of Party, during the Zunyi Conference, the Party Central Committee corrected the erroneous treatment of Xiao Jinguang.

Xiao was soon appointed Chief of Staff of the third corps of the First Red Army.

In 1935, the three armies converged in Shaanxi which meant the victory of the Long March.

Xiao, as the Commander of Shaanxi and Gansu Military District, continued to consolidate the communists' base area.

In March 1937, Xiao Jinguang was transferred to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission in Yan'an, where Xiao worked a full eight years.

On July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident triggered the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Xiao attended the Luochuan Meeting from August 22 to 25.

For the defense of the location of the CPC Central Committee—the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, the Central Military Commission set up in border area stay forces and also the Eighth Route Army Rear Headquearters for the unified command, and Xiao was appointed director.

In the meantime, Xiao eliminated the bandits to defend the Party Central Committee, to consolidate and expand the stay forces.

In August 1938, the Eighth Route Army Rear Headquearters was renamed the Eighth Route Army Stay Corps, Xiao was appointed commander (concurrently political commissar later).

Under the command of the Xiao, Stay Corps defensing the River (the Yellow River) operated more than 70 combats against the Japanese armies, giving the enemy a heavy blow, successfully defended the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region."

Throughout the whole stage of The Second Sino-Japanese War, out of the class nature, the Kuomintang diehards fought negatively Japanese and opposed positively communist.

In and near the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, they never stopped the manufacturing of friction events.

In the struggle against frictions, Xiao was very particular about the policies and strategies taken to distinguish between the attitudes towards the Kuomintang diehards and centrists: struggling resolutely against the diehards who specializes in the manufacture of frictions, and gaining actively over those Kuomintang generals who had the friendly centrist attitude on certain issues." In the meantime, in the face of the Kuomintang's economic blockade, Xiao led the broad officers of Stay Corps, with masses and soldiers in the border areas, to launch the great production campaign which made Nanniwan "a good Jiangnan" in northern Shanxi (the Song "Nanniwan" is an apt reflection of this situation). Mao Zedong once said humorously: "I have told you that in Yan'an, we eat by relying on you Xiao!" In the Yan'an Rectification Movement from 1941 to 1945, Xiao strengthened the learning and the research in military theories and published "Guerrilla Warfare Guiding Essentials", "Close Combat Tactics" and other articles.

In May 1942, Stay Corps was attached to the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shanxi-Suiyuan United Defence Army.

On September 15, Stay Corps Command and United Defence Army Command merged, while the name of stay Corps Command was retained.

In May 1945, Xiao attended the Party's Seventh National People's Congress, and was elected the alternate CPC member."

After Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, Xiao Jinguang transferred to the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Staff of the Shandong Military Area.

On arriving in Henan, Xiao received a telegram of the CPC Central Committee, and then went to Shenyang, took up the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Staff of " the General Headquarters of the Northeast People's Autonomous Army (soon renamed the Northeast Democratic United Forces)".

At that time, the KMT attempted to seize the Northeast.

A year’s research made Xiao quite familiar with the military formation of the Northeast.

From 1954 to 1982, Xiao served as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and from 1979 to 1983 as the Vice Chairman of the Fifth National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Xiao was born into a poor family in Shanhua County (now Changsha), Hunan province.

At the age of two, his father and grandfather died in quick succession.