Wan Haifeng

Wan Haifeng (simplified Chinese: 万海峰; traditional Chinese: 萬海峰; pinyin: Wàn Haǐfēng; 25 September 1920 – 31 March 2023) was a Chinese military general. He was awarded the military rank of general (Shangjiang) in September 1988.

Wan Haifeng
万海峰
Wan in 1955
Political Commissar of Chengdu Military Region
In office
October 1982  April 1990
Preceded byXu Liqing
Succeeded byGu Shanqing
Personal details
Born
Maotou (毛头)

(1920-09-25)25 September 1920
Guangshan County, Henan, China
Died31 March 2023(2023-03-31) (aged 102)
Political partyChinese Communist Party
SpouseZhao Zheng (1943-2019, her death)
Children4
Parent(s)Wan Tianrun
Xiao Shi
Alma materPLA National Defence University
Military service
Allegiance People's Republic of China
Branch/service People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service1933–1998
Rank General
CommandsBeijing Military Region
Chengdu Military Region
Battles/warsSecond Sino-Japanese War
Chinese Civil War
Korean War
AwardsRed Star Medal
Order of Independence and Freedom
Order of Liberation

Born in Guangshan County, Henan, Wan joined the Red Army at the age of 13 and joined the Chinese Communist Party at the age of 17. He fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War and the Korea War.

Wan was a member of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party a member of the Central Advisory Commission. He was delegate to the 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was a deputy to the 5th and 7th National People's Congress.

Biography

Wan was born Maotou (毛头) into a family of farming background in September 1920 in Guangshan County, Henan, the third child of Wan Tianrun (万田润) and Mrs. Xiao (肖氏). He had two elder sisters. His mother died when he was 3.[1]

During the Agrarian Revolutionary War (1927), he was a squad leader in the 28th Army. He participated in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Guerrilla Warfare.

In July 1933, he joined the Red Army. His superior Gao Jingting (高敬亭) named him Wan Haifeng.[2] And he enlisted in the Communist Youth League of China in 1935. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in October 1937.

In 1949, he participated in the Battle of Menglianggu, the Huaihai Campaign and the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign led by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping in eastern China.

In 1952, after the outbreak of the Korean War, the Chinese government commissioned him as a deputy division commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers. He returned to China and was awarded the military rank of senior colonel in 1955.

In 1955, Wan entered the PLA National Defence University, where he graduated in 1959. After graduation, he was appointed division commander of PLA Ground Force. In May 1972 he was promoted to become deputy commander of Beijing Military Region, and held that office until October 1975, when he was appointed deputy political commissar and a Party standing committee member. He commanded soldiers to take part in the relief work of the Tangshan Earthquake.[2] He became political commissar of Chengdu Military Region in October 1982, a position he held until April 1990. He attained the rank of general (Shangjiang) in September 1988. He retired in September 1998. Wan was also a member of Central Advisory Commission between 1987 and 1992.

On 2 September 2015, he was hired as the honorary president of Red Army School in Yichang, Hubei.[3]

Personal life

Wan met Zhao Zheng (赵政) in early 1943, when she was a surgeon.[1] Their wedding ceremony was held in October that same year. The couple had four children.[4]

Zhao Zheng died on 16 September 2019, aged 96.[5] Wan died on 31 March 2023, at the age of 102.[6]

Awards

References

  1. 传奇万海峰:抗日智多星到开国“上将” [Legendary Wan Haifeng: A brain truster in the Counter Japanese War and Founding General]. china.com.cn (in Chinese). 22 November 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. 万海峰:主动请缨去唐山抗震救灾. iFeng (in Chinese). 14 June 2011.
  3. 万海峰上将担任湖北宜昌少年红军学校荣誉校长 [General Wan Haifeng will be honorary president of Red Army School in Yichang, Hubei]. people.com.cn (in Chinese). 20 October 2011.
  4. 共盟奋勉情更浓——记万海峰上将与夫人赵政的婚姻故事 [Marriage Stories of Wan Haifeng and Zhao Zheng]. sina (in Chinese). 3 November 2003.
  5. 96岁新四军老战士、原北京军区总医院副院长赵政逝世 (in Chinese)
  6. "将星陨落!最后一位中顾委委员、原成都军区政委万海峰逝世". ifeng. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
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