FIFTY YEARS OF* THE CHII\ESE PEOI}LE'S LIBERATIOI\ ARMY FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS PEKING First Eriition 1978 CONTENTS PUBLISHER's NOTE SPEECH AT THE RALLY CELEBRATING THE SOTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE CHI- PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY The Chinese People's Liberation Army is the peo- NESE by Yeh Chien-Ying GREAT VICTORY FOR CTIAIRMAN MAO'S GUIDELINES ON WAR In Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary -of the Founding of the Chinese People's Liberation ArmY by Su Yu l-8 appeared in the press. Here we present in transla- YEARS tion some of the main articles, including the fu1l text FIFTY GI-ORIOUS AND MILITANT of Highlights in the History of the Chinese of a speech by Yeh Chien-ying, Vice-Chairman - the Central Committee of the Communist Party of People's Liberation ArmY China, Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission by the War History Department of the Academy o'f Military Science of the CPLA 47 of the C.P.C. Central Committee and Minister of observe the National Defence, at a Feking rally to IN MEMORY OF COMRADE CHU TEH occasion. by the Theoretical Group of the Headquarters of the General Staff of the CPLA 71 A LOYAL FIGHTER, A GLORIOUS LIFE In Memory of Comrade Ho Lung - by Wang Chen 99 A MAN OPEN AND ABOVE_BOARD, A REVOLU- TIONARY.ALL HIS LIFE In Memory of Comrade Chen Yi - by Tan Chen-lin and Su Yu 120 Printetl in the People's Republic of China LO JITNG-HUAI{ A CONIRADE LOYAL TO CHAIRNIAN lvtAo THROUGH- THE YEARS by the Theoretical Group of the General Political Departittent of the CPLA 111 COMRADE YE}I TING INDOMITABLE PEOPI-E'S SPEECI.I AT THE RAI-LY CELEBRATING TI"IE sOTH FIGHTER - AhINIIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDI?{G OF T!{E by the Theoretical Group of the Academy of Military EHINESE PEOPLE'S tIBERATICII{ ARMY Science of the CPL.{ 151 by Yeh Chien-ying FANG CHIH-MIN, HEROIC MARTYR by the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution 162 Comrades: LIU CHIH-TAN A COMRADE LOYAL TO THE P.A.H,TY It is now 50 5,ssp. since the birth of the Chinese Peo- AND THE COUNTRY- ple's Liberation Army, founded and nurtured by our great by the Party and Revolutionary Committees of Chihtan leader and teacher Chairman Mao Tsetung. We are County, Shensi Plovince 1?0 overjoyed today as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of ollr army's foi-rnding at a time when we are cheering the great victory of our Farty's 11th two-line struggle. With the spread of Marxism-Leninism in China in i919, the founding of the Communist Farty of China in 192L and the birth of the people's arrny under Communist Party leadership in 7927, the Chinese people took their destiny into thelr own hands. The Chinese nation's centuries-long history of untold suffering was nearing its end; a new China was davr'ning, a China of which count- J.ess peoptre r,vith lofty ideas had long dreamed and for whose sake they laid down their lives. The Nanchang Uprising of August 7, 1927 signalled the beginning of armed revolution led independently b;z the Chinese Communist Party. trt fired the first shot against the Kuomintang reactionaries and raised the bright banner of armed sti:uggle for the vrhole Party and the people throughout the country. However, it r,vas the Autumn Harvest Uprising and the march to the Ching- and Yeh Ting,* ancl Fang Chih-min,** Liu Chih-tan*** kang Mountains under the personal charge of Chairman and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older genera- Mao that brought this uprising to fruition and marked tion who made outstanding contributions to founding and the great beginning of victory in the people's armed rev- expanding our armY! olution. Chairman Mao founded the first contingent of Eternal glory to the cornrades who laid down their the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and estabiished lives in the Nanchang Uprising, the Autumn Harvest the first rural revolutionary base area. This new path Uprising, the Cantont Uprising and the uprisings in many blazed by him, the encirclement of the cities from the other areas, to the martyrs who died heroically in the countryside and the seizure of political power by arrned Chinese people's war of liberation and the people's rev- force, was a great innovation in the history of proletarian olution I Eternal glory to Comrade Norman Bethune and revolution. many other internationalist fighters who laid down their Vivid yet those erowded rnonths and years.* The young lives for the Chinese people's revolutionary cause. people of 50 years ago are rrow grey-haired. And many Comrades: who led the revolution at that time have passed away. The history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army cause fought all But the revolutionary for which they in its 50 years has been a magnificent epic of victories their lives has yielded rich results. won under the great banner of Chairman Mao over great leader We infinitely cherish the memory of our powerful enemies both at home and abroad; it is also a and teacher Chairman Mao Tsetung, the for-rnder of our history of the victory of Chairman Mao's correct political army and our Feople's Republic! Party, our and military line over "Left" and Right opportunist lines. We infinitely cherish the memory of our esteemed and A fundamental issue in our Party's struggles from Premier Chou En-lai, Chairman Chu Teh of the - beloved those against Chen Tu-hsiu, Wang Ming and Chang Kuo- Standing Committee of the National Feople's Congress, tao to those against Peng Teh-huai, Liu Shao-chi, Lin and Vice-Chairman Kang Sheng of the Party Central Fiao and the Wang-Chang-Chiang-Yao "gang qf feur"" Committee, who dedicated their lives to the Chinese peo- - has been whether to wage armed struggle and whether to ple's revolutionary cause; our esteemed and beloved Vice- have an army placed under the absolute leadership of Chairman of the N.P.C. Standing Committee, Tung Fi-wu, the Party, an army which always maintains its proletarian who together with Chairman Mao was a founder of our character. Party; and Comrades Ho Lung, Chen Yi, Lo Jung-huan * See article on pp. 151-61. * From Chairman Mao's poem, "Changsha to the tune of - ** See artictre on pp. 162-69. Chi,n Yuan Chun." x*x A1l words appearing in boldface type in this book are quota- See article on pp. 170-75. tions from Chairman Mao unless noted otherwise. t Now generally transliterated as Kwangchow. , Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the revolution in 7927 and where reactionary rule was weak, and encircling the plunged the workers and peasants in a bloodbath. Was cities from the rural areas, and finally taking the cities there hope for the Chinese revolution? And 'whither and seizing political power throughor.rt the country. should it go? These were grave questions facing the This brilliant concept of Chairman Mao was decisive Communist Party of China and the Chinese people. for the victory of the Chinese revolution. It opposed both Chairman Mao set forth the famous thesis that "political Chen Tu-hsiu's Right capitulationism and "Left" ad- power grows out of the barrel of a gun." The enemy venturism. The lines of Chu Chiu-pai, Li Li-san and resorted to White teri'or in their determination to an- Wang Ming all proved impractical and ended in defeat. nihilate us. Why shouldn't we resolve to annihilate them? The way indicated by Chairman Mao proved the only The enemy could kill us because they had swords and correct one Ieading to victory. guns in their hands. Why couldn't we seize arms from A single spark can start a prairie fire. With the pro- the enemy or make them oi.lrselves? Guided by Macr Ietarian vanguard, the Communist Party, as the leader, Tsetung Thought, the Cornmunists and revolutionary the vast expanse of the countryside as base and the peas- masses took up arms and went to the mountains or lakes, ants as the main force, an agrarian revolution was carried using armed revolution against armed counter-revolution. out, an army was formed, cadres were trained and polit- As Chairman Mao pointed out: "ffaving learned a bitter ical power was established. These conditions made it lesson from the failure of the revolution, the Farty or- possible for revolutionary base areas to grow in both ganized the Nanchang Uprising, the Autumn trIarvest size and numbers by advancing wave upon wave. The Uprising and the Canton Uprising, and entered on a new prolonged revolutionary wars were thus sustained, the period, the founding of the Red Army. That was the people's arrny developed and grew in strength while the crucial period in which our Party arrived at a thorough enemy was gradually weakened and finally annihilated. understanding of the irnportance of the army." It was precisely by following this course charted by Making a scientific, Marxist anaiysis of the balance of Chairman Mao that the Chinese people created the Peo- forces between the enemy and ourselves, the contradic- ple's Republic of China out of the barrel of a gun after tions between the imperialist powers and between the 22 years of revolutionary war. The victory of the revolu- various cliques of warlords in China and the uneven tion in a large country of several hundred million people political and economic development of contemporary changed the situation in the East and the world as a Chinese society, Chairman Mao foresaw the protracteil whole.