Marshal Peng Dehuai (1898 – 1974)(彭德怀 Peng Teh-Huai)

Marshal Peng Dehuai (1898 – 1974)

(彭德怀 Peng Teh-Huai)

This photo is of Peng Dehuai who helped Mao build the Red Army. Many people said that without Peng Dehuai’s support Mao could not have risen to power.

Marshal Peng Dehuai (1898-1974) was born at Xaingtang town, Hunan province, China. His family were farmers and very poor. He attended school for just two years. When he was just ten years old his family couldn’t support him any more and he was forced to become a cowherd for the local landowner. His life was very hard.

In March 1916, he joined Hunan’s army as a common soldier. He showed great courage in battle. In only a few years he was promoted to company commander. In Augest 1922, he attended the Hunan army officer training college. A year later, after he had finished college, he went back to the Hunan army which was engaged in the famous northern expedition war. Peng Dehuai rose to the rank of colonel in this time. In 1922 he joined the Chinese Communist Party.

From 1922 to 1928 he remained in Jiang Jiesi’s army as a spy. On the 22th February 1928, Peng Dehuai’s took the men under his command from Jiang Jiesi’s army to join Mao at Jing Gang Shan. There he built the fifth red army. It was with Peng Dehuai’s support Mao was able to build the Red Army into such a powerful fighting force. By 1930, the Red Army was based in ten towns. Peng was recognized as a master strategist by this time.

Mao valued Peng’s support highly and he wrote a poem eulogizing him:

Mountain too high, road too far, hole too deep,

Army with great ease, go anywhere,

who dares scythe his falchion, stand up in the horse,

Just my Peng General.

From this poem, you can see how brave Peng Deihuai was. The image is of a strong man, riding his horse at full gallop while standing up on the saddle and brandishing his sword (falchion).

During the years of the Japanese invasion Jiang Jiesi and Mao agreed to stop fighting each other and join together to fight the Japanese. The Red Army changed its name to the Ba Lu army. General Peng Dehuai was appointed second in command of the Ba Lu army.

In that role he spent most of his time fighting in northwest. His army won many battles so that everyone came to know Peng Dehuai. After the Japanese had been defeated the red army and Jiang Jiesi’s resumed fighting. Peng Dehuai led the northwest campaign where he had accumulated much strength during the Japanese campaing. It was with Peng Dehauai’s help that Mao defeated Jiang Jiesi and seized power in 1949.

Peng help Mao build the New China. In 1950, Peng supported Mao again by going to fight in Korea against America. People say that without Peng’s support Mao could not have made the new China.

In the summer of 1959 the Chinese Communist Party had a meeting at Lu Mountain. Peng Dehuai disagreed with Mao’s policy of the ‘Great Leap Forward’. Mao had proposed that the whole country stop everything and just concentrate on making steel. To this end, Mao had ordered that all the trees in China be cut down so that all the land could become productive. Peng realized that this was not possible and would lead to disaster, which it did. After this meeting he sent a letter to Mao in which he told him about his thinking. He asked Mao to think clearly and re-consider. However, by that time Mao couldn’t hear anything. In particular he could not hear when someone disagree with him. Mao made a decision.

He stripped Peng Dehuai of his rank of Marshal in the Red Army and threw him out of the Communist Party. However Peng steadfastly maintained that he was right. That he had never done anything wrong against the Chinese Communist Party. Mao threw Peng into prison where he stayed until his death in 1974.

While he was in prison they never let Peng Dehuai rest. He had to attend many meetings at the universities where he was forced to hear about his crimes against the Chinese Communist Party. BUT, Peng never agreed and stood firm.

So, after 1966, after the students were given power by Mao, the Hongweibin hit him often at these meetings, one time breaking his ribs. In June 1967 the Hongweibin bought his wife, Pu Anxiu, to his prison cell. Peng hadn’t see his wife for two years. The Hongweibin started to beat his wife in front of him. Peng was in anguish and begged, “don’t hit her, hit me please!”

On the 29th November 1974, Peng Dehuai died in the prison.

In was not until 1978, when Deng Xiaoping became Chinese Communist Party leader, that Peng Dehuai was exonerated. The Chinese government held a special meeting to mourn for Peng Dehuai. All the Beijing government officers came and Deng Xiaoping delivered the eulogy, praising Peng De Huai. In it Peng’s contribution to China and the Chinese Communist Party was at last recognised.

 

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