Xu Xiangqian (November 8, 1901 – September 21, 1990) was a Chinese Communist military leader and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was the son of a wealthy landowner, but joined the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army, against his parents' wishes, in 1924. When the Kuomintang (KMT) began to fight the Communists (CCP) in 1927, Xu left Chiang's forces and joined the Eyuwan Soviet on the borders of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui. There he became commander of the Fourth Red Army under Eyuwan's leader Zhang Guotao. When the Fourth Red Army was defeated by a Kuomintang encirclement campaign, Zhang and Xu retreated to northern Sichuan. After Zhang defected to the KMT in the late 1930s, Xu survived politically and rejoined the Red Army, in a less senior position, under the leadership of Mao Zedong.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) Xu served in several military units in Communist-controlled areas across North China, and directed the construction of several bases areas. When the Chinese Civil War resumed, in 1947, Xu was active in North China. Forces under his command were responsible for the capture of the heavily fortified city of Taiyuan in the later stages of the war, in 1949.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Xu was recognized as one of China's "Ten Marshals". He held numerous political and military positions, and survived the Cultural Revolution despite attempting to moderate some of its more destructive effects. He was an important supporter of Deng Xiaoping and his return to political power in 1976. He continued to serve in a number of political and military positions until he was forced to retire in 1985.
Early life and military career
Xu was born in Wutai County, Shanxi. He was the son of a wealthy landowner and scholar who had passed the Qing civil service examination. He attended the Taiyuan Normal College and graduated in 1923. After graduation he had a short career as school teacher, then despite his parents' objections, he joined and attended the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy in 1924. After his graduation from the academy he held various officer ranks in the National Revolutionary Army between 1925 and 1927. In 1926 he took part in Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition to recover East China from several warlords. After the campaign was successful he moved to Wuchang, where he taught at a military academy. While teaching in Wuchang he joined the Chinese Communist Party.
After the end of the Nationalist-Communist alliance in 1927 Xu went underground. He did not participate in the failed Nanchang Uprising, but led the failed Guangzhou Uprising shortly after. After that, Xu became active in the Eyuwan Soviet. In January 1931, he became the first commander of the Eyuwan Soviet's newly-established Fourth Red Army. The Fourth Red Army numbered twenty thousand soldiers when Xu took command. Later that year, the Central Committee put Zhang Guotao in charge of the Eyuwan Soviet. Zhang purged several top-level officers from the Fourth Red Army who he considered disloyal. Xu sided with Zhang, despite the fact that his wife was one of the people purged. With Ye Jianying as Xu's Chief of Staff, he helped Zhang to establish new communist bases and expanded the 4th Red Army to number 30,000 men. While under suspicion and the surveillance of Zhang's political commissars, Xu Xianqian lead the 80,000 strong 4th Front Army of the Chinese Red Army in Sichuan to victory against local warlords troops that numbered more than 300,000. Over 100,000 warlord troops were killed in conflicts with Xu's forces, and the remaining 200,000 deserted or retreated to other Nationalist-aligned areas.
In 1934 Chiang Kai-shek defeated the armies associated with Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong, forcing them to undertake the Long March. Zhang Guotao considered attacking them, but Xu refused. Xu's refusal to attack Zhang's rivals may have contributed to Mao's acceptance of Xu under his own leadership later, after Zhang's 4th Front Army was eventually defeated by Chiang. Zhang was purged after returning to the areas around Yan'an controlled by Mao, but Xu was allowed to rejoin the Red Army under Mao's leadership after making an extensive self-criticism. His first position under Mao, as the deputy commander of the 129th division, was effectively a demotion.