Xiang Shouzhi

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Xiang Shouzhi
向守志
PLA Rocket Force University of Engineering
In office
1960–1965
Personal details
Born
Xiang Shouzhi (向守芝)

(1917-11-28)November 28, 1917
China
DiedSeptember 2, 2017(2017-09-02) (aged 99)
Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Spouse
Zhang Ling
(m. 1945)
Children4
Order of Bayi (Third Class; 1955)
Order of Liberation (Second Class Medal; 1955)
Order of Independence and Freedom
(Second Class Medal; 1963)
Order of the Red Star (First Class Medal; 1988)

Xiang Shouzhi (

Xiang began to take part in the revolution at the age of 15, and successively participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War and Korean War. He was eventually purged during the Cultural Revolution but later reinstated. He is hailed as founding father of the Chinese ballistic missile forces. Later in his life, he served as commander of the Nanjing Military Region until his retirement in 1990.[4]

Biography

Xiang was born Xiang Shouzhi (向守芝) in Xuanhan County, Sichuan,[5] with his ancestral home in Macheng, Hubei.

In 1933 he joined the Young Pioneers in the Shuanghechang area and served as its captain. In 1934 he enlisted in the

Red Army and successively served as soldier, squad leader, and platoon sergeant. In 1935 he took part in the Communist Youth League. He participated in the counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression" of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area; after the war, the Red Army were defeated and he participated in the Long March, a forced expedition over 12,500 km (7,800 mi) in the 1930s. In 1936 he attended the Red Army Infantry School and that same year became a member of the Chinese Communist Party
.

After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he assumed various posts in the 129th Infantry Division, including company commander, battalion commander, and regimental commander. He was present at the Battle of Linnan in 1943 and the Battle of Taihang Mountains.

During the Chinese Civil War, he was deputy division leader of the First Squad of the Taihang Military Region. He took part in the Battle of Handan. Then he participated in many campaigns, such as the Battle of North Henan, Battle of East Henan, Battle of Zhengzhou, Crossing River Campaigns, and Southwest Campaign.

In the winter of 1951, he was chief of staff of the Fifteenth Army and participated in the fifth campaign of the Korean War to counter the fall of tactical combat; he suffered head injuries. After the war in 1955 he was awarded the military rank of major general (shao jiang) by Mao Zedong.

In 1958 he was accepted to the

political persecution
over the next six years.

He returned to work in 1972 and then was appointed commander and CCP first secretary of the

general (shang jiang) in 1988. Xiang died on September 2, 2017, in Nanjing
, at age 99.

Work

Personal life

Xiang married Zhang Ling (张玲, born in 1919 in Kaifeng, Henan) in Pingdong County of Shandong Province on May 25, 1945. They had four children.[6]

Military awards

References

  1. ^ "Annual Meeting of the Seminar of China's history on world war two held in Shangyu". Shaoxing China. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  2. ^ "Chinese find different ways to celebrate 60th National Day". sina. 2009-09-28.
  3. ^ Zhang De; Chen Songhe (2007). 共和国老将军的情怀——访南京军区原司令员向守志上将. people.com.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  4. ^ 开国将军向守志迎百岁华诞 张阳上将发贺电. Sohu (in Chinese). 2016-11-29.
  5. ^ 痛批徐才厚的百岁上将有多硬气?曾遭林彪撤职. Sohu (in Chinese). 2016-11-30.
  6. ^ a b c 向守志:中國戰略導彈部隊第一任司令員. Xinhua News (in Chinese).
Military offices
Preceded by
Zhang Yixiang (张翼翔)
Commander of the PLA Second Artillery Force
1975–1977
Succeeded by
Li Shuiqing (李水清)
Preceded by Commander of the PLA Nanjing Military Region
1982–1990
Succeeded by