In the late 1980s, the People's Liberation Army carried out a large-scale disarmament and army reorganization, and in 1989, the Central Military Commission rated 33 "military experts" in the history of our army.
The 33 military figures included: Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying, Yang Shangkun, Li Xiannian, Su Yu, Xu Haidong, Huang Kecheng, Chen Geng, Tan Zheng, Xiao Jinguang, Zhang Yunyi, Luo Ruiqing, Wang Shusheng, Xu Guangda, Ye Ting, Xu Jishen, Cai Shenxi, Duan Dechang, Zeng Zhongsheng, Zuo Quan, Peng Xuefeng, Luo Binghui, and Lin Biao.
In 1994, three more people were added as military experts, including Huang Gongluo, Fang Zhimin, and Liu Zhidan.
So far, only these 36 people have been officially recognized as "military experts" in the history of our army, including the ten marshals and ten generals, and the rest are also marshals and generals.
However, there are still some of the founding generals who are not identified as "military experts", but in their obituary or eulogy, they are also called "military experts", including 11 founding generals and 1 founding lieutenant general.
The first was the founding general Dong Qiwu.
Dong Qiwu was a senior general in the Kuomintang Army and a famous anti-Japanese general, who led the peaceful uprising in September 1949 and served as the commander of the 23rd Corps and the commander of the 69th Army, and was awarded the rank of general in 1955.
General Dong Qiwu died on March 3, 1989, and in his obituary, he described him as "a great patriot, a loyal fighter of the Chinese Communist Party, a senior general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and an outstanding military figure."
The second was the founding general Wang Zhen.
General Wang Zhen is very famous in our army, once led the 359 Brigade to Nanniwan, created a miracle, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he rushed to Xinjiang, making indelible contributions to Xinjiang's stability and development.
After the death of General Wang Zhen on March 12, 1993, the state called him "a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military man, staunch Marxist, and outstanding leader of the party and the state."
The third is founding general Li Da.
General Li Da served as chief of staff of the Second Field Army, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as vice minister of national defense, chief of staff of the Chinese Volunteer Army, deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army, and a very good chief of staff of our army.
On July 12, 1993, General Li Da died, and the state called him "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and military man."
The fourth was the founding general Yang Dezhi.
General Yang Dezhi is also a well-known legendary general of our army, born in the Red Army, and has served as commander of the 19th Corps, commander of the Chinese Volunteer Army, deputy minister of national defense, and chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army.
In the counterattack against vietnamese self-defense, Yang Dezhi and Xu Shiyou, two fierce generals, joined forces to attack and played a national and military prestige.
On October 25, 1994, General Yang Dezhi died and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and a military expert."
The fifth is founding general Li Jukui.
General Li Jukui is an outstanding talent in the logistics of our army, and has served as the logistics director of the Fourth Field Army, the logistics director and political commissar of the Northeast Military Region, the president of the PLA Logistics College, and the political commissar of the PLA General Logistics Department.
On June 25, 1995, General Li Jukui died and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and a military expert, and an outstanding leader in political work and logistics work in the Chinese People's Liberation Army."
The sixth is the founding general Wang Ping.
General Wang Ping is a representative figure in the political work of our army, and has served as the political commissar of the 20th Corps, the political commissar of the Chinese Volunteer Army, the political commissar of the PLA Military Academy, the political commissar of the Artillery Corps, and the political commissar of the Wuhan Military Region.
On February 8, 1998, General Wang Ping died, and the Central Military Commission described him as "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and military expert, and an outstanding leader in political work in our army."
The seventh is the founding general Ye Fei.
General Ye Fei is a representative figure of our army's military and political excellence, serving as commander of the 10th Corps, commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, and commander of the Navy, as well as secretary of the Fujian Provincial CPC Committee, minister of communications, and president of Huaqiao University.
On April 18, 1999, General Ye Fei died and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and military expert."
The eighth was founding general Chen Xilian.
Chen Xilian was a fierce general in the Second Field Army, serving as commander of the 3rd Corps, commander of artillery, commander of the Shenyang Military Region, and commander of the Beijing Military Region.
On June 10, 1999, General Chen Xilian died and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a loyal communist fighter, and a tried and tested proletarian revolutionary and military expert."
The ninth is the founding general Zhang Aiping.
General Zhang Aiping served as chief of staff of the Third Field Army, deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army, minister of national defense, and vice premier; he was also the leader of the mainland's national defense science and technology undertakings, and organized and led the development of "two bombs and one satellite."
On July 5, 2003, General Zhang Aiping passed away and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and military expert."
The tenth was the founding general Yang Chengwu.
Yang Chengwu, together with Yang Dezhi and Yang Yong, is also known as the "Three Yangs"; he has served as commander of the 20th Corps, commander of the Beijing Military Region, and acting chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army; he has participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, as well as organized the Sino-Indian Self-Defense Counterattack War and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Vietnam.
On February 14, 2004, General Yang Chengwu died and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and a military expert."
The eleventh is the founding general Hong Xuezhi.
Hong Xuezhi served as deputy commander of the Chinese Volunteer Army, mainly responsible for logistics work, which greatly guaranteed the logistical supplies of the volunteers. "Hong Mazi is Hong Xuezhi."
In 1988, when our army awarded the title for the second time, Hong Xuezhi was again awarded the rank of general and was known as the "six-star general".
On November 20, 2006, General Hong Xuezhi died and was called "a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, proletarian revolutionary, military man, and pioneer of modern logistics in the Chinese People's Liberation Army."
The twelfth was the founding lieutenant general Qin Jiwei.
General Qin Jiwei is quite special, the first 11 were all awarded generals in 1955, Qin Jiwei was only a lieutenant general at that time, until 1988, when our army was awarded the second rank, he was awarded general.
Although Qin Jiwei was only a founding lieutenant general, his later achievements were not inferior to those of the founding generals, and he served as commander of the Beijing Military Region, commander of the Chengdu Military Region, minister of national defense, and vice chairman of the National People's Congress.
On February 2, 1997, General Qin Jiwei died and was called "an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a tried and tested loyal communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary and military expert."
Therefore, it is not only the 36 military experts who can be called "military experts", but also the 12 founding generals, who are also called "military experts" after their deaths.
(References: "36 Military Experts of the Republic", "Anecdotes of the Founding Generals", "Encyclopedia of China: Military")