Before the restoration of the military rank system in 1988, the mainland experienced a period of more than two decades of "one red star is worn on the head, and the revolutionary red flag is hung on both sides". In the past two decades and more, because of the problem of unclear military ranks, the mainland has encountered many problems in the standardization and command of troops and in foreign exchanges. Why did the lack of ranks create such a situation, why was the rank system abolished in the first place, and under what circumstances did the new rank system be rebuilt? Before we pursue the answers to these questions, let's take a look at the history of military ranks in the history of the continent...
Past and present lives of military ranks
Past
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Military Department, together with the Training Office, played a song to the imperial court, "To imitate the order of the Officials of the Eight Banners, and to adopt the rules of the military camps of various countries." After the Qing government put the transplantation of the Western military rank system on the agenda, it took several years to gradually form a relatively complete system. At that time, the division of ranks and ranks was basically consistent with the international community, and officers were divided into third and ninth ranks, but many of the old names of the Eight Banner Army were used in terms of titles.
After the Xinhai Revolution, the Republic of China was founded, the name of the military rank was changed, the third class of officers were called generals, leaders, and lieutenants from high to low, and the three-level division of soldier ranks was added. Three months later, the Nanjing Provisional Government was replaced by the Beiyang Warlord Government, and the ranks of officers were still divided into three grades and nine grades, with titles changed to generals, military academies, and lieutenants, and additional officers were renamed warrant officers. After that, the Nationalist government in Nanjing continued to use this rank system, and in the same year, another force was just born.
Life
In 1927, the people's army was born in the Nanchang Uprising; After a 12-year average system, "from the commander to the brother-in-law, all food except grain is five cents." For pocket money, the two corners are all two corners, and the four corners are all four corners", in 1939, the military rank system was first proposed and initially improved in the people's army. At that time, the establishment of the military rank system was on the one hand due to the need for the development of the organizational system of the strong revolutionary army; On the other hand, it was the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists at that time, in order to facilitate the contact and docking of the governors of the two sides. Therefore, the military rank system at that time basically copied the establishment of the National Revolutionary Army. Later, with the rupture of the relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the gradual difficulty of the War of Resistance Against Japan, our army returned to the mode of fighting with guerrilla as the mainstay, and the military rank system was shelved.
In January 1955, the Central Military Commission issued the "Instructions on the Work of Assessing Military Ranks", and in September, Chairman Mao Zedong held a ceremony to award Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and Ye Jianying, ten founding fathers of the People's Republic of China, with the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China.
However, when the military rank system was established, a large number of references were made to the Soviet system, leaving many hidden dangers: the downward pressure of military ranks and the complete linkage between ranks and positions; Rank is used as the criterion for political and other material treatment. These problems have led to some misconceptions starting to appear. Promotion to a rank was seen as a shortcut to promotion, and the pursuit of being awarded a higher rank even became more important in some people's minds than serving the people and defending the country.
With the development of this unhealthy atmosphere, in 1964, after discussion at the working meeting of the Central Military Commission, it was determined that there were many unfavorable factors in the military rank system and it was recommended to cancel it. "The rank system of our army is copied from the Soviet Union and other countries. In the past, there was no such system, and it was like winning battles. Practice has proved that this system does not conform to the fine traditions of our army; it is a kind of bourgeois legal right, which is superficial and promotes the idea of personal fame and hierarchy. ”
In this regard, the military rank system has once again withdrawn from the historical stage of the mainland troops.
The disappearing rank system
In the more than 20 years after the abolition of the rank system, in order to adapt to the distinction and division of military ranks, the military leaders and commanders have come up with a series of methods: such as the "agent system", that is, after the commander dies, the previously designated "agents" at all levels take over the command; For example, when fighting in coordination, the leader shall report his or her duties and shall be commanded by the person with the highest position; For example, in the extreme case of no officer present, the soldiers are encouraged to take the initiative to stand up and take up the responsibility of temporary command. In the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, these methods played a great role in battlefield command.
However, in other cases, such as when our military personnel visit abroad, the other side cannot determine the corresponding standards in terms of reception specifications, and international military exchanges and cooperation have been greatly troubled.
When The dean of the military academy, Shaw Ke, went abroad to visit the country, he encountered the problem of military rank. When I visited Iran, Iran at that time had good relations with the United States, and the troops also implemented a rank system according to the us military set. During the reception, the Iranian receptionist asked us what rank General Shaw counted and what rank he belonged to, and it was difficult for our staff to answer.
General Zhang Aiping also encountered the same problem when he visited the United States, because he did not have a military rank, which made the US reception staff very embarrassed. Because General Zhang was already awarded the rank of general in 1955, and visiting the United States was already in the 70s, 20 years have passed, and he cannot be just a general. Finally, the Written Writing of the Us side roughly described General Zhang as a highly qualified general, and received General Zhang according to the specifications of a four-star general of the US army.
Reinstatement of the rank system
By the 1980s, mainland society had entered a period of rapid development, and all aspects, including the armed forces, were changing to scientific and technological, specialized, and regularized. Exchanges between the mainland military and the militaries of various countries in the world have become increasingly frequent, and it has become normal to go abroad to carry out tasks. There have been essential changes in the personnel, system, and organizational structure within the military, and the military rank system can no longer continue to adapt to the new military ecosystem.
In 1982, Deng Gong spoke: "This office meeting prepared a "Regulations on the Service of Officers" and sent them to everyone for comments. This must be done, not done. ”
After several years of preparation, in 1988, a new rank system was established again. The new military rank system stipulates that there are six grades and eighteen grades in the continental ranks, of which officers have three grades and eleven grades:
Generals - first-class generals, admirals, lieutenant generals, major generals;
Colonels - colonels, colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors;
Lieutenant Officers - Captain, Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant.
There are three grades and seven grades of soldier ranks:
Non-Commissioned Officer - Sergeant Major, Professional Sergeant;
Sergeant - sergeant, sergeant, corporal,
Soldiers - superior soldiers, private soldiers.
Changes in the new system
Compared with the old military rank system, the rank of marshal under the new rank system was abolished, and the rank of general was renamed general of the first rank. However, since the first ranks were conferred in 1988, the rank of general of the first rank among officers has not been awarded, so at the seventh meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress in 1994, it was decided to revise the "Regulations on the Ranks of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army", and the rank of officers was only set at the third and tenth grades, and the rank of general of the first rank was no longer established.
As a result, the ranks of officers and soldiers in our army are currently divided into six grades and seventeen grades, and compared with the rank system implemented in 1955, the ranks of officers have been reduced, while the ranks of soldiers have increased the rank of non-commissioned officer.
Reasons for rank restructuring
When determining the new military rank hierarchy in those years, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "In peacetime, the military rank is set to general." Above the military rank, one post and three ranks. These two principles were decided on the basis of the actual situation of our army at that time. Comrade Xiaoping once explained: "The reason for implementing three ranks in one post and above is very simple, young cadres need to be trained, their ranks can be lower, and their posts can be higher." When the level of the position is related
When ranks are not exactly equal, the enthusiasm of young officers is more fully mobilized.
However, at that time, the vast majority of officers on active duty in our army were selected and promoted after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and they had not undergone war training, and officers below the rank of general basically grew up under peaceful conditions, and in the future, senior generals would not have the special experience of rushing out in blood and fire like the founding fathers.
In addition, in peacetime, the number of posts in the army has been reduced, the number of establishment levels has been reduced, and when the new rank system was implemented, the "quasi-ranks" of corps, deputy platoons, and corps, divisions, and regiments have been abolished, and the rank of officers has been reduced from 21 in 1955 to 15. With reference to the military rank settings of most countries, the organization decided not to have high ranks such as grand marshal, marshal, and general, and the highest military rank was general.
At the same time, considering that in the special period, when the main leaders of the Central Military Commission need to confer titles, they should be different from the military streets (generally generals) of the Central Military Commission and other leaders of the headquarters, so the highest rank of the first level is set up above the general, that is, the first rank of general. After the abolition of the rank of general of the first rank in 1994, the highest rank was "capped" above the rank of general.
At this point, the ten founding marshals who were awarded the order in 1955 became the only marshals in New China, and none of them were awarded the rank of first-class general. These two military ranks are thus stuck in history.
The Marshal of No Honor
When awarding the Marshal Order, there are actually more than ten people who are eligible to be awarded the rank of marshal, but it is not appropriate to grant too many marshal ranks at one time. Therefore, at that time, some central leading comrades headed by Chairman Mao took the initiative not to confer military ranks, which touched many generals who died for the birth of the republic, and everyone humbled each other in the face of honor, which enabled many contradictions in the appraisal work to be smoothly resolved and greatly promoted the appraisal work.
"I put on the uniform of the Grand Marshal, how uncomfortable!" It is also not convenient to go to the masses to speak, to move. On the one hand, it was inconvenient to go deep among the masses, on the other hand, the ceremony was held in September, when Comrade Mao Zedong had already assumed the post of chairman of the party and the state, Comrade Deng Xiaoping had become the general secretary of the party Central Committee, and Liu, Zhou, and others had also held corresponding government posts, and they were in peacetime, so China had such a group of "generals" without military ranks.
The significance of the rank system
For military personnel, military ranks can establish identity, clarify the superior-subordinate relationship of non-subordinate military personnel, and still be the main reference standard for military welfare benefits. In addition, military ranks are also a sign of social honor for military personnel. In its legislative documents, the mainland stipulates that "military rank is the lifelong honor of a soldier" and "military rank shall be retained" after an officer retires from military service. The title of Zhu De engraved on the commemorative plaque hanging in 1986 for the 100th anniversary of Zhu De's birth in Göttingen, Germany, is not the chairman of the committee or the commander-in-chief, but the "Marshal of the People's Republic of China".
In addition to its significance to military personnel, the rank system is also the specific implementation and implementation of our army's "Regulations on the Service of Active-Duty Officers," "Regulations on the Service of Active-Duty Soldiers," and "Regulations on the Ranks of Officers," and is an important aspect of our army's regularization construction. The implementation of the rank system has standardized and made the hierarchical relations within our army standardized and made public.
The establishment of the military system, including the rank system, clarifies the identity and responsibilities of military personnel, enhances the sense of responsibility of military personnel, and ensures that the troops can not be scattered and not chaotic in peacetime or wartime, and form a strict organizational structure; It is not only convenient for organizing command and management, but also conducive to cultivating a good work style and habit of military personnel obeying orders and obeying commands; it can not only enhance the sense of honor of officers and men and mobilize the accumulation and creativity of officers and men, but also form a good incentive mechanism and promote the comprehensive building of the army.
epilogue
After the Nanchang Uprising, after more than thirty years of twists and turns, we finally established a system suitable for our people's troops through exploration and trial and error. This means that in the process of regularization and modernization of our subordinate troops, systematic, standardized, and systems adapted to national conditions are indispensable. We firmly believe that under the leadership of the Party and the trust of the broad masses of the people, our troops will inevitably continue to advance in a more advanced and powerful direction, and will certainly become the hardest shield for defending the country and the sharpest spear for defending the country.