preface
On February 18, 1955, the First National People's Congress adopted the "Regulations on the Service of Officers of the people's liberation army of the Chinese" approved by Chairman Mao. This move marks the formal establishment of the rank system of the Chinese People's Liberation Army with Chinese characteristics.
One day in the autumn of 1954, Chairman Mao, accompanied by Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and Li Pingren, came to the small auditorium to visit the marshal's uniform, the general's uniform, and other sample clothes. Under the leadership of Li Ping, the crowd came to the wooden model dressed in the Grand Marshal's suit, and Li Ping introduced: "Chairman, this is the Grand Marshal's suit. ”
The Grand Marshal mentioned in Li Ping's mouth is one of the ranks of the Chinese People's Liberation Army when it first implemented the rank system, and it is also the highest rank of the People's Republic of China, and this rank is only awarded to Chairman Mao, and the Grand Marshal's uniform in front of him is also specially tailored for Chairman Mao.
Pictured| Mao Zedong at the founding ceremony
The epaulettes on the Grand Marshal's uniform are composed of the national emblem pattern and the Marshal's star emblem, and unlike the Marshal's epaulettes, the star emblem pattern on the shoulders of the Grand Marshal is surrounded by a circle of pine branches, with fine workmanship, focusing on frugality, formality and practicality.
Chairman Mao looked at the Grand Marshal's uniform in front of him, flicked the soot in his hand, and said, "Grand Marshal? You stand aside! ”
Chairman Mao's witty words caused everyone to laugh, and they thought that Chairman Mao was joking, but Chairman Mao never accepted the rank of Grand Marshal, and the Grand Marshal uniform specially customized for him did not wear it once.
In this period of history, what kind of unknown story did Chairman Mao have at that time, and why did Chairman Mao let the Grand Marshal "stand aside"? What was Chairman Mao thinking in his heart?
1. History of military ranks
For the vast Chinese People's Liberation Army, the establishment and implementation of a rank system is urgent and necessary. The implementation of the rank system can further "straighten out" the relationship between various officers and effectively adjust the proportional structure in the officer corps.
Whether it is to improve the quality of various officers, or to strengthen the management of the army, it has great significance and role. The formal establishment of the rank system also marks that the modernization and regularization of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has entered a new stage.
The grand marshal, marshal, and army officer often wear the collar badge
In fact, before the formal establishment of the rank system, the Chinese People's Liberation Army had twice proposed the implementation of the rank system. One was during the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists in the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the other was after the Chongqing negotiations in the late stages of the Victory of the War of Resistance.
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese invaders created the long-planned "Lugou Bridge Incident" on the mainland Lugou Bridge, after which the wolf-like ambitious Japanese began a comprehensive strategy of aggression against China.
The barbaric aggression of Japanese imperialism caused the Communist Party and the Kuomintang to gradually move toward unity and decided to jointly resist Japan.
On August 1, 1937, with the joint efforts of all the military and civilians on the mainland, the anti-Japanese national united front was established. In September, the Kuomintang Central News Agency issued the Declaration of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for the Promulgation of Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, which recognized the legitimate status of the Communist Party of China, and the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was immediately reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.
At that time, the General Political Department of the Red Army pointed out in the "Decision on the Political Work of the Troops in the New Stage": "The reorganization of the Red Army should make changes in principle to certain extent, such as the adoption of the official rank system. The "official rank system" mentioned in it is another name for the military rank system at that time.
In 1939, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had already gone through three years, and the size of our army's ranks, such as the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, had grown larger and larger, and the work of regularizing the troops had to be carried out.
On April 2, Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, and Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief, telephoned Chairman Mao on this matter: "Can the regulations be implemented on the rank of cadres?"
In The view of General Manager Zhu, the troops led by our party have been expanding day by day, and the construction of the "regularization" system is imminent. He also held: "Our Party can distinguish according to the establishment of the National Revolutionary Army and stipulate the rank of cadres at all levels in the army, so that it can excite cadres and have clear responsibilities, and there is no harm to the traditions of our army." ”
Pictured: The growing ranks of the Red Army
Just as General Manager Zhu believed, the establishment of our military rank system has many benefits, and his application was quickly approved.
On May 30, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and others issued the "Instructions for Establishing a Hierarchical System" in the name of the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
The reason for issuing this "Directive" is intended to establish a clear hierarchical system in the army, which will help to clarify the responsibilities of officers and soldiers, clarify the relationship between superior and subordinate levels, and will be more conducive to the reward and punishment system for them, stimulate the self-motivation of officers and men, and thus enhance the discipline and combat effectiveness of the troops.
The rank levels proposed this time, with reference to the ranks of the Kuomintang army at that time, were divided into six grades and sixteen grades, namely:
Generals: Admiral, Lieutenant General, Major General;
Colonels: Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major;
Lieutenants: Captain, Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Warrant Officer;
Sergeant: sergeant, sergeant, corporal;
Soldiers: First Class, First Class Soldiers, and Recruits.
Subsequently, in order to further promote the implementation of the rank system, the Central Military Commission again issued the "Instruction on Redefining the Rank System of Troops" on August 20, which supplemented a series of detailed issues that may be involved.
In order to realize the instructions of the Central Military Commission as soon as possible, all departments and leading organs of our army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Army have made full preparations and even carried out appraisal activities. However, in the harsh environment of constant war at that time, how easy was it to establish and implement a rank system in our army?
With the increasingly difficult guerrilla struggle behind enemy lines, it is difficult for all units of our army to have sufficient time to deal with the matter of "ranks." Between 1941 and 1942, the War of Resistance Against Japan entered its most arduous phase, and it was clear that the work of determining the rank system could not be continued.
On April 24, 1942, the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission jointly sent a request for comments to all departments and military regions of our army on the basis of the actual war situation at that time, and all of them received a reply of approval.
Figure丨The second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party
Therefore, for various reasons, the first time our army concerned the relevant matters of the rank system was basically "suspended" in 1942, but the rank system was not abandoned.
On August 15, 1945, under pressure from many sides, Japan announced its "unconditional surrender", and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression ended in the great victory of the Chinese nation. The Japanese invaders were driven out, but the Kuomintang authorities were eager to provoke a civil war.
However, under the "pressure" of many parties, Chiang Kai-shek had to accept peace negotiations and signed the "Double Tenth Agreement" with our party on October 10.
On January 10, 1946, the Kuomintang and the Communists signed the "Armistice Agreement," and the Kuomintang also accepted the basic policy of "peaceful nation-building" put forward by our Party.
In order to realize the "nationalization of the armed forces," our Party issued the Instruction on Several Issues Concerning the Reorganization of the Armed Forces on February 24, 1946. The "Instructions" pointed out the objectives of the first phase of our army's reorganization, as well as related matters.
Moreover, the Central Committee believes: "The military cadres of our Party should request the government to obtain official titles, so that they can occupy a certain position in the Ministry of National Defense in the future." ”
On March 7, 1946, the Political Department of the New Fourth Army issued the "Explanation and Regulations on the Class of Officers and Soldiers in the Army", which further clarified the establishment of military ranks and the principle of appraisal. A new round of appraisal work has also begun.
Soon after, however, Chiang Kai-shek openly tore up the Armistice Agreement, and a full-scale civil war began, and the appraisal work that had just begun was once again forced to stop.
Many people feel very sorry that the two military rank systems in the history of our army have been forced to stop, but it is precisely through the accumulation of experience in the work of these two rank appraisals that we can provide sufficient experience for our army when it formally established the rank system in 1955.
Second, why is the title awarded
As early as the Jinggangshan period, our army for the first time established a "soldiers' committee" internally, and advocated the concept of equality between officers and men throughout the army.
At that time, there was also a saying, "In the White Army, the salaries of the lieutenants are different; In the Red Army, officers and men are treated as complete equals. "So, if this is the case, why should our army still implement the rank system?"
Mao Zedong negotiated with Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing
First of all, we must admit that the implementation of the rank system is the only way for the army to move towards the road of regularization. After the founding of New China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army will also go through this stage of improving the rank system.
And if there is no military rank production as a reference standard, it is difficult to implement the salary system in the army, so that the basic life of many grass-roots soldiers and even officers cannot be effectively guaranteed. Therefore, in the early days of the founding of New China, there will be many soldiers who are shy in their pockets.
In June 1950, the Korean Peninsula "resurfaced," and in order to completely smash the conspiracy of US imperialism, Chairman Mao vigorously defied the public opinion and made a decision to "resist the United States and aid Korea."
In October, under the leadership of Peng Dehuai, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Volunteer Army, our volunteer army crossed the Yalu River with great vigor and vigor and directly attacked the Korean battlefield.
However, in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the mainland invested a large number of troops to fight in coordination with the Korean People's Army. However, both friendly and enemy troops have established a clear rank system, but our volunteer army has no rank, and we can imagine the many inconveniences caused by it.
In fact, this situation often happened after the growth of our army, and there were often cases of prevarication between various units because there was no clear rank, but on the Korean battlefield, this situation became particularly prominent.
Peng Dehuai, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Volunteer Army, has also profoundly realized the urgency and necessity of implementing the rank system in our army. On October 1, 1951, Peng Dehuai sent a telegram to Chairman Mao in order to solve this problem: "Our People's Liberation Army comes from various base areas, many specific systems are inconsistent, and it is now very necessary to unify the rules for establishment, discipline, and internal affairs. There has been no system of official ranks for a long time, and it is difficult to assess official ranks for a while, but at present it is advisable to adopt a transitional approach and stipulate the separation of duties, which is already necessary in the current battle. ”
The Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed
In fact, not only on the battlefield, because New China has just been founded, the diplomatic cause has begun to gradually improve, and whether it is normal diplomacy or negotiation, both sides need to have an equal identity, but our army does not.
For example, during the armistice negotiations held between the two sides in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the US side sent a lieutenant general, while our side sent Deng Hua, deputy commander of the volunteer army at the same level. However, it is worth noting that although the two men are almost the same in their positions, the Epaulettes of the US representative "carry" three stars, while the shoulders of our representatives are empty.
Therefore, the problems exposed by the failure of our army to implement the rank system have become very obvious, and the Central Military Commission has begun to pay more and more attention to this matter.
At the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Peng Dehuai returned to Beijing for convalescence due to illness, during which time Chairman Mao asked him to start promoting the rank of the army.
Third, the stars will be gathered
Of course, it is obviously not an easy task to implement ranks throughout the army.
How easy is it to give tens of thousands of meritorious men in our army a "reward for meritorious deeds"? Among these people, in addition to the old comrades of the Red Army period, and the generals who joined later during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, how can they be treated equally?
In 1951, the relevant personnel had already begun to work on the peripheral base, and began a "streamlining and reorganization" campaign for the whole army, and grasped the general macro grasp.
At the beginning of 1952, Luo Ronghuan and others, with the assistance of Soviet experts, jointly launched a plan for the production and setting of military ranks for our army. After the discussion of experts from all sides, the final formulation of our military rank is: (6th class 20th level)
Marshal Level 3: Grand Marshal, Marshal of the State, Marshal of the Ranks;
Rank 4 of General: Admiral, Brigadier General, Lieutenant General, Major General;
Colonel Level 3: Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major;
Lieutenant Officer 4: Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant;
Sergeant 4: Warrant Officer, Sergeant, Sergeant, Corporal;
Soldier Level 2: Superior Soldier, Private Soldier.
In 1953, the Central Military Commission issued the Directive and prepared to implement the rank system and salary system in July. However, it is a pity that this Directive has not been successfully implemented.
Figure丨 Ranks of each service
In February of the same year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress deliberated and adopted the Regulations. The Regulations stipulate that from 1956 onwards, the Chinese People's Liberation Army changed from a volunteer military service system to a compulsory military service system. And the rank system was officially implemented throughout the army.
The continental rank level is officially set at (4th class 14th level):
Grand Marshal of the People's Republic of China, Marshal of the People's Republic of China;
Major generals, admirals, lieutenant generals, major generals;
Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major;
Captain, Captain, Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant.
On the afternoon of September 27, 1955, the Zhongnanhai Huairen Hall gathered stars, and the ceremony of awarding the rank and medal of the marshal was about to be held here, and Chairman Mao personally participated in the ceremony.
A total of 10 marshal ranks were awarded this time, namely: Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and Ye Jianying.
In addition, 10 generals, 55 generals, 175 lieutenant generals, 800 major generals, 32,000 colonel-level officers, 498,000 lieutenant-level officers and 113,000 warrant officers participated in the awarding of the ranks.
At this point, the first award of the title of our People's Liberation Army has been successfully concluded, marking that the modernization and regularization of our People's Liberation Army has entered a new stage.
However, it is worth noting that the rank of Grand Marshal specially "tailored" for Chairman Mao was rejected by Chairman Mao, and there was a situation of "setting but not granting". The rank of Grand Marshal was never awarded until it was abolished in 1965. What's going on here?
4. Granted but not granted
In fact, as early as the first session of the National People's Congress, some members of the Standing Committee proposed that Chairman Mao should be awarded the rank of grand marshal, "just like Stalin, and Chairman Mao fought more battles and lasted longer than Stalin led the troops." ”
In addition, the merits of republics such as Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping should also be rated as marshals. In the eyes of many members of the Standing Committee, these proposals are very reasonable and correct.
On January 14, 1955, under the presidency of Peng Dehuai, a forum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held, during which the Standing Committee members finally agreed that the current chairman of the Central Military Commission and the members of the Central Military Commission should be awarded the rank of marshal. Among them, the rank of marshal includes the rank of Grand Marshal of the People's Republic of China and marshal of the People's Republic of China, and the conferred the rank of Grand Marshal is Chairman Mao, who was then chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Figure 丨 The rank of Grand Marshal of the People's Republic of China
However, there are also data that show that the report at that time did not specifically specify the rank of Grand Marshal of Chairman Mao, but according to the criteria for the awarding of this rank, at that time, there was and only Chairman Mao was eligible to be awarded this rank.
The so-called "Grand Marshal Rank" is actually the highest rank in the rank system, usually only granted to the supreme commander of the armed forces of a country, and only a few countries have established this rank, such as Stalin, who led the Soviet Union to the final victory of the Great Patriotic War, who was awarded the rank of "Grand Marshal of the Soviet Union".
In addition, Chiang Kai-shek was also awarded the rank of "Grand Admiral of the Republic of China", Hermann Goering of Nazi Germany was awarded the rank of "Reich Field Marshal", and the founding president of the United States, George Washington, was also posthumously awarded the rank of "Special General of the United States of America". Although these ranks do not have the three words "Grand Marshal", they are all at the same level as the rank of "Grand Marshal".
Although in the modern history of the mainland, people like Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui, and Zhang Zuolin have all been awarded the rank of "Grand Marshal", they can only be regarded as a "title" of the supreme military commander in wartime, not an official military rank. It was not until 1955, when the mainland first implemented the rank system, that the rank of "Grand Marshal" became the official rank of the mainland.
As far as the rank of "Grand Marshal" is concerned, Chairman Mao actually expressed his reluctance to accept the idea of the rank of Grand Marshal as early as 1954. And when visiting the Grand Marshal's uniform, he also said again: "Grand Marshal? Pull aside! In fact, it is also a hint that he does not want to accept the rank of Grand Marshal.
Since the continental military rank system borrowed heavily from the Soviet military rank system, and Stalin's rank was Grand Marshal, many people believed that Chairman Mao should also be awarded the rank of Grand Marshal. However, in Chairman Mao's view, he was not willing to follow the old path of the Soviet Union, and he was even more unwilling to copy the Soviet system unchanged.
Figure 丨 Rank of Grand Marshal of the Soviet Union
The reason why Chairman Mao once said to let the Grand Marshal stand aside was that many people at that time took it as a joke and did not understand the hidden content.
In the early days of the founding of New China, Chairman Mao visited the Soviet Union, and the purpose of this trip was not only to continue to deepen the relationship with the "big brother" of the Soviet Union, but more crucially, to revise the unequal Sino-Soviet treaty signed by the two countries before, but during this period it was "snubbed" by Stalin.
During Chairman Mao's visit to the Soviet Union, the Soviet authorities arranged chairman Mao to a villa, after which he was in a state of "no one caring" for a long time afterwards. However, after Chairman Mao's perseverance, the Sino-Soviet treaty was still revised.
Since then, the relationship between Chairman Mao and Stalin has begun to change subtly. Therefore, for the "big brother" of the Soviet Union, Chairman Mao also decided not to rely on it completely: "What the Soviet Union has, we do not necessarily have to copy." "We want to get out of a development path that is really suitable for China."
Moreover, Chairman Mao believed that although he was the president of the country, his political life should always be combined with that of ordinary people, which is the so-called "from the masses to the masses." Chairman Mao did not want to be like Stalin, and as soon as the revolution was victorious, he began to "detach" himself from the masses and began to become feared from being loved before. Chairman Mao once said: "I cannot isolate myself from the masses of the people." ”
However, although Chairman Mao himself was reluctant to accept the rank of Grand Marshal, the voice of the masses always hoped that Chairman Mao would accept this rank. To this end, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress also discussed this issue specifically, but in any case, the participants failed to persuade Chairman Mao to accept the rank of grand marshal.
Figure丨 Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China
In late August 1955, Peng Dehuai, Luo Ronghuan, and others came to Zhongnanhai to report to Chairman Mao on their ranks, during which chairman Mao was again established to accept the rank of grand marshal, to which Chairman Mao still refused. In Chairman Mao's view, wearing this grand marshal's uniform will make him feel "uncomfortable" and even affect his image of "coming from the masses and going to the masses."
Moreover, Chairman Mao also suggested that leading cadres working in localities should not evaluate military ranks. Chairman Mao's remarks were affirmed and supported by Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, and Zhou Enlai, and all of them said that they did not want military ranks.
Chairman Mao and other central leaders' practices have played an exemplary role in enabling the appraisal work, which was already more difficult to carry out, to proceed more smoothly.
The CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission have carefully and carefully studied and considered Chairman Mao's ideas and agreed with them. At that time, Chairman Mao was already the chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and the president of the People's Republic of China, and had reached the age of peace, so it was finally decided not to award Chairman Mao the rank of Grand Marshal.
The rank of Grand Marshal of the People's Republic of China has become a military rank that has not been granted. However, the Grand Marshal's uniform was already made in 1954, and it was precisely because of Chairman Mao's phrase "stand aside" that this Grand Marshal's costume became a "precious historical relic", and Chairman Mao never wore this Grand Marshal's suit tailored for him from beginning to end.
Pictured in Chairman Mao's Grand Marshal Suit
epilogue
Once, when Chairman Mao met with British Field Marshal Montgomery, he was asked why he did not accept the rank, and he replied: "I don't want them to give me the rank." I don't want to be handsome, general, or school. ”
The great leader Chairman Mao saved the Chinese nation from a time of crisis, and in Chairman Mao's view, he will always stand together with the broad masses of the people and jointly realize the great mission of rejuvenating the Chinese nation!