In the history of China, there are many heroic founding generals who made outstanding achievements in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation. However, in this unprecedented ten-year catastrophe, a founding general chose to die as a clear will, he is Yan Hongyan.
Although he is not famous, he is well known for his integrity and integrity. No matter how prominent the opposing officials are, as long as they cannot stand up to morality, Yan Hongyan will not be afraid to refute them, never considering the personal consequences, which is why he has been frustrated for decades.
Yan Hongyan was born in October 1909 in Wayaobao Township, Anding County, Shaanxi Province, where he grew up in a poor family and attended private school for only half a year. In 1925, at the age of 16, Yan Hongyan joined the Communist Party of China and has since devoted himself to the revolutionary cause.
In October 1927, Yan Hongyan participated in the Qingjian Uprising, but the rebel troops were besieged by the enemy, and only more than 200 people managed to break through. Fortunately, Yan Hongyan is one of them. After hiding for a while, he secretly returned to Qingjian to organize a guerrilla group.
In February 1931, Yan Hongyan was sent to Shanxi to organize the Red Army guerrilla detachment and participated in the creation of the Jinxi Guerrilla Corps of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Subsequently, he led his troops to fight in northern Shaanxi, joined the Southern Liang guerrillas led by Liu Zhidan, and jointly created the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army and the Shaanxi-Gansu Revolutionary Base Area.
In 1934, Yan Hongyan was sent to Moscow to attend the Seventh Congress of the Comintern. After the congress, he stayed in Moscow to study, and in April 1935 he returned home with a codebook, re-establishing the Central Red Army's ties with the Comintern.
After returning to northern Shaanxi, Yan Hongyan met Chairman Mao and was appointed commander of the Red 30th Army in April 1936. Subsequently, he served as political commissar, and Song Shilun took over as military commander, which fully demonstrated Yan Hongyan's high status in the army.
Compared with leading troops, Yan Hongyan is better at political work. During the Anti-Japanese War and the Liberation War, Yan Hongyan served as political commissar and director of the Political Department. After the founding of New China, he was awarded the rank of general and served as the first deputy political commissar of the Chengdu Military Region.
In August 1959, Yan Hongyan was transferred to the post of first secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and first political commissar of the Kunming Military Region. During his stay in Yunnan, he personally went deep into various places and found that the public canteens built at that time could not meet the actual needs. So in May 1961, he sent a letter to Chairman Mao, suggesting that the commune canteen be dissolved.
Yan Hongyan's suggestion was appreciated by Chairman Mao, and soon after, the commune canteen in Yunnan was disbanded. With Yan Hongyan's chairmanship, Yunnan's economy gradually recovered and developed. However, the arrival of the ten-year catastrophe left Yan Hongyan in a whirlpool.
In 1966, Yan Hongyan was summoned by Jiang Qing and Chen Boda to Beijing for a meeting at which they framed Deng Xiaoping. As deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department of the Third Column of Nakano, Yan Hongyan bravely stood up to defend Deng Xiaoping, making Jiang Qing and Chen Boda red-faced, and the meeting broke up unhappily.
Since then, Jiang Qing and Chen Boda have regarded Yan Hongyan as a thorn in their side. After returning to Yunnan, Yan Hongyan was shocked, and even the streets of Beijing were plastered with large-character posters saying "Bombard Yan Hongyan". Under the false accusations of Jiang Qing and Chen Boda, Yan Hongyan resolutely did not give in.
Yan Hongyan chose to die on January 8, 1967 after leaving the last words "those who forced me to death, Jiang Qing and Chen Boda". He became the only founding general to commit suicide in a decade of catastrophe at the age of 58.
Yan Hongyan's sacrifice and steadfastness and indomitability reflect his incomparable loyalty to the party and the revolutionary cause. His passing is deeply saddened and reinforces the awareness of the mistakes and tragedies of those dark years.
Today, we remember Yan Hongyan, the heroic founding general, who set an example of loyalty and courage for us. His sacrifice will always be remembered as a great warrior in Chinese history.
Reference: "Yan Hongyan, the founding general who died in the "Cultural Revolution"