Who first came up with the name "People's Liberation Army"? Some say it's Mao Zedong, while others say it's Liu Shaoqi.
In fact, this name was not first proposed by Mao Zedong. The most widely circulated is said to be said by Liu Shaoqi.
Even, a certain TV series also designed such a plot: In 1946, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the Double Tenth Agreement and launched an attack on the Central Plains Liberated Area. Once, Chairman Mao discussed military issues with Liu Shaoqi. Liu Shaoqi said:
"In view of the fact that our Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army were given by Chiang Kai-shek, in order to boost the revolutionary fighting spirit of our officers and men, and in consideration of the revolutionary purpose of our Party and our army, in order to enable the poor to completely turn over and liberate the whole of China, I propose that the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army be unified and renamed the People's Liberation Army. ”
Mao Zedong replied: "Okay, let's call it the Chinese People's Liberation Army." ”
Based on this, some people say that the name "People's Liberation Army" was first proposed by Liu Shaoqi.
In fact, the name "People's Liberation Army" was first proposed by Luo Ronghuan in August 1945.
On August 10, 1945, the Japanese army announced its unconditional surrender. On the 13th, the Shandong Branch of the Communist Party of China and the Military Region led by Luo Ronghuan issued to all the districts under its jurisdiction the "Determination to Completely Eliminate the Japanese Puppet Army" and the "Deployment for Seizing the Big Cities." On the 15th, Luo Ronghuan issued the "Regulations on the Operational Direction of the Troops" to deploy the Fifth Route Army to sweep away the small and medium-sized cities isolated in the liberated areas, and then march to the areas along the Shandong Railway and the enemy-occupied cities. When Luo Ronghuan reported this deployment to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he suggested that the name of the unit be changed to "People's Liberation Army." For this statement, see page 365 of "The Biography of Luo Ronghuan".
The Central Military Commission replied to Luo Ronghuan's military deployment. However, the name PLA was not adopted until 1946, after the outbreak of full-scale civil war, when the name "People's Liberation Army" appeared in some articles published by Mao Zedong and Xinhua News Agency, and on October 3, Jiefang Ribao put forward the term "Chinese People's Liberation Army" for the first time in an editorial, that is, the word "China" was added before "People's Liberation Army".
Since then, the name of the "Chinese People's Liberation Army" has been used to this day.
Chen Guanren, the secretary of the CPC History Publishing House's "Ten Marshals of the Chinese People's Liberation Army: The Little-Known History of the Ten Commanders of the People's Liberation Army," recounted the incident. The book is the society's annual bestseller, and has been ranked first on China's military bestseller list (pictured).