On May 22, 1965, the Ninth Session of the Third National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Abolishing the Military Rank System of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Effective June 1 of that year, the 10-year military rank system in the mainland army came to an end.
The abolition of the military rank system was undoubtedly a very bold move, and this move was not supported by everyone, and Marshal Peng Dehuai was devastated when he learned the news; Even Premier Zhou, who has always been mild-mannered, shook his head again and again, feeling that it was inappropriate.
What prompted the central government to implement this initiative? Why are Mr. Peng and Premier Zhou worried?
All this has to start with the establishment of the military rank system after the founding of the People's Republic of China......
The military rank system in the early days of the founding of the country
Soon after the founding of China, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) began preparations for the implementation of a military rank system.
To understand the rank system, we must first understand the core content of the rank system: the setting of military ranks.
The difference in the setting of military ranks is the fundamental difference in the military rank system of various countries.
At that time, the Civil Liberation War had just ended, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was underway, the army was large, the ranks were large, the number of cadres was large, and there were no clear regulations on the setting of military ranks.
Therefore, determining the setting of military ranks has become an important part of the preparatory work for the implementation of the military rank system.
From February 1952 to 1955, the General Cadre Department submitted several sets of plans to the Central Military Commission, referring to the opinions of Soviet advisers, and after many revisions, finally formed the first military rank system of military ranks.
The military rank system implemented this time belongs to a typical "oriental" military rank, similar to the Soviet Union, that is, there is a general and a lieutenant instead of a brigadier general, which is also the main difference between it and the "Western" military rank.
In September 1955, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made a grand award. The People's Liberation Army gave birth to ten marshals headed by Zhu De, ten generals headed by Su Yu, 55 generals headed by Xiao Ke, and 175 lieutenant generals and 800 major generals.
Among them, the post of generalissimo was supposed to be held by Mao Zedong, but he himself resolutely refused.
"This military rank is a feudal thing, but we still need to use it now, and we still need to use it externally."
Chairman Mao at that time said such a remark, which may also indicate why he would approve of the abolition of the military rank system ten years later.
Due to Mao Zedong's refusal, the post of generalissimo was vacant, and the ten marshals we are familiar with are actually marshals of the People's Republic of China, not generalissimos.
At this point, the Chinese People's Liberation Army officially implemented the military rank system for the first time, which has lasted for 10 years.
By the time the military rank system was abolished in 1965, a total of 57 generals, 177 lieutenant generals, and 1,360 major generals had been awarded.
These people are what people call "founding generals".
Looking back, there are actually many problems with the first military rank system.
First of all, the rank of officers is generally set at a low level.
In fact, this is also based on the advice of the Soviet adviser of the General Cadre Department, according to the experience of the Soviet Union, when the first rank is awarded, the military rank should be kept as low as possible, and the criteria for evaluating the rank are very strict, and almost every rank of officer is lowered by one or two levels.
Until the abolition of the military rank system in 1965, this phenomenon of low military rank setting continued unabated.
In addition, there are irregular promotions in military ranks; Military ranks play little role in assuming the benefits of military personnel; The rules for awarding titles to female cadres are strict; The types and titles of military ranks are complicated, the classification is too mechanical, incomplete, and the regulations are too cumbersome.
True, the first rank system of the republic was not perfect.
However, as early as November 1952, Peng Dehuai, head of the General Cadre Department, clearly pointed out: "We have no experience in implementing the military rank system, and we mainly study it on the basis of the experience introduced by Soviet advisers and the plans put forward and in light of China's situation."
This seems to be a common problem in the rank system of all countries, after all, the establishment of military ranks is a complex work, involving many factors, and affecting the whole body.
However, these problems alone are not enough for the central government to directly abolish the military rank system.
So, what is the reason for this move?
Abolition of internal and external factors of the rank system
Since the late 50s of the 20th century, the contradictions and conflicts between China and the Soviet Union have intensified day by day.
The Soviet Union fell into the trap of revisionism and deviated from the original line of Marxism.
In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, the Communist Party of China began to self-examine and introspect, and implemented a series of measures to "oppose repairs and prevent repairs".
In addition, beginning in the 60s of the 20 th century, Lin Biao vigorously engaged in "highlighting politics" and successively proposed and implemented a set of ultra-"leftist" things, which had a negative impact on the regularization of the army.
The erroneous path of the Soviet Union has also cast a shadow of "revisionism" over the "military rank system," which was originally born with reference to the Soviet Union.
Influenced by the times, many senior generals of our army have prejudices and misunderstandings about the military rank system.
For example, General He Long, who started a revolution with two kitchen knives.
He has always stressed hardship and simplicity, and he has simple and profound class feelings for the fine traditions of the People's Liberation Army and the course of bloody battles, but he has some ideological reservations about the regularization of the Soviet army and the Western army.
Coupled with the deviation in his understanding of "anti-repair and defensive repair", he took the disadvantages of the military rank system too seriously.
"Is it even the abolition of military ranks?"
In August 1964, He Long and Luo Ruiqing came to Beidaihe to report to Chairman Mao on the salary reduction of senior military cadres. It was during the discussion that He Long made such a bold suggestion. Chairman Mao also agreed.
After returning to Beijing, Luo Ruiqing, then secretary general of the Central Military Commission, called Secretary Lin Biao and asked him to abolish the military rank system
Report to Lin Biao and ask Lin Biao for instructions.
Luo Ruiqing asked several times, but Lin Biao didn't reply.
He had no choice but to ask Secretary Lin Biao for instructions again, and said to Secretary Lin Biao: "If Mr. Lin doesn't have instructions, we can't do it."
Yes. ”
"Mr. Lin agreed."
Two days later, Secretary Lin Biao called back.
Of course, Lin Biao is in favor of the abolition of military ranks, and his delay is actually that He Long and Luo Ruiqing crossed over to ask Chairman Mao for instructions, which is an "offense" to himself.
On January 12, 1965, the Central Military Commission formally submitted the "Request for Abolition of the Military Rank System" to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The "Request for Instructions" says: "The military rank system is a kind of bourgeois legal power, which is incompatible with the essence of our people's army. Nine years
Practice has proven that this system does not conform to the fine traditions of our army, and the superficial hierarchy has encouraged the cadres' concept of hierarchy and the idea of their ranks, which is not conducive to the revolutionary construction of our army and is not conducive to the unity between comrades, between higher and lower levels, and between the army and the people. ”
In the same month, Mao Zedong commented on this "Request": "Agree".
On May 22, 1965, the Ninth Session of the Standing Committee of the Third National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Abolishing the Military Rank System of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the proposal of the State Council. On the same day, President Liu Shaoqi issued a presidential decree to make it public.
This is the whole process of the first abolition of the rank system in the PLA.
It can be said that the dual pressure of internal and external forces has contributed to the final implementation of this policy.
The original intention of maintaining the purity of the proletarian revolution and keeping the army from being corrupted is undoubtedly good.
However, looking at the whole world, the military rank system is a system that is widely practiced and effective in the armed forces of all countries in the world.
The lessons of history tell us that to correct and reform the military rank system, and to completely abolish it is nothing more than another form of extremism.
The military rank system was restored and the regrets of Zhou and Peng
In the face of such a measure as the abolition of the military rank system, of course, it is impossible for everyone to be satisfied. In addition to the ordinary members of the army, there were two others who were also very much disapproves.
Premier Zhou Enlai and Marshal Peng Dehuai.
In Premier Zhou's view, it is a matter of great regret that the military rank system is abolished. However, in view of the political environment in which the mainland was suffering from internal and external troubles at that time, Premier Zhou had to agree to abolish this system.
Marshal Peng, who had been fighting all his life, profoundly realized the important role of the military rank system in mobilizing the enthusiasm of the army.
Unfortunately, after the Lushan Conference in 1959, Lin Biao was appointed Minister of National Defense, replacing Peng Dehuai to preside over the daily work of the Central Military Commission. From then on, Marshal Peng stayed away from the political center.
When he learned that the central government was going to abolish the military rank system, he could only be alone and sad.
With the outbreak of the self-defense and counterattack war against Vietnam, the drawbacks of abolishing the military rank system became concentrated in the counter-attack operations, and the whole army began to re-understand the military rank system.
In March 1979, just after the end of the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the "Briefing" on the topic of restoring the military rank system was completed according to Xu Shuai's instructions.
"When fighting back, young people don't know how to command, just look at the long beard and big belly. Two regiments and two divisions together, who commands whom? There is no such thing as a military rank. ”
On September 27, 1979, Geng Biao, secretary general of the Central Military Commission, said this at a meeting of cadres and ministers of the whole army.
At the beginning of 1982, the executive meeting of the Central Military Commission formally made a decision to "restore the military rank system".
However, there were still many problems in army building at that time, such as the scale was too large, the ratio of officers and soldiers was unreasonable, the leadership group was bloated, and the cadres were aging.
As a result, the rank system could not be implemented immediately.
It was not until 1986, after the disarmament of the million-dollar Congress, that the Central Military Commission convened a meeting of its Standing Committee to study the issue of "restoring the military rank system".
By the end of August 1988, the whole army had completed the mobilization education, military rank appraisal, and military rank evaluation work of the military rank system.
The biggest difference between the new military rank system and the military rank system implemented in 1955 is the different setting of military ranks. The new military rank system does not have a marshal, a general and a captain, but a general with the highest rank.
Such simplification was not only based on the consideration of the actual situation of the People's Liberation Army at that time, but also the result of fully absorbing and drawing on the experience and common practice of the first military rank system and the military rank system of foreign military officers in 1955.
It can be seen from this that although the military rank system in 1955 has only been implemented for ten years, it still has important reference significance for the new military rank system.
On September 14, 1988, the first award ceremony after the new military rank system was held in Huairen Hall, Zhongnanhai, Beijing.
The only regret is that Premier Zhou and Marshal Peng have both passed away at this time, and they have not been able to see the re-implementation of the military rank system.
Resources:
Personally experienced the implementation of the new military rank system in 1988 "Centennial Tide" 2023.09
In 1965, the People's Liberation Army abolished the military rank system, "Party History Expo", 2024.01
Why did the first rank system in our army only be implemented for 10 years? Contemporary Military Digest, 2005.12