General Ye Ting is a well-known military figure at home and abroad, one of the 36 founding military figures of our army, and one of the hundred heroic and exemplary figures of New China. General Ye Ting and his wife Li Xiuwen had nine children, in addition to the unfortunate death of their third son, the death of the fifth daughter Ye Yangmei and the youngest son Ah Jiu, who were killed with them, there were also six children.
Chairman Mao once commented on General Ye Ting: "The first commander-in-chief of the Communist Party, the history of the people's army should be written from you."
Ye Ting (September 10, 1896 – April 8, 1946), formerly known as Ye Xun (叶洵), was a Chinese poet from Huiyang, Guangdong, China. General Ye Ting was a famous general of the Northern Expedition, who served as the commander of the Independent Regiment of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army (that is, the Ye Ting Independent Regiment), with more than 2,100 people in the regiment, and served as the vanguard of the Northern Expedition.
The Ye Ting Independent Regiment was invincible in the Northern Expedition, so it was known as the "Iron Army". Ye Ting's independent regiment was the first regular unit created and led by the Communist Party of China, and the regimental commander Ye Ting later became the commander-in-chief of the Nanchang Uprising, the commander of the New Fourth Army, the founder of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and one of the important leaders of the New Fourth Army, and a well-known Chinese and foreign military expert.
In the face of national disaster, he became the commander of the newly organized Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, General Ye Ting served as the commander of the newly organized Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and led the army to the anti-Japanese front. However, just two years later, in January 1941, the Kuomintang created the "Anhui Southern Incident" that shocked China and foreign countries, and General Ye Ting commanded the troops to fight bloody battles for 8 days and nights, and then was detained during negotiations with the untrustworthy Kuomintang.
General Ye Ting sternly rejected Chiang Kai-shek's coercion and inducement, and angrily rebuked the lobbyists sent by Chiang Kai-shek for "the three armies can seize the marshal, but the puppeteer cannot seize the will." General Ye Ting was imprisoned in Shangrao, Jiangxi, Enshi, Hubei, and Guilin, Guangxi, and finally in the "Sino-US Special Technical Cooperation Institute" concentration camp in Chongqing.
"Ancient and strange injustice, Jiangnan Yiye; in the same room, fry what a hurry!
In the Chongqing prison, General Ye Ting wrote the famous "Prisoner Song":
The door for people to enter and exit is locked,
The hole open for the dog to crawl away,
A voice shouted:
Climb out oh, give Er freedom!
I long for freedom,
But I also know that when it comes to the body of a man, it can crawl out of the dog's hole!
I can only look forward to that day
The fire underground rushes,
Burn this living coffin with me,
I deserve eternal life in fire and blood.
On March 4, 1946, the day after General Ye Ting's release from prison, he sent a telegram to the Central Committee:
"I was released from prison last night, and I am determined to carry out my long-cherished wish to join the great Communist Party of China and, under your leadership, to contribute everything I have to the liberation of the Chinese people. I ask the Central Committee to review whether my history is qualified and please reply."
On April 8, 1946, General Ye Ting flew from Chongqing to Yan'an, but unfortunately died of a plane crash in Heichashan, Xingxian County, Shanxi Province, only a month after his release from prison. Also in distress were Wang Ruofei, Bogu (Qin Bangxian), Deng Fa, and other important CPC leaders, as well as General Ye Ting's wife, Li Xiuwen, the fifth daughter, Ye Yangmei, and the youngest son, Ah Jiu, who had not yet been named.
General Ye Ting and his wife Li Xiuwen had nine children.
Mrs. Li Xiuwen (1907-1946): Born in Chang'an Town, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, she was born in Macau to a wealthy family of gentry. In 1925, at the age of 18, Li Xiuwen married General Ye Ting after graduating from Zhixin Girls' High School.
On April 8, 1946, Li Xiuwen and General Ye Ting were killed in a plane crash in Heichashan, Shanxi, on their way from Chongqing to Yan'an, at the age of 39.
Eldest son: Ye Zhengda, born in 1927.
Ye Zhengda was the first batch of aviation experts trained by New China, made outstanding contributions in the field of aviation science and technology, and received many meritorious awards, winning the "Victory" Meritorious Award of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 1998, and died of illness in Beijing on December 14, 2017 at the age of 90.
Second son: Ye Zhengming, born in 1931.
Among the ye family brothers, Ye Zhengming is the one who has followed his father for the longest time, and has authored "Father in the Memory of Children - Ye Ting". Premier Zhou encouraged Ye Zhengming many times and wrote an inscription for him, "Smell the chicken dancing, be a good son of a revolutionary general", and before his death, he served as a scientific and technological adviser of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the director of the China Association for the Promotion of Foreign Application Technology Exchanges.
Third son: Unfortunately, he died prematurely.
Fourth son: Ye Huaming, born in 1935.
In 1953, after Ye Huaming graduated from Beijing 101 Middle School, he wanted to become a pilot, but Nie Shuai disagreed because four members of the Ye family had died in air crashes. At Nie Shuai's suggestion, Ye Huaming chose the aero-engine major and became one of the first surface-to-air missile development experts in New China, and on November 29, 2015, Ye Huaming died in Shenzhen at the age of 82.
Fifth daughter: Ye Yangmei, born in 1936, considered daughter by Premier Zhou, died with her parents on April 8, 1946.
Sixth daughter: Ye Jianmei, born in 1937, died of illness in 1993.
Seventh son: Ye Zhengguang, born in 1939.
Eighth son: Ye Qiguang, born in 1942.
Youngest son: Ah Jiu, killed with his parents on April 8, 1946.
The central government went all out to protect the children of the generals, and several veteran marshals took care of the descendants of the martyrs.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Ye brothers and sisters arrived in Yan'an under the arrangement of Premier Zhou. In Yan'an, the Ye brothers and sisters lived in Premier Zhou's cave dwellings, and their living arrangements were all arranged by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De. Although life in Yan'an at that time was very difficult, as the descendants of the martyrs, the Ye family brothers and sisters received meticulous care.
In early May 1946, the Ye brothers and sisters were again transferred to Zhangjiakou, a large city with relatively good living conditions and which had been liberated at that time, under the personal arrangement of Premier Zhou. In Zhangjiakou, the lives of the Ye brothers and sisters were all taken care of by Nie Shuai and He Shuai, and they had been growing up under the care of the central government.
Remember General Ye Ting! Salute to the revolutionary martyrs!