Chen Geng
Encyclopedia
Chen Geng was a Chinese communist
military leader.
province, Chen was second of 12 siblings. However, because his elder brother died early due to illness, Chen became the eldest son. His grandfather, Chen Yiqong (陈翼琼) was an officer in the imperial Chinese army and was rewarded handsomely due to his bravery. After his retirement, Chen Yiqong was able to purchase farmland with his reward money and by the time Chen Geng was born, his family had several hundred mu of land, and became one of the wealthiest local families. Chen's father was Chen Daoliang (陈道良), and his mother was Peng Xuexian (彭学娴). When he was 13, his father arranged a marriage with a bride who was two years his senior, but Chen refused have an arranged marriage, and left home to join the army. However, military life in a warlord's army was not what Chen had expected, and did not yield any glory like his grandfather's. Instead, military life only gave Chen scabies, and influenced his remaining brother to join the military. This brother later died of an illness while he was serving. The disillusioned Chen left the army at the age of 18 and found a job at Hunan
Railway Bureau as a desk clerk, and during this period, he met Mao Zedong
, an event that changed his life forever.
Chen joined the Communist Party of China
in 1922 and enrolled in the Whampoa Military Academy
in 1924. Chen, along with Jiang Xianyun and He Zonghan, were considered the three best students of Whampoa Military Academy at the time. Chen earned Chiang Kai-shek
's deep trust and became the commander of Chiang's garrison. In October 1925, during the second campaign against local warlord Chen Jiongming
, Chiang's vanguard force, the 3rd Division commanded by Tan Shuqing (谭曙卿), advanced too quickly and became isolated in their advance after taking Huizhou
, Chen Jiongming's base, and was ambushed by Chen Jiongming's force commanded by warlord Lin Hu
at Huayang. Against the advice of Chen, Chiang insisted on going to the frontline to command, but the situation was impossible: after beheading half a dozen deserters and personally leading the charge with a sabre in hand in an attempt to counterattack, Tan Shuqing proved unable to control his fleeing troops and the force completely collapsed. Chiang was ashamed, but refused to flee, and attempted to commit suicide. Chen succeeded in taking away Chiang's pistol and carried Chiang away from the battlefield by force, and thus saved the life of Chiang Kai-shek, who, in turn, trusted him even more. However, when the Kuomintang
broke with the Communists in 1927, Chen began to work as a secret agent for the Communists in Shanghai.
In March 1933, Chen was sent to Shanghai to have better medical treatment of his leg wounds, and gave some first-hand accounts of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi
to Agnes Smedley
, becoming a source for her book China's Red Army Marches
. But while in Shanghai, he was captured by the Kuomintang. However, as he had saved the life of Chiang Kai-shek, his life was spared. Chiang was still very grateful to Chen and ordered his transfer to a much better facility to put Chen under house arrest instead of jail like ordinary prisoners, but taking this opportunity, Chen escaped a month later with the help of communist agents. Once again, Chiang spared Chen for saving Chiang's life previously by not ordering the nationalist military and police to capture Chen at all cost like other important communist figures, but instead, claimed that Chen was to be released soon anyway.
After his escape in Nanjing
, Chen was ordered by the communists to return to the communist base in Jiangxi
via train, but he was recognized by nationalist officers riding on the same train. The former vice president of Whampoa Military Academy in charge of educational affairs, Qian Dajun (钱大钧), Chen's instructor at Whampoa Military Academy, also happened to be on the same train, and, along with his followers, recognized Chen. Qian ordered his deputy to invite Chen for dinner in his personal coach, and Chen initially refused, trying to pass himself off as a businessman, but his attempt only drew laughter from the nationalist officers, since both knew the true identities of the other. Knowing he was discovered, Chen had to go to Qian Dajun's coach, and the two chatted for a while, when Qian revealed that he was sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Jiangxi to help to plan another campaign to exterminate the communists. Chen was obviously nervous and made an excuse to leave, claiming that he had to get off the train after the train had passed Xuzhou
and Qian let him go.
Chen then boarded the same train and sat in the corner of a different section in a different coach in order to reach his destination, but once again, Qian's deputy officer appeared in front of him with a smile on his face: "Mr. Chen, you haven't gotten off the train yet, General Qian is asking for you again." Chen had no choice but to go and this time he stayed longer and finished the meal with Qian Dajun before he was finally let go. Chen and Qian's subordinates were equally baffled why Qian let Chen escape, and Qian revealed later that since Chiang would not order Chen executed and allowed his escape by claiming Chen was to be released anyway, arresting Chen and having him executed would put Chiang in a very difficult position because public opinion would be against Chiang. Furthermore, Qian Dajun personally liked the excellent student, who was a favorite of his, despite their political difference, and thus allowed Chen to escape. Chen eventually managed to enter the Communists' base in Jiangxi and later completed the Long March
in 1935.
broke out, the Communists' Red Army organized as the Eighth Route Army
and Chen was appointed the chief commander of the 386th Brigade. He led the 386th brigade to several victories against the Japanese
and his brigade had been called the best brigade in China by Evans F. Carlson. In 1940, he commanded his brigade in Shanxi
during the Hundred Regiments Offensive
. After Japan's surrender in 1945, Chen's 386th brigade evolved into the 4th Column of the Shanxi – Henan
– Hebei
– Shandong
Military District. He led his troops in many important battles of the Chinese Civil War
, such as the Shangdang Campaign
in 1945, Datong-Puzhou Campaign
, Linfen-Fushan Campaign
and subsequent Lüliang Campaign
in 1946, Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain
in 1947, and Huaihai Campaign
in 1948. By the time the civil war ended, the 4th Column became the 4th Army Group and Chen served as commander and political commissar. His troops entered Yunnan
in 1949.
At the request of Hồ Chí Minh
, who was a long time friend of Chen, Chen entered Vietnam
and helped Vo Nguyen Giap
to launch a series of successful attacks on isolated French bases along the Chinese border in 1950. Back from Vietnam, he went to Korean War
and served as the commander and political commissar of the 3rd Army Group of Chinese People's Volunteer Army
. When the Commander of Volunteer Army, Peng Dehuai
went back to China, Chen worked as the acting commander. He was appointed as a general
in September, 1955. Chen's brother-in-law, Tan Zheng, who was married to Chen's younger sister Chen Qiuju (陈秋菊), was heavily influenced by Chen and thus joined revolution, and was also rewarded the rank of general with Chen in the same time.
After returning from the Korean War, Chen founded the Military Engineering Academy in Harbin
, engaging in developing high-tech weapons. This school became one of the most famous universities in China within a few years. Although defunct in 1970, many military engineering colleges today in China such as the National University of Defense Technology
in Changsha, can trace their origins to the Military Engineering Academy. Due to this experience, Chen later focused on the ballistic missile program and nuclear weapon program of China. However, he did not see the success of these programs. He died of a heart attack in 1961.
, Zhou Enlai
, and Lin Biao
, and he has been said as the only one that dared to joke with Peng Dehuai
. Chen's first wife is Wang Genying (王根英), who was killed by Japanese troops in late 1938 in southern Hebei
during a Japanese mop-up operation. His second wife is Fu Ya (傅涯).
In addition to his courage, Chen was also known for his cunning, which he used to his advantage among his comrades just like the way he fought his nationalist adversaries: during the time at Yan'an
, the communists faced great material shortage and there was time that not enough food was available. To help to increase their food supply, the communists tried anything possible, and the commander-in-chief of the communist forces, Zhu De, took a good care of an apple tree in his yard and Chen convinced his buddy, another communist commander Chen Xilian
(The two are not biologically related) to "harvest" the apples in Zhu De's yard when the apples were ripe: since Zhu only had a single body guard and the local garrison for the communist leaders had to patrol all the residences of communist leaders, Chen Geng suggested that Chen Xilian go to Zhu's residence during windy days when the local garrison was away patrolling other areas. Chen Xilian would talk to both Zhu and his wife as well as his bodyguard to distract them by keeping them in the room, while Chen knocked down as many apples as possible.
Chen would then go to Zhu's room and pretend to meet Chen Xilian by accident and as the two were leaving, Chen Geng would tell Zhu that there were so many apples on the ground and they would like to have some. Zhu always agreed and the two would take as many as possible. When asked why not just take the apples and leave or just let a single person take the apples, Chen Geng humorously but honestly answered that he discovered when asking instead of stealing, Zhu would always help them to load apples into their bags and pockets, and he was capitalizing on Zhu's free labor. In addition, Zhu had always given a slightly higher amount per capita when more people were present in comparison to a single person. Everybody would then burst into laughter, accusing Chen of stealing the apples and exploiting the commander-in-chief's free labor to help thieves like Chen to steal his own apples. It was rumored that Zhu already realized Chen's trick but allowed it to be played out because he like to help his fellow comrades.
Another example of Chen's cunning was that every communists cadre must volunteer his/her own labor for production or construction, and Chen, was assigned as one of those to build Yan'an airfield with Chen Xilian. Chen Geng told Chen Xilian that they were wasting energies by walking a long distance and pushing a cart on the way, and suggested that he would allow Chen Xilian to ride the cart, and he would push, so that once they reached the construction site, they would have more energy to contribute to actual work. On the way back to home, the role would be reversed with Chen Geng would be riding in the cart and Chen Xilian being the one would do the pushing. Chen Xilian was originally very happy to do so, but soon discovered that he was played by Chen Geng: on the way to work, it was not a problem of pushing the cart with a man in it because the day was just starting and no work was done. However, once off work, everybody was so tired because of the hard work and pushing a cart with a man in it was very exhausting. Obviously Chen Xilian demanded the practice to be changed with the two rotating the roles, Chen Geng refused and even though Chen Xilian stopped the practice after Chen Geng's refusal, Chen Geng already had a week's free ride.
In August, 1948 at Wuhan
, Chen played a role as a matchmaker by introducing the younger sister, Wang Xuanmei (王璇梅) of his late-first wife to his buddy, the communist military commander Chen Xilian, who is now the commander-in-chief of communist III Corps, whose first wife, Su Ge (粟格), died of illness in the autumn of 1948. Wang Xuanmei and Chen Xilain soon married afterwards, and the two families remained good friends even after the death of Chen Geng.
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
military leader.
Early life
Born in HunanHunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
province, Chen was second of 12 siblings. However, because his elder brother died early due to illness, Chen became the eldest son. His grandfather, Chen Yiqong (陈翼琼) was an officer in the imperial Chinese army and was rewarded handsomely due to his bravery. After his retirement, Chen Yiqong was able to purchase farmland with his reward money and by the time Chen Geng was born, his family had several hundred mu of land, and became one of the wealthiest local families. Chen's father was Chen Daoliang (陈道良), and his mother was Peng Xuexian (彭学娴). When he was 13, his father arranged a marriage with a bride who was two years his senior, but Chen refused have an arranged marriage, and left home to join the army. However, military life in a warlord's army was not what Chen had expected, and did not yield any glory like his grandfather's. Instead, military life only gave Chen scabies, and influenced his remaining brother to join the military. This brother later died of an illness while he was serving. The disillusioned Chen left the army at the age of 18 and found a job at Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
Railway Bureau as a desk clerk, and during this period, he met Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, an event that changed his life forever.
Chen joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in 1922 and enrolled in the Whampoa Military Academy
Whampoa Military Academy
The Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy , was a military academy in the Republic of China that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th century, notably the Northern Expedition, the Second...
in 1924. Chen, along with Jiang Xianyun and He Zonghan, were considered the three best students of Whampoa Military Academy at the time. Chen earned Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's deep trust and became the commander of Chiang's garrison. In October 1925, during the second campaign against local warlord Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming was a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China. Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 at Haifeng, Guangdong, China....
, Chiang's vanguard force, the 3rd Division commanded by Tan Shuqing (谭曙卿), advanced too quickly and became isolated in their advance after taking Huizhou
Huizhou
Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...
, Chen Jiongming's base, and was ambushed by Chen Jiongming's force commanded by warlord Lin Hu
Lin Hu
Lin Hu, 林虎, was a member of the Old Guangxi Clique and military governor of Guangdong province from May 1924 to July 1925.-Early life and career:...
at Huayang. Against the advice of Chen, Chiang insisted on going to the frontline to command, but the situation was impossible: after beheading half a dozen deserters and personally leading the charge with a sabre in hand in an attempt to counterattack, Tan Shuqing proved unable to control his fleeing troops and the force completely collapsed. Chiang was ashamed, but refused to flee, and attempted to commit suicide. Chen succeeded in taking away Chiang's pistol and carried Chiang away from the battlefield by force, and thus saved the life of Chiang Kai-shek, who, in turn, trusted him even more. However, when the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
broke with the Communists in 1927, Chen began to work as a secret agent for the Communists in Shanghai.
In March 1933, Chen was sent to Shanghai to have better medical treatment of his leg wounds, and gave some first-hand accounts of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
to Agnes Smedley
Agnes Smedley
Agnes Smedley was an American journalist and writer best known for her semi-autobiographical novelDaughter of Earth. She was also known for her sympathetic chronicling of the Chinese revolution...
, becoming a source for her book China's Red Army Marches
China's Red Army Marches
China's Red Army Marches , by Agnes Smedley. Also published in the USSR as Red Flood Over China.This book gives a detailed account of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi from 1928 to 1931, ending with the proclamation of the Soviet Republic of China in 1931...
. But while in Shanghai, he was captured by the Kuomintang. However, as he had saved the life of Chiang Kai-shek, his life was spared. Chiang was still very grateful to Chen and ordered his transfer to a much better facility to put Chen under house arrest instead of jail like ordinary prisoners, but taking this opportunity, Chen escaped a month later with the help of communist agents. Once again, Chiang spared Chen for saving Chiang's life previously by not ordering the nationalist military and police to capture Chen at all cost like other important communist figures, but instead, claimed that Chen was to be released soon anyway.
After his escape in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, Chen was ordered by the communists to return to the communist base in Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
via train, but he was recognized by nationalist officers riding on the same train. The former vice president of Whampoa Military Academy in charge of educational affairs, Qian Dajun (钱大钧), Chen's instructor at Whampoa Military Academy, also happened to be on the same train, and, along with his followers, recognized Chen. Qian ordered his deputy to invite Chen for dinner in his personal coach, and Chen initially refused, trying to pass himself off as a businessman, but his attempt only drew laughter from the nationalist officers, since both knew the true identities of the other. Knowing he was discovered, Chen had to go to Qian Dajun's coach, and the two chatted for a while, when Qian revealed that he was sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Jiangxi to help to plan another campaign to exterminate the communists. Chen was obviously nervous and made an excuse to leave, claiming that he had to get off the train after the train had passed Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
and Qian let him go.
Chen then boarded the same train and sat in the corner of a different section in a different coach in order to reach his destination, but once again, Qian's deputy officer appeared in front of him with a smile on his face: "Mr. Chen, you haven't gotten off the train yet, General Qian is asking for you again." Chen had no choice but to go and this time he stayed longer and finished the meal with Qian Dajun before he was finally let go. Chen and Qian's subordinates were equally baffled why Qian let Chen escape, and Qian revealed later that since Chiang would not order Chen executed and allowed his escape by claiming Chen was to be released anyway, arresting Chen and having him executed would put Chiang in a very difficult position because public opinion would be against Chiang. Furthermore, Qian Dajun personally liked the excellent student, who was a favorite of his, despite their political difference, and thus allowed Chen to escape. Chen eventually managed to enter the Communists' base in Jiangxi and later completed the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
in 1935.
Military Experiences
When the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
broke out, the Communists' Red Army organized as the Eighth Route Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
and Chen was appointed the chief commander of the 386th Brigade. He led the 386th brigade to several victories against the Japanese
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and his brigade had been called the best brigade in China by Evans F. Carlson. In 1940, he commanded his brigade in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
during the Hundred Regiments Offensive
Hundred Regiments Offensive
The Hundred Regiments Offensive was a major campaign of the Communist Party of China's Red Army commanded by Peng Dehuai against the Imperial Japanese Army in Central China.-Background:...
. After Japan's surrender in 1945, Chen's 386th brigade evolved into the 4th Column of the Shanxi – Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
– Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
– Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
Military District. He led his troops in many important battles of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, such as the Shangdang Campaign
Shangdang Campaign
The Shangdang Campaign was a series battles fought between the Communist force under the leadership of Liu Bocheng and the nationalist Yan Xishan’s Kuomintang force. The Campaign lasted from September 10, 1945, through October 12, 1945...
in 1945, Datong-Puzhou Campaign
Datong-Puzhou Campaign
Datong-Puzhou Campaign is a campaign communists fought against the nationalist during the Chinese Civil War in the post-World War II era in Shanxi, and resulted in communist victory.-Order of battle:Nationalist:*The 34th ArmyCommunist:...
, Linfen-Fushan Campaign
Linfen-Fushan Campaign
The Linfen–Fushan Campaign was a series battles fought in regions between Linfen and Floating Mountain in Shanxi, China between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War and resulted in communist victory.-Prelude:...
and subsequent Lüliang Campaign
Lüliang Campaign
Lüliang Campaign , also called Southwestern Shanxi Campaign , was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists in Lüliang region in southwestern Shanxi during the Chinese Civil War in the post War World II era, and resulted in the communist victory.-Prelude:In early...
in 1946, Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain
Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain
Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War after World War II for the control of western Hubei, and the border areas of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces...
in 1947, and Huaihai Campaign
Huaihai Campaign
Huaihai Campaign or Battle of Hsupeng was a military action during 1948 and 1949 that was the determining battle of the Chinese Civil War. It was one of the few conventional battles of the war. 550,000 troops of the Republic of China were surrounded in Xuzhou and destroyed by the communist...
in 1948. By the time the civil war ended, the 4th Column became the 4th Army Group and Chen served as commander and political commissar. His troops entered Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
in 1949.
At the request of Hồ Chí Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
, who was a long time friend of Chen, Chen entered Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and helped Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
to launch a series of successful attacks on isolated French bases along the Chinese border in 1950. Back from Vietnam, he went to Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and served as the commander and political commissar of the 3rd Army Group of Chinese People's Volunteer Army
People's Volunteer Army
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was the armed forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army , the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to...
. When the Commander of Volunteer Army, Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
went back to China, Chen worked as the acting commander. He was appointed as a general
Jiang (rank)
Jiang is the rank held by general officers in the military of both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China. The People's Liberation Army uses three grades at present while the Republic of China uses four, with the rank equivalent to the fourth being treated as a field officer...
in September, 1955. Chen's brother-in-law, Tan Zheng, who was married to Chen's younger sister Chen Qiuju (陈秋菊), was heavily influenced by Chen and thus joined revolution, and was also rewarded the rank of general with Chen in the same time.
After returning from the Korean War, Chen founded the Military Engineering Academy in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, engaging in developing high-tech weapons. This school became one of the most famous universities in China within a few years. Although defunct in 1970, many military engineering colleges today in China such as the National University of Defense Technology
National University of Defense Technology
National University of Defense Technology is a comprehensive national key university based in Changsha, Hunan Province, China.It is under the dual supervision of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education, designated for Project 211 and Project 985, the two national plans for...
in Changsha, can trace their origins to the Military Engineering Academy. Due to this experience, Chen later focused on the ballistic missile program and nuclear weapon program of China. However, he did not see the success of these programs. He died of a heart attack in 1961.
Personal life
Chen is also famous for his straight forward and humorous personality. He often joked with his colleague, even with senior officers such as Mao ZedongMao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
, and Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
, and he has been said as the only one that dared to joke with Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
. Chen's first wife is Wang Genying (王根英), who was killed by Japanese troops in late 1938 in southern Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
during a Japanese mop-up operation. His second wife is Fu Ya (傅涯).
In addition to his courage, Chen was also known for his cunning, which he used to his advantage among his comrades just like the way he fought his nationalist adversaries: during the time at Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
, the communists faced great material shortage and there was time that not enough food was available. To help to increase their food supply, the communists tried anything possible, and the commander-in-chief of the communist forces, Zhu De, took a good care of an apple tree in his yard and Chen convinced his buddy, another communist commander Chen Xilian
Chen Xilian
Chen Kaichu, better known by the nom de guerre Chen Xilian was a general of People's Liberation Army of China and a member of the Central Committee Politburo....
(The two are not biologically related) to "harvest" the apples in Zhu De's yard when the apples were ripe: since Zhu only had a single body guard and the local garrison for the communist leaders had to patrol all the residences of communist leaders, Chen Geng suggested that Chen Xilian go to Zhu's residence during windy days when the local garrison was away patrolling other areas. Chen Xilian would talk to both Zhu and his wife as well as his bodyguard to distract them by keeping them in the room, while Chen knocked down as many apples as possible.
Chen would then go to Zhu's room and pretend to meet Chen Xilian by accident and as the two were leaving, Chen Geng would tell Zhu that there were so many apples on the ground and they would like to have some. Zhu always agreed and the two would take as many as possible. When asked why not just take the apples and leave or just let a single person take the apples, Chen Geng humorously but honestly answered that he discovered when asking instead of stealing, Zhu would always help them to load apples into their bags and pockets, and he was capitalizing on Zhu's free labor. In addition, Zhu had always given a slightly higher amount per capita when more people were present in comparison to a single person. Everybody would then burst into laughter, accusing Chen of stealing the apples and exploiting the commander-in-chief's free labor to help thieves like Chen to steal his own apples. It was rumored that Zhu already realized Chen's trick but allowed it to be played out because he like to help his fellow comrades.
Another example of Chen's cunning was that every communists cadre must volunteer his/her own labor for production or construction, and Chen, was assigned as one of those to build Yan'an airfield with Chen Xilian. Chen Geng told Chen Xilian that they were wasting energies by walking a long distance and pushing a cart on the way, and suggested that he would allow Chen Xilian to ride the cart, and he would push, so that once they reached the construction site, they would have more energy to contribute to actual work. On the way back to home, the role would be reversed with Chen Geng would be riding in the cart and Chen Xilian being the one would do the pushing. Chen Xilian was originally very happy to do so, but soon discovered that he was played by Chen Geng: on the way to work, it was not a problem of pushing the cart with a man in it because the day was just starting and no work was done. However, once off work, everybody was so tired because of the hard work and pushing a cart with a man in it was very exhausting. Obviously Chen Xilian demanded the practice to be changed with the two rotating the roles, Chen Geng refused and even though Chen Xilian stopped the practice after Chen Geng's refusal, Chen Geng already had a week's free ride.
In August, 1948 at Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
, Chen played a role as a matchmaker by introducing the younger sister, Wang Xuanmei (王璇梅) of his late-first wife to his buddy, the communist military commander Chen Xilian, who is now the commander-in-chief of communist III Corps, whose first wife, Su Ge (粟格), died of illness in the autumn of 1948. Wang Xuanmei and Chen Xilain soon married afterwards, and the two families remained good friends even after the death of Chen Geng.