Luo Ruiqing
Encyclopedia
Luo Ruiqing was a general and politician of the People's Republic of China
.
, Sichuan
in 1906. He joined the Communist Party of China
in 1928. He was the eldest son of a wealthy landlord named Luo Chunting (罗春庭), who had a total of six kids. However, Luo Chunting was an opium addict and lost all of his wealth due to his addiction, and the entire family had to rely on Luo Ruiqing's mother, who did not leave behind a first name, but only her last name Xian (鲜). Due to the downfall of his family fortune, Luo Ruiqing did not receive any traditional Chinese primary education until he was 6, and then did not enter modern elementary school until the age of 14. At the edge of 17, he passed the entrance exam and entered County Middle School of Nanchong. Despite the decrease of family wealth, Luo's family was still able to afford the hefty sum of money needed for his education, and this fact was used by the Red Guards
to attack Luo during Cultural Revolution
. It was only after Luo had entered the Advanced Sericulture
Academy in Chengdu
at the age of 20 when his family was completely gone, and as a result, he was forced to drop out of school and become an apprentice at a silk store, but he never returned to school to complete his study. Luo's early life was willfully ignored in the official Chinese records until 1990s, because his petty bourgeoisie background does not fit the political environment until the end of 20th Century.
Luo took part at the Long March
and occupied several posts in the People's Liberation Army
in the aftermath. He was transferred to Shaanxi
to run the training of young cadres. He led several purges of supporters of former General Secretary
Wang Ming
. He was then put in charge of eliminating the faction loyal to Zhang Guotao
, Mao Zedong
's rival in the Fourth Front Army, shortly after his political defeat.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China
, Luo was appointed Minister of Public Security
and a member of the Central Military Commission. He was so responsible for consolidating the new system against its internal enemies; in 1950, at a conference in Beijing
, he supported the establishment of a militia under his Ministry similar to the Soviet MVD
armed force.
Luo took part at the Korean War
from 1950 to 1953. He was awarded as Da Jiang
or General of the Army, the highest rank of general in People's Liberation Army
in 1955.
At the Eight National Congress of the Communist Party of China
in 1956, he was elected a member of the Central Committee
and its Secretariat, and secretary-general of the Central Military Commission. In 1959 he was also elected a Vice Premier of the State Council
.
After Huang Kecheng
was removed from his posts in 1959 along with Peng Dehuai
, Luo replaced him as chief of the PLA General Staff
. However, his reluctance to follow Mao's idea of emphasizing the political training within the army and rifts with Lin Biao
led him to be relieved of his posts in December
1965, though he remained a Vice Premier.
During the first stages of the Cultural Revolution
, he was branded as part of the "Peng-Luo-Lu-Yang anti-Party clique" (with Peng Dehuai, Lu Dingyi
and Yang Shangkun
). After criticism sessions, he attempted suicide on March 16, 1966 by jumping from the third floor of a building, surviving but breaking both his legs. This was seen as a proof of his guilt, so he received further public criticism after he recovered. He was hospitalized many times in the following years, and he was forced to have his left leg amputated in 1969.
Luo was rehabilitated by Mao during a meeting of the Central Military Commission in 1975, when he recognized that Lin Biao fabricated a case against the former General. In 1977 Luo was elected in the 11th Central Committee
and got back his post of CMC secretary-general.
Luo died on August 3, 1978 while in the Federal Republic of Germany for medical treatment.
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People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Biography
Luo Ruiqing was born in NanchongNanchong
Nanchong is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan Province of the People's Republic of China, with an area of 12,479 kilometers. and the home to 7,300,000 people. It has the second most populated area and suggested to be one of the eight largest cities of Sichuan Province...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
in 1906. He 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 1928. He was the eldest son of a wealthy landlord named Luo Chunting (罗春庭), who had a total of six kids. However, Luo Chunting was an opium addict and lost all of his wealth due to his addiction, and the entire family had to rely on Luo Ruiqing's mother, who did not leave behind a first name, but only her last name Xian (鲜). Due to the downfall of his family fortune, Luo Ruiqing did not receive any traditional Chinese primary education until he was 6, and then did not enter modern elementary school until the age of 14. At the edge of 17, he passed the entrance exam and entered County Middle School of Nanchong. Despite the decrease of family wealth, Luo's family was still able to afford the hefty sum of money needed for his education, and this fact was used by the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
to attack Luo during Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. It was only after Luo had entered the Advanced Sericulture
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...
Academy in Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
at the age of 20 when his family was completely gone, and as a result, he was forced to drop out of school and become an apprentice at a silk store, but he never returned to school to complete his study. Luo's early life was willfully ignored in the official Chinese records until 1990s, because his petty bourgeoisie background does not fit the political environment until the end of 20th Century.
Luo took part at 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...
and occupied several posts in the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
in the aftermath. He was transferred to Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
to run the training of young cadres. He led several purges of supporters of former General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
. He was then put in charge of eliminating the faction loyal to Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
, 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...
's rival in the Fourth Front Army, shortly after his political defeat.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Luo was appointed Minister of Public Security
Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China
The Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China is a high level official of the PRC government. The minister is in charge of the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC, which is responsible for law enforcement, public safety and the police force in China...
and a member of the Central Military Commission. He was so responsible for consolidating the new system against its internal enemies; in 1950, at a conference in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, he supported the establishment of a militia under his Ministry similar to the Soviet MVD
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
armed force.
Luo took part at the 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...
from 1950 to 1953. He was awarded as Da Jiang
Da Jiang
Da Jiang was a rank conferred in 1955 to ten veteran leaders of the People's Liberation Army. It was never conferred again and the rank was abolished in 1965 along with all other ranks in the PLA...
or General of the Army, the highest rank of general in People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
in 1955.
At the Eight National Congress of the Communist Party of China
National Congress of the Communist Party of China
The National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a party congress that is held about once every five years. The National Congress is theoretically the highest body within the Communist Party of China, but in practice important decisions are made before the meeting. Since 1987 the National...
in 1956, he was elected a member of the Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
and its Secretariat, and secretary-general of the Central Military Commission. In 1959 he was also elected a Vice Premier of the State Council
Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China is a high-ranking executive assistant to the Premier. There is a First-ranking Vice Premier , sometimes called Executive Vice Premier wrongly by the non-official media. It is an informal title and takes over duties of the...
.
After Huang Kecheng
Huang Kecheng
Huang Kecheng was one of ten senior generals of People's Liberation Army.-Biography:General Huang Kecheng was born in Yongxing, Hunan, China, and he was the third of four children...
was removed from his posts in 1959 along 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...
, Luo replaced him as chief of the PLA General Staff
People's Liberation Army General Staff Department
The People's Liberation Army General Staff Department is the command organ and the headquarters for the Chinese People's Liberation Army . It is under the absolute leadership of the Central Military Commission...
. However, his reluctance to follow Mao's idea of emphasizing the political training within the army and rifts with 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...
led him to be relieved of his posts in December
December
December is the 12th and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.December starts on the same day as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year.-Etymology:...
1965, though he remained a Vice Premier.
During the first stages of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, he was branded as part of the "Peng-Luo-Lu-Yang anti-Party clique" (with Peng Dehuai, Lu Dingyi
Lu Dingyi
Lu Dingyi was a former leader of the Communist Party of China. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China and before the Cultural Revolution, he was credited as one of the top officials in socialist culture.-Biography:...
and Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission...
). After criticism sessions, he attempted suicide on March 16, 1966 by jumping from the third floor of a building, surviving but breaking both his legs. This was seen as a proof of his guilt, so he received further public criticism after he recovered. He was hospitalized many times in the following years, and he was forced to have his left leg amputated in 1969.
Luo was rehabilitated by Mao during a meeting of the Central Military Commission in 1975, when he recognized that Lin Biao fabricated a case against the former General. In 1977 Luo was elected in the 11th Central Committee
11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was in session from 1977 to 1982. It held seven plenary sessions in the 5-year period.It elected the 11th Politburo of the Communist Party of China in 1977.-Members:*Hua Guofeng...
and got back his post of CMC secretary-general.
Luo died on August 3, 1978 while in the Federal Republic of Germany for medical treatment.
External links
- High Tide of Terror, a strongly critical article about Luo Ruiqing published on March 5, 1956 by Time Magazine Biography of Luo Ruiqing, Xinhuanet 杨成武谈揭批罗瑞卿实情, ("Yang ChengwuYang ChengwuYang Chengwu , alias Yang Nengjun was a general of the People's Republic of China. He was also a Proletarian Revolutionist and a military strategist of the People's Liberation Army....
discusses the true facts about the campaign to expose and criticise Luo Ruiqing"), Yanhuang Chunqiu magazine, Beijing, 2005 Vol. 10. General Yang Chengwu, who took part in the campaign against Luo, recalls the events.
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