Deng Hua

Deng Hua (; 28 April 1910 – 3 July 1980) was a Chinese military leader and general of the People's Liberation Army. He fought in the Chinese Civil War and was one of the principal commanders of the Chinese People's Volunteers during the Korean War, serving as First Deputy Commander under Peng Dehuai before becoming Acting Commander and Political Commissar in 1952. He later commanded the Chinese People's Volunteers until 1954 and played a leading role in the armistice negotiations that ended the war.

Early life Deng Hua was born on 28 April 1910 in Yongning Township, Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan (now Beihu District in Chenzhou), into a scholarly family. His father, Deng Yangyuan, was a linsheng (廩生), a holder of a lower-level degree in the imperial examination system who received a government stipend, and worked as a private tutor in the local community. Deng received a traditional private education in his early childhood before attending Xinhua School in Chenzhou. Under their leadership, the division took part in the siege of Nanfeng, contributing to the Communist victory in the Fourth encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet.

Second Sino-Japanese War In June 1938, Deng Hua's detachment advanced into eastern Hebei and organized participation in the Jidong anti-Japanese armed uprising. Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Deng was appointed director of the Political Department and subsequently political commissar of the 685th Regiment of the Eighth Route Army's 115th Division. Deng later assumed command of the Pingxi Detachment, serving concurrently as commander and political commissar. He directed operations against Japanese encirclement campaigns in the Jin-Cha-Ji border region and helped establish the Pingxi Anti-Japanese Base Area. In 1941, Deng became commander and political commissar of the Fourth Military Sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, while also serving as secretary of the local CCP prefectural committee. In February 1944, he was appointed political commissar of the Mobile Brigade of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Together with brigade commander Huang Yongsheng, he led the brigade to Yan'an, where he assumed the post of political commissar of the 2nd Teaching Brigade of the Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia–Jin-Sui Joint Defence Force. In 1947, Deng took part in the Third Battle of Siping before being appointed commander of the Liaoji Column of the Northeast Democratic Allied Army. The formation was subsequently redesignated as the 7th Column of the Fourth Field Army, with Deng as commander, He Jinnian as deputy commander and Tao Zhu as political commissar. During the Liaoshen Campaign, he commanded the 7th and 9th Columns in the main assault on Jinzhou. Following the Liaoshen Campaign, Deng advanced through Shanhaiguan with the main force of the Northeast People's Liberation Army during the Pingjin Campaign. The Central Military Commission initially planned to seize Tanggu, but after the offensive stalled Deng proposed redirecting the main effort against Tianjin, a recommendation that was accepted. In April 1949, Deng was appointed commander of the 15th Corps of the Fourth Field Army. He subsequently led the corps during the Hunan–Jiangxi and Guangdong campaigns, capturing Guangzhou on 14 October 1949. The following month, he was concurrently appointed first deputy commander of the Guangdong Military District. The operation was the People's Liberation Army's first successful large-scale amphibious landing campaign. According to political scientist Suisheng Zhao, Deng and Hong Xuezhi were among the senior commanders who concluded that the advance of United Nations forces towards the Yalu River posed a direct threat to China and advocated military intervention. Following the CPV's entry into Korea in October 1950, Deng served as first deputy commander and first deputy political commissar, assisting Peng in directing the first through fifth campaigns against United Nations forces.

Later years After returning to China in 1954, Deng served as first deputy commander and acting commander of the Northeast Military Region, deputy chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army and commander of the Shenyang Military Region. He was awarded the rank of shangjiang (general) in 1955 and was elected to the Central Committee at the Eighth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1956. Later that year, he led a Chinese military delegation on official visits to Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. In 1959, Deng was removed from his military posts because of his association with Peng Dehuai following the Lushan Conference. He was transferred to Sichuan as vice governor, where he remained under political surveillance despite attempts to seek a formal review of his case. During the Cultural Revolution, Deng was repeatedly detained, subjected to struggle sessions, and persecuted by factions associated with Lin Biao and the Gang of Four. In 1968, after Jiang Qing and Kang Sheng publicly denounced him, his persecution intensified. Despite this, he remained an alternate member of the Party's Central Committee and returned to military service in 1977 as deputy director of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences. He was fully rehabilitated by the Chinese Communist Party in May 1980.

Deng died in Shanghai due to illness on 3 July 1980, aged 70. Following his death, the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee issued an official assessment describing Deng as "loyal to the Party and the people" who had upheld the Party's line and served as an outstanding Party member, political worker and military commander. On 10 July 1980, Deng's high-profile memorial service was held at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing and the ceremony was hosted by Defense Minister Geng Biao, with the official eulogy delivered by Wei Guoqing. The service was attended in person by key leaders including Li Xiannian, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, while top figures like Deng Xiaoping, Hua Guofeng and Ye Jianying sent wreaths.

Awards and honors