He Long

He Long was a leader in China.

He grew up in a poor family. He did not go to school. He was a cowherd when he was young.

Later, he led a large group of people. He fought in many wars. He helped his group grow in many lands.

He became a very important leader. He was named one of ten top leaders.

He worked hard for his country. People still remember him today.

He Long was a famous leader in China. He was born into a poor family. He did not go to school as a child. He worked as a cowherd when he was young.

He Long joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1926. He led many soldiers in big battles. He was part of the Long March. This was a very long journey for his group.

He eventually joined the forces led by Mao Zedong.

During the war with Japan, He Long grew his power. He led many troops in Northwest China. By the end of World War II, he led 175,000 soldiers.

After the civil war, he became a very high leader. In 1955, he was named one of the Ten Marshals. This was a top rank for military leaders.

Later, He Long faced hard times. He was treated unfairly during the Cultural Revolution. He was placed under house arrest. This means he could not leave his home. He died in 1969. Later, leaders helped fix his reputation.

He Long was a famous leader in China. He was born in 1896 in Hunan. His family was quite poor. He was part of the Tujia ethnic group. He worked as a cowherd when he was a boy. Because his family had little money, he did not go to school. This means he did not have a formal education. He became an outlaw when he was 20 years old. People sometimes called him a "Robin Hood" figure. He even used a butcher knife as his main weapon.

He Long joined many different groups over time. First, he joined the National Revolutionary Army. In 1925, he even ran a school for soldiers.

Later, he joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1926. He and Zhu De led the Nanchang Uprising in 1927. This was a big fight to take control of a city. The fight was very hard for his men. Many soldiers did not survive the battle. After this, He Long had to move to many different places to stay safe. He eventually built new bases in rural areas.

He Long was part of the Long March in 1935.

This was a very long journey for the Communist forces. During the march, he met other leaders. He disagreed with a leader named Zhang Guotao. He decided to join the forces led by Mao Zedong instead. He moved his troops to Shaanxi in 1936. There, he helped protect the new headquarters in Yan'an. He led the 120th Division during the war with Japan. He was very good at growing his influence in Northwest China.

By the end of World War II, He Long was very powerful.

He commanded about 175,000 troops. After the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, he held many jobs. He worked in both the military and for the government. In 1955, he was named one of the Ten Marshals. This was a very high honor for a military leader. He also served as a Vice Premier. He even helped lead sports groups in China. He traveled to many other countries to meet world leaders.

Later in his life, He Long faced very difficult times. During the Cultural Revolution in 1966, he was treated unfairly. Leaders called him a "rightist." He was put under house arrest for over two years. This meant he was not allowed to leave his home. His health became very poor during this time. He had diabetes and did not get the medicine he needed. He died in 1969. Many years later, other leaders helped fix his reputation. A stadium in Changsha is named after him today.

He Long was a prominent Chinese Communist revolutionary and a high-ranking military leader. He served as one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. His life spanned many of the most important eras in modern Chinese history. He rose from a humble background to hold immense political and military power. His journey involved leading large armies through wars and helping to build a new nation.

However, his life also ended in a period of deep political struggle and hardship.

He Long was born on March 22, 1896, in Sangzhi, Hunan. He belonged to the Tujia ethnic group.

His family was poor, and they could not provide him with a formal education. As a young man, he worked as a cowherd. His life changed at age 20 after a violent encounter with a local tax assessor. This event led him to become an outlaw. Legend says he began his revolutionary career using only two kitchen knives. He gained a reputation as a "Robin Hood-like figure" because of his actions. He eventually raised a volunteer army that joined the National Revolutionary Army in 1920.

His military career involved shifting loyalties as China's political landscape changed. In 1925, he ran a school to train Kuomintang soldiers. During this time, he met students who were members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He joined the CCP in late 1926. In 1927, after the Kuomintang began suppressing Communists, He Long broke away to join the Red Army. He and Zhu De planned the Nanchang Uprising in 1927 to seize control of Nanchang. This battle was very difficult and resulted in 50% casualties for the Communists. Only 2,000 survivors eventually returned to the fight in 1928.

After the failure of the Nanchang Uprising, He Long focused on building rural bases. He organized a "soviet" in the Hunan-Hubei border region. A soviet is a territory controlled by a specific political group. In 1932, Kuomintang forces attacked this base during the Fourth Encirclement Campaign. He Long was forced to move his forces to northeast Guizhou in 1933. He later joined the Long March in November 1935. This was a massive movement of Communist forces across China. During the march, he met with forces led by Zhang Guotao. He disagreed with Zhang's strategy and chose to join Mao Zedong instead.

By 1937, He Long had established a headquarters in northwestern Shaanxi. His troops were among the few to arrive in Yan'an mostly intact. This allowed his forces to protect the new Communist capital. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he commanded the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army. He was very successful at expanding Communist control in the northwest. He often worked with local guerrilla forces to fight the Japanese army. By the end of World War II in 1945, he commanded approximately 175,000 troops.

After the Japanese surrender, he became the second-in-command to Peng Dehuai.

Following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, He Long held many roles. He was promoted to command the First Field Army in Southwest China. He spent much of the 1950s administering this region in both military and civilian capacities. In 1955, the government recognized his contributions by naming him one of the Ten Marshals. He also served as a Vice Premier. He led many international delegations to meet leaders in the Soviet Union and East Germany. He was known as one of the most well-traveled members of the CCP elite.

The final years of He Long's life were marked by political conflict. In 1959, he refused to support Mao Zedong's efforts to remove Peng Dehuai from power. He attempted to defend Peng's reputation, which caused tension with the leadership. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, He Long was purged from his positions. He was accused of being a "rightist" and a "bandit." He was placed under indefinite house arrest for his final two and a half years. During this time, his access to food, heat, and medicine was restricted. He had chronic diabetes that went untreated. He died in 1969 due to complications from his illness and malnutrition. His reputation was later restored by the government in the 1970s and 1980s.