Chen Shaokun
陈绍昆
3rd Minister (Head) of Metallurgical Industry
In office February 1970 – May 1977
Prime Minister	Zhou Enlai→Hua Guofeng
Preceded by	Lü Dong
Succeeded by	Tang Ke [zh]
5th Director of Political Department ofShenyang Military Region
In office August 1969 – February 1970
Preceded by	Li Boqiu [zh]
Succeeded by	Zhang Wu (born 1920) [zh]
Deputy Political Commissar of Shenyang Military Region
In office August 1969 – June 1975
Political Commissar	Pan Fusheng→Mao Yuanxin
Personal details
Born	(1921-04-20)April 20, 1921 Suyu District,Suqian,Jiangsu, China
Died	October 10, 2020(2020-10-10) (aged 99) Beijing, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Spouse	Yang Jingyuan
Children	Chen Honghai [zh]
Alma mater	Counter-Japanese Military and Political University
Occupation	Army officer, politician
Military service
Allegiance	People's Republic of China
Branch/service	People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service	1939–1970
Rank	Major general
Battles/wars	Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War Korean War
Awards	National Flag Medal (1952) Order of Freedom and Independence (2nd Class Medal) (1952) Order of Independence and Freedom (2nd Class Medal) (1955) Order of Liberation (2nd Class Medal) (1955)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	陳紹昆
Simplified Chinese	陈绍昆
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Shàokūn

Chen Shaokun (Chinese:陈绍昆; 20 April 1921 – 10 October 2020) was a Chinese army officer and politician who served as minister of Metallurgical Industry from 1975 to 1977.^[1] Prior to that, he was director of Political Department ofShenyang Military Region between 1969 and 1970 and deputy political commissar of Shenyang Military Region between 1969 and 1975.^[1]

Chen was born inSuyu District ofSuqian,Jiangsu, on April 20, 1921.^[1] After graduating from Suqian High School, he was admitted toCounter-Japanese Military and Political University.^[1] He enlisted in theEighth Route Army in 1939, and joined theChinese Communist Party in 1940.^[1]

In 1940, he served in Sishu County (泗沭县) as party chief and deputy captain of guerrilla force.^[1] After that, he became director of Politieal Division of the New 1st Group Army.^[2]

In the early period of theChinese Civil War, he was political commissar of the 15th Regiment of the 2nd Column in theNortheast People's Liberation Army [zh] and then political commissar of the 348th Regiment of the 116th Division in the39th Group Army. He participated in the 1948Battle of Jinzhou attacks led byLin Biao andLuo Ronghuan innortheast China'sLiaoning province.^[3] He also participated in thePingjin campaign,Yangtze River Crossing Campaign, and Guangdong-Guangxi campaign.

After the outbreak of theKorean War, he was commissioned director of Political Department of the 116th Division of the 39th Group Army. His army overwhelmed the 8th Regiment of the1st Cavalry Division of theUnited States Army during theBattle of Unsan.^[4] In 1952, he became deputy political commissar of the 117th Division, and in 1953 received a promotion to political commissar of 115th Division.

After returning to China, he became political commissar of 116th Division in 1954.^[5] In 1962, he was director of Political Department, deputy political commissar, and then political commissar of the 39th Group Army. He was promoted to the rank ofmajor general (Shaojiang) in 1964. In 1969, he was transferred toShenyang Military Region and appointed deputy political commissar and director of Political Department. In February of the following year, he was assigned to theMinistry of Metallurgical Industry [zh], where he was promoted to its head in 1970. He retired in 1977.^[6]

He died inBeijing on October 10, 2020, aged 99.^[1]

He married Yang Jingyuan (杨景援). Their son,Chen Honghai [zh] (born 1955), is also a major general (Shaojiang) in thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.^[7]

• 回顾 [Review] (in Chinese). Shenyang, Liaoning: Northeast University Press. 2006.ISBN 7811022443.

• National Flag Medal (1952)
• Order of Freedom and Independence (2nd Class Medal) (1952)
• Order of Independence and Freedom (2nd Class Medal) (1955)
• Order of Liberation (2nd Class Medal) (1955)

• 1921 births
• 2020 deaths
• Politicians from Suqian
• People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu
• Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu
• People's Liberation Army generals from Jiangsu
• 20th-century Chinese generals
• People of the Chinese Civil War
• Chinese military personnel of World War II
• Chinese military personnel of the Korean War

• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• CS1 uses Chinese-language script (zh)
• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text