Tan Zhenlin | |
|---|---|
 Tan Zhenlin during theNew Fourth Army period | |
| Native name | 谭震林 |
| Nicknames | Mei Cheng (梅城); “Tan Boss” |
| Born | (1902-04-24)24 April 1902 You County,Hunan, Qing China |
| Died | 30 September 1983(1983-09-30) (aged 81) Beijing, China |
| Allegiance | Chinese Communist Party |
| Branch | Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army National Revolutionary Army (New Fourth Army) People's Liberation Army |
| Years of service | 1927–1954 |
| Battles / wars | First Chinese Civil War Second Sino-Japanese War Second Chinese Civil War |
| Other work | Communist Party official, Politician |
Tan Zhenlin (simplified Chinese: 谭震林;traditional Chinese: 譚震林;pinyin:Tán Zhènlín; 24 April 1902 – 30 September 1983), also known by his courtesy nameMei Cheng, was a revolutionary of theChinese Communist Party and a senior general of thePeople's Liberation Army. He was widely known by the nickname “Tan Boss.”
Tan was born on April 24, 1902, in Chengguan Town ofYou County,Hunan. He received a traditional private-school education and worked as an apprentice in a stationery shop during his early years. In the early 1920s, he helped organize two workers’ struggles in You County andChaling County, and in 1926 he joined theChinese Communist Party. He served as the head of a workers’ patrol, as a propaganda officer for the county trade union, and as a special emissary for the party's mass movement among workers and peasants. He organized local support for theNorthern Expedition of theNational Revolutionary Army and mobilized peasants to disarm reactionary forces.
In the winter of 1927, when the revolutionary forces capturedChaling, Tan was elected chairman of theChaling Workers’ and Peasants’ Government and served as union chairman. Later that year, he accompanied the troops during their withdrawal and, under the leadership ofMao Zedong, participated in establishing theJinggangshan base. He was later elected a standing committee member, then secretary and eventually party chief of the Xiang–Gan Border Special Committee, and served as the Minister of Land Reform in the worker–peasant government. In 1929, he marched with the unit into southernJiangxi and westernFujian, holding posts such as political commissar of the 2nd Column of the Red Fourth Army and director of the political department of its 4th Column. He also participated in theGutian Conference where he was elected to the front committee.[1]
During the early phase of theRed Army's formation, Tan Zhenlin played an indispensable role in reorganizing and consolidating localpeasant militias into a unified fighting force. He mobilized regional units effectively and established crucial defense positions in rural strongholds. These strategic measures not only secured the logistic supply lines for the main forces but also laid a solid foundation for subsequentmilitary campaigns. His efforts significantly enhanced the overallcombat readiness and organizational strength of the emerging revolutionary army.
In June 1930, Tan Zhenlin was appointed Political Commissar of the battle atRed 12th Army [zh]. He took part in early anti-encirclement campaigns in Fujian. He was involved in the Gutian Conference period reforms. In 1932, he became the commander of theFujian Military Region, participating in the first to fourth counter-campaigns against the Nationalist encirclement of Communist bases. Under his leadership, Communist forces achieved victories in battles such as Shuixidu, Shanghang, and Mafu. In 1933, Tan was harshly criticized and removed from his post as commander of the Fujian Military Region for opposing the denunciation of the so-called “Luo Ming Line.”[2]
After the Red Army began theLong March in 1934, Tan stayed behind in the Jiangxi Soviet area. He served as Director of the Political Security Bureau of the Central Military Region (the rear guard unit), reporting directly to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission. He was also a member of the Central Sub-Bureau of the Soviet Area, leading the guerrilla resistance in southwestern Fujian for three years. During this time, influenced by the excesses of internal purges, Tan, together withXiang Ying, was involved in the execution—by machete—of Lin Ye, former Chief of Staff of the Red 12th Army, and his wife, on charges later deemed fabricated. In 1945, theChinese Communist Party posthumously exonerated Lin and recognized him as a revolutionary martyr.[3]
In 1935, Tan was appointed Minister of Military Affairs of the Southwestern Fujian Army Committee, and in 1936, he became Vice Chairman of the same committee.
After the outbreak of theSecond Sino-Japanese War, Tan's unit—part of theNew Fourth Army—was reorganized. On March 1, 1938, he, together with officers such as Zhang Dingcheng andDeng Zihui, helped transform the southern Fujian Red Army into the Second Detachment of the New Fourth Army and served as its deputy commander as the unit moved north.[4] Soon after, he was transferred to be deputy commander of the Third Detachment, where he led his troops in thebattle at Majiayuan [zh] and helped establish an anti-Japanese base in southernAnhui.[5] In 1939, Tan commanded the defense in the Battle of Fanchang,[6] and in 1940 he was appointed commander and political commissar of theJiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, establishing guerrilla bases along the eastern route.
Following theNew Fourth Army incident, he became commander and political commissar of the 6th Division of the New Fourth Army and Party Secretary of the SouthJiangsu District – leading over 80 offensive operations against the Japanese.[7] In November 1941, when the Japanese launched a "scorched-earth" campaign (known as "qingxiang"), Tan led the 6th Division headquarters and the 18th Brigade northward into the regions ofJiangdu,Baoying, andGaoyou. After his 16th Brigade was ambushed, he returned to South Jiangsu to assume command of the brigade and reorganize the unit. In March 1942, Tan was appointed political commissar of the First Division of the New Fourth Army as well as the political commissar of the CentralJiangsu Military Region; in October he became Director of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army. In February 1943, he was appointed political commissar of the Second Division and the Huainan Military Region, and together withLuo Binghui [zh] led the Huainan New Fourth Army to counter Japanese sweep operations and expand their base area. In 1945, he was elected a member of the7th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.[8]
After the end of the war with Japan, the Communists adjusted their strategy and the main force of the New Fourth Army enteredShandong. In November 1945, theHuazhong Branch was officially established with Tan serving as its deputy secretary; meanwhile, the remaining New Fourth Army inHuazhong was merged into the Huazhong Military Region, with Tan appointed as its deputy political commissar and the political commissar of the Huazhong Field Army.[9]
When the second phase of theChinese Civil War broke out, Tan, together withSu Yu, led the Central Jiangsu Campaign – achieving seven victories in seven battles. In September 1946,Su Yu’s Huazhong Field Army andChen Yi’s Shandong Field Army were merged to form theEast China Field Army, with Tan appointed deputy political commissar. To further open up the northern Huai region,Chen Yi andSu Yu launched a large-scale campaign. Tan also participated in the battles in northern Jiangsu (the Su–Jian Campaign) and the Shunan Campaign before moving into operations in Shandong. In January 1947, after the East China Liberation Army was reorganized, Tan served as the deputy political commissar of the East China Military Region and the East China Field Army (code-named "503"),[10] and took part in battles atLaiwu andMenglianggu.[11]
In August 1947, whileChen Yi andSu Yu led eight columns of the East China Field Army to attack regions inHenan,Anhui, andJiangsu, the remaining 2nd, 7th, 9th, and 13th columns—under the command of Tan andXu Shiyou—formed the Eastern Front Army. During the Nationalist Jiaodong Campaign, as Nationalist forces captured key cities such as Laiyang, Longkou, and Yantai, Tan commanded the 2nd and 7th columns from Zhucheng northwards and, in cooperation with Xu Shiyou, defeated Fan Hanjie's unit in the Jiaohe Campaign. He then launched successive blocking operations and recapturedGaomi,Haiyang, andPingdu. In December 1947, the Eastern Front Army advanced north and besiegedLaiyang.
In March 1948, Tan was appointed political commissar of the Shandong Army of the East China Field Army. His force advanced westward, capturingZhoucun andZhangdian, and broke through the Nationalist defensive line along theJiaoji Railway. After a sudden retreat and counterattack, his troops captured Weixian, linking the liberated areas of Jiaodong, Bohai, and Shunan. The force then pressed toward theJinpu Railway; in May, they captured Tai'an and various Nationalist-held positions along the railway, approaching Yanzhou. In July, Tan launched theYanzhou Campaign, capturingYanzhou on the 13th – during which the commander of the Tenth Pacification District,Li Yutang, disguised himself to escape while the commander of the Nationalist 12th Army, Huo Shouyi, was captured. Additionally, a 9th column was dispatched to block reinforcements fromJinan.[12]
In August 1948, the West Column of the East China Field Army reachedShandong and rejoined with the Shandong Army, and they jointly decided to attackJinan.Xu Shiyou and Tan led an assault force of 140,000 troops, while another 180,000 under Su Yu were tasked with blocking reinforcements. On September 16, the siege of Jinan began; due to a change in orders by the East Group commander Nie Fengzhi to “attack as the main effort,” Nationalist commander Wang Yaowu was unable to determine the main direction of the assault. On September 24, thePeople's Liberation Army captured Jinan, with the entire garrison of 110,000 either killed or forced to surrender, andWang Yaowu was captured. In November, Tan served as a member of the General Front Committee for theHuaihai Campaign, participating in its organization and command and leading the Shandong Army in the Nianzhuang Campaign. In February 1949, he was appointed First Deputy Political Commissar of the Third Field Army. On April 21, during theYangtze River Crossing campaign, Tan commanded the 7th and 9th Armies as part of the central force to force a crossing atGuangde, encircling over 100,000 Nationalist troops; his forces then advanced intoZhejiang. In May, after the PLA captured most ofZhejiang, Tan was appointed Communist Party Secretary ofZhejiang, Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Government, and Political Commissar of theZhejiang Military Region.[13]
After the establishment of thePeople's Republic of China in 1949, Tan Zhenlin concurrently served as Deputy Political Commissar of theHuadong Military Region and the Third Field Army. From 1952 onward, he held posts including Third Secretary of the Huadong Bureau of theCCP, Vice Chairman of the Huadong Military-Political Committee, and Chairman of theJiangsu Province People's Government. After December 1954, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the CCP Central Committee andVice Premier of the State Council. Although his military contributions were outstanding, he was not awarded a formal military rank because he transferred to local work relatively early.[14] At the8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1956, Tan was elected to the CCP Central Committee Secretariat. At the 5th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee in 1958, he was additionally elected a member of the Politburo. During theGreat Leap Forward, he served as the Central Secretariat official in charge of agriculture, actively propagating unrealistic slogans – such as "The bolder a person is, the more the land can produce" (a phrase first quoted in an article inPeople's Daily) – for which he later expressed deep remorse.[15]
During theCultural Revolution, Tan was severely attacked and persecuted, clashing withJiang Qing,Chen Boda, and theLin Biao clique. At a Central Politburo meeting in February 1967, he led a session atHuairen Hall and, together withLi Fuchun,Li Xiannian,Ye Jianying,Chen Yi,Xu Xiangqian, andNie Rongzhen, engaged in heated debate with members of theCentral Cultural Revolution Group including Chen Boda,Jiang Qing,Kang Sheng, andZhang Chunqiao. This incident later became known as the "February Countercurrent."[16] As the meeting drew to a close, an angry Tan reportedly said, "Had I known it would come to this, I should never have joined the revolution, should never have joined the Party, should never have lived to be 65, and should never have revolted with Chairman Mao for 40 years!"[17]Mao Zedong retorted, "If you think you should not have joined the Party so early, or lived to be 65, or revolted with me, then you could quit the Party and not join the revolution. As for whether you should live to be 65, what can be done? You have already lived!"[16] In the aftermath, he was denounced as a "bourgeois restorationist", and thousands ofRed Guards held rallies in Beijing and other cities with slogans such as "Down with Tan Zhenlin!"[16] By mid-1967, Mao Zedong had stepped back from the most radical aspects of the campaign. In April, the Party issued orders forbidding arbitrary arrests and called for the release and rehabilitation of anyone who had been wrongly attacked.[16] Over time, Tan’s status improved. AfterLin Biao’s downfall in 1971, Mao showed leniency toward members of the "February Countercurrent." In 1973, following Mao's instructions, Tan was restored to fullparty and state leaders and was elected to the10th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party as a Central Committee member. In January 1975, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of theNational People's Congress and was re-elected for one term. In 1978, Tan supported and helped promote the "1978 Truth Criterion Controversy." At the time of his death in 1983, he also served as Vice Chairman of the CCPCentral Advisory Commission.[18]
Tan Zhenlin is remembered as a veteran revolutionary and senior statesman who played a major role in the Chinese Communist Party’s land and agricultural policies. In the 1950s, he led land reform campaigns inEast China and took charge of majoragriculturalinfrastructure projects, including water conservation efforts on theHuai River.[19] His work is credited with contributing to the development of China's rural economy. Official accounts often praise him as a loyal party member and revolutionary contributor. His long political career — including positions in thePolitburo, as Vice Premier, and in the National People's Congress — reflects the high esteem in which he was held by the party leadership.
Tan Zhenlin was born inYou County,Hunan Province, into a modest family. His father worked as a mine clerk, and Tan received only limited formal education in a traditional private school.[20] He joined the Communist Party in 1926 and became a veteran of theChinese Red Army, serving throughout the civil war and theSecond Sino-Japanese War. He was married twice; his second wife, Ge Huimin (born Tian Bingxiu), married him in 1939. He had at least two children — a daughter, Tan Jingyuan, and a son, Tan Xiaoguang — both of whom later served in government or scientific institutions. Details of his private life remain relatively sparse in English-language sources.
Tan Zhenlin died inBeijing on September 30, 1983, at the age of 81.
Tan Zhenlin was married twice. His first wife, Jiang Xiuxian, whom he married during the Red Army period, died a few months later during political purges. His second wife, Ge Huimin (born Tian Bingxiu in 1919), married Tan in June 1939. After the establishment of thePeople's Republic of China, she served as a confidential secretary for both theZhejiang Provincial Committee and the Huadong Bureau's Enterprise Work Committee as well as in Tan's office at the Central Office; she died on January 31, 1994, inBeijing.[22]
Tan had one son and one daughter. His daughter, Tan Jingyuan, once served as the director of the Comprehensive Planning Bureau (Ministry of Finance) of theChina Association for Science and Technology and retired in 2000. His son, Tan Xiaoguang, is a researcher at the Beijing Urban Meteorological Research Institute of theChina Meteorological Administration.[23]
Below is a summary table of several key offices held by Tan Zhenlin (data translated from the Chinese page):
| Office | Term | Notes / Superior | Predecessor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | 1975–1983 | Served under Chairman(s):Zhu De, actingSong Qingling, andYe Jianying | |
| Vice Premier of the State Council | 1959–1975 | Under Premier:Zhou Enlai | |
| Secretary of theSecretariat of the Chinese Communist Party(8th Congress) | 1956–1966 | Under General Secretary:Deng Xiaoping | |
| Party Secretary ofZhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party | May 1949–September 1952 | Liu Ying [zh] (served until 1942) | Tan Qilong |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
