Chen Cheng

Chen Cheng ([ʈʂʰə̌n ʈʂʰə̌ŋ]; Chinese: 陳誠; pinyin: Chén Chéng; January 4, 1897 – March 5, 1965) was a Chinese political and military leader, and one of the main commanders of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.

Chen Cheng
陳誠
Vice President of the Republic of China
In office 20 May 1954 – 5 March 1965
President	Chiang Kai-shek
Preceded by	Li Tsung-jen
Succeeded by	Yen Chia-kan
5th & 7th Premier of the Republic of China
In office 7 March 1950 – 7 June 1954
President	Chiang Kai-shek
Vice Premier	Chang Li-sheng Huang Shao-ku
Preceded by	Yü Hung-chün
Succeeded by	Yen Hsi-shan
In office 30 June 1958 – 15 December 1963
President	Chiang Kai-shek
Vice Premier	Huang Shao-ku Wang Yun-wu
Preceded by	Yü Hung-chün
Succeeded by	Yen Chia-kan
2nd Chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government
In office 5 January 1949 – 21 December 1949
President	Chiang Kai-shek Li Tsung-jen
Preceded by	Wey Daw-ming
Succeeded by	Wu Kuo-Chen
1st Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of China Armed Forces
In office 23 March 1946 – 12 May 1948
President	Chiang Kai-shek
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Gu Zhutong
1st Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of China Navy
In office 1 July 1946 – 25 August 1948
President	Chiang Kai-shek
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Kui Jung-ching
Personal details
Born	January 4, 1897 Qingtian, Zhejiang, Qing Dynasty
Died	March 5, 1965 (aged 68) Taipei, Taiwan
Nationality	Republic of China
Political party	Kuomintang
Spouse(s)	Tan Xiang
Relations	Tan Yankai (father-in-law)
Children	Chen Li-an
Occupation	General, politician
Awards	Order of Blue Sky and White Sun
Military service
Nickname(s)	Little Generalissimo
Allegiance	Republic of China
Branch/service	Republic of China Army
Years of service	1924–1950
Rank	General
Unit	11th division
Commands	18th Army 11th Division
Battles/wars	Northern Expedition Encirclement Campaigns Second Sino-Japanese War Battle of Shanghai Battle of Wuhan Battle of Changsha Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang Battle of West Hubei Burma Theatre Chinese Civil War Battle of Huaiyin-Huai'an

After moving to Taiwan at the end of the civil war, he served as the Governor of Taiwan Province, Vice President, and Premier of the Republic of China (ROC). He represented the ROC in visits to the United States and helped to initiate land reforms and tax reduction programs that caused communism to become unattractive in Taiwan since peasants were able to own land.

His courtesy name was Chen Tsyr-shiou (陳辭修; Chén Cíxiū).

Early life

Chen Cheng was born in Qingtian County, Zhejiang, graduated from Baoding Military Academy in 1922, and entered Whampoa Military Academy two years later. It was there that he first met Chiang Kai-shek, Commandant of the Academy. Later, Chen joined National Revolutionary Army to participate in the Northern Expedition.

Rise in military

During the Northern Expedition, Chen displayed good leadership ability. Within a year, he was promoted from commanding battalions to divisions already.

After the expedition, Chen became active in the wars against the warlords. His successes in the battles allowed him to be promoted again, to the commander of the 18th Army.

Anticommunist campaigns

In 1931, Chen was assigned the task of suppressing the Red Army. In various campaigns searching for the main force of Red Army, Chen's units experienced heavy casualties. In the fifth campaign against the Communists, he finally managed to defeat them, which forced the Red Army to launch its epic Long March.

Campaigns against the Red Army came to an end after the Xi'an Incident in which Chiang and his staff were forced to agree to co-operate with the communists against the invading Imperial Japanese Army.

War against Japan

Chen Cheng (right) inspecting troops with Chiang Kai Shek

During the Battle of Shanghai, he was one of the top military assistants of Chiang Kai Shek. It was his idea to seek a decisive action in Southern China, rather than confronting the Japanese in Northern China, where Nationalist troops were in poor condition and lacked transporting vehicles. After the fall of Shanghai and of Nanjing, Chen moved to Hubei to command the Battle of Wuhan in 1938. Wuhan was the provisional headquarters of the Chinese Army. The Japanese, however, managed, despite heavy losses to defeat the Chinese and captured Wuhan on October 25, 1938.

In the last years of the war, Chen went on to command in the Battle of Changsha, the Battle of Yichang, and the Battle of West Hubei. In 1943, he was appointed the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in the Burma Theater until he was replaced by Wei Li-huang because of illness.

Chinese Civil War

Engagement picture of Chen Shing and Tan Xiang (1932)

After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chen became the Chief of the General Staff and commander-in-chief of the navy. He followed Chiang's orders and began to raid the "liberated" areas of the Red Army, which launched the Chinese Civil War.

In August 1947, Chiang appointed Chen as director of the Northeastern Headquarters to command the Nationalist forces against the Communists in that area. He made the crucial mistake of dissolving the local security regiments because they had served in the Japanese-collaborationist Manchukuo Imperial Army, which made the total Nationalist strength in Manchuria fall from 1.3 million to less than 480,000. He also dismissed some of the most capable Nationalist commanders, such as Du Yuming, Sun Li-jen, Zheng Dongguo, and Chen Mingren. As a result, he suffered a series of major defeats, and Chiang recalled Chen to Nanjing and sent Wei Lihuang to replace him in Shenyang as Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast and Fan Hanjie as deputy commander-in-chief and director of Jinzhou forward command center.[1] Chen took a sick leave in Taiwan to treat his chronic stomach ailment.

In Taiwan

On July 31, 1961, Vice President Chen met with US President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson at the White House

Chiang appointed Chen as the Governor of Taiwan Province in 1949 to plan the development of Taiwan as a Nationalist strongholds. After the Nationalist force retreated to Taiwan, Chen went on to hold key civilian government positions such as Vice-Executive of the Kuomintang, Vice President, and Premier of the Republic of China.

In his years on Taiwan, he introduced various land and economic reforms and carried out the reconstruction of Taiwan. Chen's "375 rent reduction" initiative was credited with stopping the spread of communism in Taiwan. The policy capped the rent farmers paid to landlords at 37.5% of the harvest. Prior to the directive, landlords had often sought more than half of the crop as payment.[2]

He was also credited with launching several construction projects. One was the Shimen Reservoir, in Taoyuan County, which reduced flooding and increased the rice crop production.

On May 19, 1949, Chen promulgated the Order of Martial Law to announce the imposition of martial law throughout Taiwan to expel communist infiltration and to buffer defense capabilities.

Death

Chen Tsyr-shiou Memorial Park, former mausoleum and memorial of Chen, until 1995.

Chen died of hepatic tumors in 1965. His cremated remains were moved to Fo Guang Shan, Kaohsiung County (now part of Kaohsiung City), in August 1995.

Honors

Key to the City

• Manila, Philippines (March 20, 1960)[3]
• Pasay City, Philippines (March 20, 1960)[3]

References

Citations

1. Taylor, Jay (2009). The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China. Harvard University Press. p. 381.
2. Han Cheung (1 January 2017). "Taiwan in Time:The unwilling politician". Taipei Times. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
3. "Cementing Philippines Friendship". Taiwan Today. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-07-12.

Sources

• Dupuy, Trevor N. Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, New York, 1992
• generals.dk: Chen Chengs military timeline
• Ministry of National Defense R.O.C
• US Naval War College
• https://web.archive.org/web/20090326011824/http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/bjorge_huai.pdf

External links

• Media related to Chen Cheng at Wikimedia Commons