Communist Military Leaders of the Korean War 10. Marshal Ye Jianying

Background and History Ye Jianying (pronounced Yeh Jee an Yeeng) was born in April 28, 1897, into a well-to-do merchant family north of Guangzhou (Canton). He was an instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy where he met Zhou Enlai. He remained close to Zhou during his entire life. He joined the Communist Party in 1924 in Germany, came back to China where he rose ultimately to become one of China's Ten Marshals. Ye commanded the First Military Commission and later served as Chief of Staff of Zhang Guotao's Fourth Front Army.Ye was the chief political commissar in Kwangtung Province in the early 1950s and was also mayor of Canton (Guangzhou) at this time.

Proclamation of the People's Republic of China After the formation of the People's Republic of China, he would serve for many years as Defense Minister.

The Great Cultural Revolution He survived the Cultural Revolution, paid lip service to Jiang Qing, but led the conspiracy of generals and Party seniors that overthrew Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four and put Deng Xiaoping into power. Ye died October 22, 1989 at the age of ninety-two.