Friends who are familiar with history know that the People's Army has advocated equality between officers and soldiers since its founding. Therefore, in the following decades, no military rank was implemented in the army. After the founding of New China, in order to promote the modernization and regularization of the army, and to commend those generals who have made important contributions to the victory of the Chinese revolution and the founding of New China, in the fall of 1955, our army was awarded the first major rank in history, and more than a thousand founding generals were produced in total. After the awarding of
, a medal ceremony was also held. Military ranks and medals are noble affirmations and rewards for the arduous revolutionary career of older generation revolutionaries. Faced with the honor, status and fame and fortune given to individuals by the country and the people, many founding generals chose to push and be humble, and many people asked for demotion, such as Xu Guangda and Xu Liqing. When Chairman Mao learned that he was going to be named Grand Marshal, he personally found Peng Dehuai, Luo Ronghuan and others and said to them: "I don't want Grand Marshal. It's so uncomfortable to let me wear the Grand Marshal's uniform! It's so inconvenient to speak and engage in activities among the masses!"
In history, Chairman Mao has always paid great attention to contact with the people. During the Great Revolution, he visited the masses many times and wrote the "Hunan Peasant Movement Inspection Report"; during the Yan'an period, he often went to the villagers to inquire about their production and living conditions. He knew very well that if he wanted to get along with the people, he could not be special. Therefore, he refused to have the rank of Grand Marshal. The uniforms of Grand Marshal prepared for him could only be placed in the museum forever.
At the same time, Peng Dehuai also expressed his opinion many times: "I don't need this card, nor can I reach a marshal. If I want to evaluate it, it is difficult to say that it is appropriate to evaluate it. But this is not a personal problem. If I don't evaluate some marshals, it will make it rare for some people to continue to evaluate it in turn." In June 1959, he emphasized in a conversation with Albania Defense Minister Baluku: "I don't like people calling me marshal. This is the result of the war and I learn from others. I don't like these two chariots on my shoulders."
At the same time, many old comrades believe that military rank is "doctrinism" and is not suitable for our country's national conditions at that time. Therefore, by 1965, Chairman Mao ordered the abolition of the military rank system. After the military rank system was abolished, the military uniforms of cadres and soldiers were basically the same. The only difference was that the tops of the cadres' military uniforms were four pockets and the soldiers had two pockets. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, the disadvantage of not having military ranks began to gradually emerge. At that time, the founding major general Jia Ruoyu served as deputy education director in Military Academy and once accompanied Dean Xiao Ke on a visit to Iran .
At that time, Iran had a military rank system. According to Jia Ruoyu's recollection, "When they received us, they asked our personnel what rank General Xiao Ke was and what level he belonged to, and we couldn't answer." In addition to the inconvenience of diplomatic reception, the lack of military rank also affects the combat effectiveness of the troops to a certain extent. During the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, some troops were disbanded, and there was a chaotic command situation because they had no military ranks. Deng Xiaoping saw all this and was anxious in his heart.
But it is not easy to overturn Chairman Maoβs decision immediately and then rebuild the military rank system. Because there were many problems left by the army at that time, such as unsatisfactory system, over-staffing of cadres, aging, and unreasonable proportion of officers and soldiers. In response to these situations, Deng Xiaoping decided to streamline the army before restoring the military rank system. After that, the railway troop and infrastructure engineering troop were first abolished, and then a million-dollar disarmament was carried out, controlling the size of the troops to a relatively reasonable level.
At this time, the conditions for implementing the new military rank system have basically matured. In July 1, the second session of the Seventh National People's Congress passed the "Regulations on the Military Rankings of Officers of the People's Liberation Army of China", which also means that the military rank system, which has been interrupted for more than 20 years, has been restored. Before the specific title was awarded, Deng Xiaoping convened an important meeting, pointing out that this title was not restored based on the 1955 grand title, but a re-established military rank system.It is also stipulated that there will be no marshal or general in this rank, and the highest rank is general. At the same time, the two lieutenant-level ranks, Captain and Warrant Officer , were also cancelled. Those who hold a military position in the local party committee secretary will not be awarded ranks and will not wear military uniforms. Compared with the military rank system in 1955, this time the awarding of rank has made many changes. Therefore, many people have concerns and are afraid that work is difficult to do. Deng Xiaoping said in response to this: You can do it, and I will be responsible for any problems. This sentence gave everyone a reassurance, and soon the new military rank system began to be promoted throughout the army. This time, a total of 17 people were awarded the rank of general, including Hong Xuezhi. Since he was awarded the title in 1955, he was awarded the title for the second time, so he is also called the "Six-Star General".
