In 1955, the exciting ceremony of the Chinese People's Liberation Army rank awards kicked off. The national anthem sounded, and every Chinese son and daughter were excited. Among the honored generals, there was a special female member named Li Zhen.
was awarded the rank of major general in 1955. She is not only a unique woman among the founding generals, but also the first female general in of the People's Republic of China. She and her husband, General Gan Siqi, are the "couple star" of New China. They are both comrades-in-arms and partners. Their stories have become a good story. Today we will meet this legendary couple.
Gan Siqi was born in 1904. He grew up in Hunan, a hot land of revolution. After graduating from middle school in 1924, he was admitted to Hunan Normal University. During this time, although he was still a student, he had already begun to participate in the revolutionary movement. Joined the Communist Youth League in 1925 and joined the Communist Party of China the following year. Gan Siqi was able to gain organizational recognition so quickly, which is inseparable from his active absorption of progressive ideas and his efforts to actively participate in revolutionary activities. The party organization saw every bit of his experience and remembered it in his heart.
1927, Gan Siqi went to the Soviet Union to study. After three years of study, she returned to China and accepted the order from the organization to engage in translation work in the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee of Shanghai. In 1931, Gan Siqi was transferred to the Hunan-Jiangxi Soviet Area and worked, leading his subordinates to fight the enemy bravely. Under his organizational leadership, he won successive victories and expanded his troops' strength. Gan Siqi was a party member with clear political ideas. When the "left-leaning" road was prevalent at that time, he was revoked from his post in Red Army because of his adherence to the correct revolutionary ideas and was transferred to a position that was neither light nor heavy.
Even if the road ahead is difficult, Gan Siqi still takes her work seriously and strengthens ideological and moral education and organizational system construction. With his efforts, he has cultivated a large number of Red Army cadres and talents and increased the talent reserves of our army. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Liberation, the troops led by Gan Siqi mainly operated in the northwest region.
1947, the famous Northwest Field Army was established. Gan Siqi served as the director of the Political Department, and the commander was the famous Peng Dehuai. The two joined forces to make great contributions to the liberation of the northwest region of our country. After the founding of New China in , Gan Siqi still worked in the military and continued to shine for the development of my country's military construction and the development of national defense forces. In 1955, Gan Siqi was awarded the rank of general, and he was also the most educated general (he once went to Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow to further study).
Gan Siqi's wife Li Zhen is a legendary woman with a rough life. She was born in 1908 and had no food or clothing since she was a child. She was sent by her family to be a child bride. In 1924, the sixteen-year-old Li Zhen married her first husband, Gu Tianshun. However, because Li Zhen later joined the Communist Party of China, her husband abandoned Li Zhen for fear of being implicated.
Li Zhen's second husband is Zhang Qilong. The two are revolutionary comrades-in-arms. Their thoughts and life are very compatible, but a beautiful life is always short-lived. Zhang Qilong was suppressed for political reasons. In order to protect Li Zhen, the two had to terminate their marriage.
Li Zhen's third husband was Gan Siqi. At that time, she had been addicted to the sadness of Zhang Qilong's separation. Although she had been doing her best in her career and had done well, her mental state did not look good. Ren Bishi's wife Chen Congying introduced Gan Siqi to her, but did not force her, but just said to get along first. Gan Siqi had a calm personality and he fell in love with Li Zhen's seriousness in doing things. The two slowly opened their hearts during contact and officially became husband and wife in 1935.
The revolutionary environment is arduous, and the war is constantly dangerous. The difficult environment has led to Li Zhen and Gan Siqi's victory in the revolution, but they have no children in their entire lives.
But the couple adopted more than 20 orphans of soldiers, and every child here regarded them as their parents. In order to raise these children, Gan Siqi and Li Zhen have simple lives, but they are willing to accept it and do not seek rewards. In 1964, Gan Siqi died of illness at the age of 60. In 1990, Li Zhen died at the age of 82.
