Zhang Guohua facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zhang Guohua
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张国华
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Zhang Guohua in 1955
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| Communist Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region | |
| In office 24 January 1950 – February 1952 |
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| Preceded by | None (Post Created) |
| Succeeded by | Zhang Jingwu |
| In office 1965–1967 |
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| Preceded by | Zhang Jingwu |
| Succeeded by | Zeng Yongya |
| Governor of Sichuan | |
| In office 1968–1972 |
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| Preceded by | Li Dazhang |
| Succeeded by | Liu Xingyuan |
| Commander of Chengdu Military Region | |
| In office 1952–1965 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | October 22, 1914 Yongxin County, Jiangxi, Republic of China |
| Died | February 21, 1972 (aged 57) Chengdu, Sichuan, China |
| Political party | Communist Party of China |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  People's Republic of China |
| Branch/service |  People's Liberation Army Ground Force |
| Years of service | 1931–1972 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands | Field commander during Sino-Indian War |
| Battles/wars | Long March, 2nd Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War, Invasion of Tibet, Sino-Indian War |
Zhang Guohua (simplified Chinese: 张国华; traditional Chinese: 張國華; pinyin: Zhāng Guóhuá; Wade–Giles: Chang Kuo-hua; October 22, 1914－February 21, 1972) was a Chinese lieutenant general and a politician, serving during the invasion of Tibet and the Sino-Indian War and later as a Communist Party secretary for the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Early life
Zhang Guohua was born in Yongxin, Jiangxi in 1914. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1931.
Military career
Tibet campaign
As commander of the Southwest Eighteenth Army Corps of the People's Liberation Army, he led the main attack force in the 1950 Qamdo campaign against Tibetan forces. Zhang was chosen for his special knowledge of Tibetan culture; Mao Zedong did not want to alienate the Tibetans and gave strict instructions "to do united front work" by respecting the local religion and customs. In contrast to the leader of the Northwest Army, Fan Ming, he supported the Dalai Lama and avoided marching into the city after the victory. Zhang seized the position of Secretary of the CPC Tibet Committee from 1950 to 1952, until Mao Zedong, on learning of his power struggle with Fan, replaced him with Zhang Jingwu as Secretary. Still, Zhang headed the Tibet Work Committee, which would negotiate the items in the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. Zhang only made passing reference to the negotiations in his memoirs. Zhang would resume his position as secretary from 1965 to 1967.
Sino-Indian War
On October 10, 1962 Zhang attended a meeting of military leaders outside Beijing. There, he endorsed the summary by Zhou Enlai that because India chose to occupy disputed territory with China, instead of peacefully resolving the border demarcation with it like Nepal, Burma, and Mongolia, that "Nehru has closed all roads. This leaves us only with war." As the Commander of the Tibet military region, Zhang was present for the formal decision to go to war with India in "self-defense" at the politburo meeting of October 18. Mao raised some issues with the plan, and suggested that they were underestimating the Indian Armed Forces, but Zhang reassured him. Zhang was the People's Liberation Army Ground Force field commander during the Sino-Indian War.
Cultural Revolution
In February 1967, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, three divisions of Red Guards tried to oust Zhang Guohua from the Governorship in Lhasa. Using armor, he succeeded in repressing them, and negotiated with the central government to be moved to Sichuan to form a revolutionary committee. He served as the governor of Sichuan from 1968 to 1972.
