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{{Short description|Chinese general and politician (1886–1976)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Family name hatnote|[[Zhu (surname)|Zhu]] {{langn|zh|(朱)}}|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Yuanshuai|Marshal]]
| name                = Zhu De
| native_name         = {{normal|朱德}}
| native_name_lang    = zh
| image               = File:Zhu De, Commander of PLA.jpg
| caption             = Marshal Zhu De {{circa|1950s}}
| office              = 2nd [[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]]
| president           = [[Liu Shaoqi]]<br />''None'' (Post abolished in 1975)
| term_start          = 28 April 1959
| term_end            = 6 July 1976
| predecessor         = Liu Shaoqi
| successor           = [[Soong Ching-ling]] <small>(acting)</small>
| order1              = 1st [[Vice President of China|Vice Chairman of China]]
| term_start1         = 27 September 1954
| term_end1           = 27 April 1959
| 1blankname1         = [[President of China|Chairman]]
| 1namedata1          = [[Mao Zedong]]
| successor1          = [[Soong Ching-ling]] and [[Dong Biwu]]
| order2              = [[Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party]]
| term_start2         = 28 September 1956
| term_end2           = 1 August 1966
| 1blankname2         = Chairman
| 1namedata2          = [[Mao Zedong]]
| order3              = [[Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection]]
| term_start3         = 9 November 1949
| term_end3           = 31 March 1955
| predecessor3        = [[Li Weihan]]
| successor3          = [[Dong Biwu]]
| order4              = Commander-in-Chief of the [[People's Liberation Army]]
| term_start4         = 28 November 1946
| term_end4           = 27 September 1954
| predecessor4        = ''Post established''
| successor4          = ''Post abolished'' [[Mao Zedong]](as of President of China)
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1886|12|1|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Yilong County]], [[Nanchong]], [[Sichuan]], China
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1976|7|6|1886|12|1|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Beijing]], China
| party               = [[Chinese Communist Party]] (1925–1976)
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Xiao Jufang|1912|1916|end=died}}
* {{Marriage|Chen Yuzhen|1916|1935|end=died}}
* {{Marriage|Wu Ruolan|1928|1929|end=died}}
* {{Marriage|[[Kang Keqing]]|1929}}
}}
| children            = {{ubl|Zhu Qi|[[Zhu Min (Russian language professor)|Zhu Min]]}}
| alma_mater          = [[Yunnan Military Academy]]
| nickname            = {{ubl|"Old Chief Zhu"|"The Father of the Red Army"}}
| military_data1      = 
| allegiance          = {{ubl|{{flag|Republic of China (1912–1949)|name=Republic of China}}|{{Flag|China|name=People's Republic of China|size=25px}}}}
| branch              = {{plainlist|
* {{Army|China}}
* [[Eighth Route Army]]
* [[Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army]]
* [[National Revolutionary Army]]
* [[Yunnan clique]]
}}
| serviceyears        = 1927–1976
| rank                = {{plainlist|
* [[File:Marshal rank insignia (PRC).jpg|48px]] [[Yuanshuai#People's_Republic_of_China|Marshal of the People's Republic of China]]
* [[File:Tiwan-Army-OF-9 (1928).svg|48px]] [[Jiang (rank)|General]] of the [[National Revolutionary Army]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]
}}
| battles             = 
{{tree list}}
* [[Northern Expedition]]
* [[Chinese Civil War]]
** [[Encirclement campaigns]]
** [[Long March]]
* [[Second World War]]
** [[Hundred Regiments Offensive]]
{{tree list/end}}
| mawards             = 
| module              = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes|order=st
| c = {{linktext|朱|德}}
| p = Zhū Dé
| w = Chu Teh
| mi = {{IPA|cmn|tʂú tĕ}}
| altname = [[Courtesy name]]: Yujie
| s2 = 朱玉阶
| t2 = 朱玉階
| p2 = Zhū Yùjiē
| w2 = Chu Yu-chieh
| mi2 = {{IPA|cmn|tʂú ŷ.tɕjé}}
}}
}}
'''Zhu De'''{{efn|{{lang-zh|s=朱德|p=Zhū Dé|w=Chu Teh}}; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|uː|_|ˈ|d|ʌ}}}} (1 December 1886&nbsp;– 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP).

Zhu was born into poverty and was adopted by a wealthy uncle at age nine and received a superior early education that led to his admission into a military academy. After graduating, he joined a rebel army and became a [[Warlord Era|warlord]]. Afterward he joined the CCP. He commanded the [[Eighth Route Army]] during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] and the [[Chinese Civil War]]. By the end of the civil war he was also a high-ranking party official.

Zhu is regarded as one of the principal founders of the [[People's Republic of China]], and was a prominent political figure until dying in 1976. In 1955, he was ranked first among the ten [[Yuanshuai#People's_Republic_of_China|marshals]]. He was chairman of the [[Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]] from 1959 to 1976
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
[[File:Zhu De in his youth.jpg|thumb|left|130px|Zhu during his youth (1900)]]
Zhu was born on 1 December 1886, to a poor tenant farmer's family in [[Former Residence of Zhu De|Hung]], a town in [[Yilong County]], [[Nanchong]].{{sfnb|KleinClark|1971|p=245}} Of the 15 children born to the family only eight survived. His family of Hakkas in Sichuan migrated from [[Hunan]] province and [[Guangdong]] province.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=zh:朱德的祖籍家世|url =http://family.netor.com/familytree/text_1252_622.html|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141009073813/http://family.netor.com/familytree/text_1252_622.html|archive-date =9 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="loving memories of mother">{{cite web |url = http://www.putclub.com/html/ability/translation/translation/training/2010/0604/15632.html |script-title = zh:朱德《母亲的回忆》英译 |date = 4 June 2010 |access-date = 1 October 2014 |archive-date = 26 October 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181026215002/http://www.putclub.com/html/ability/translation/translation/training/2010/0604/15632.html }}</ref> His origins are often given as [[Hakka]], but Agnes Smedley's biography of him says his people came from Guangdong and speaks of Hakka as merely associates of his.<ref>Smedley, ''The Great Road'', p. 14 and 23.</ref> She also says that older generations of his family had spoken the "Kwangtung dialect" (which would be close to but probably different from modern [[Cantonese]]) and that his generation also spoke [[Sichuanese dialects|Sichuanese]], a distinct regional variant of [[Southwestern Mandarin]] that is unintelligible to other speakers of [[Standard Chinese]] (Mandarin).<ref>Smedley, ''The Great Road'', p. 14</ref>

Despite his family's poverty, by pooling resources Zhu was chosen to be sent to a regional private school in 1892. At age nine he was adopted by his prosperous uncle, whose political influence allowed him to gain access to Yunnan Military Academy.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iVcKAaedfJsC&pg=PA210 |title = Mao |isbn = 978-1-4516-5449-3 |last1 = Pantsov |first1 = Alexander V. |last2 = Levine |first2 = Steven I. |date = 2 October 2012 |publisher = Simon and Schuster }}</ref> He enrolled in a Sichuan high school around 1907 and graduated in 1908. Subsequently, he returned to Yilong's primary school as a gym instructor. An advocate of modern science and political teaching rather than the strict classical education afforded by schools, he was dismissed from his post<ref name="loving memories of mother"/> and entered the Yunnan Military Academy in [[Kunming]].<ref name=":322">{{Cite book |last=Hammond |first=Ken |title=China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future |publisher=1804 Books |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-7368500-8-4 |location=New York, NY |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=151}} There he joined the [[Beiyang Army]] and the [[Tongmenghui]] secret political society (the forerunner of the [[Kuomintang]]).<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/china/history/imperial_china/the_manchu_qing_dynasty_1644-1911/internal_threats.htm |title = The Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), Internal Threats |work = Countries Quest |access-date = 26 September 2011}} Tongmenghui</ref>
[[File:2025-02-07 Former Residence of Zhu De in Jianshui 建水朱德舊居 11.jpg|thumb|Bust of Zhu De in Former Residence, Jianshu ]]

=== Nationalism and warlordism ===
[[File:1916 Zhu De.jpg|130px|thumb|left|Zhu De in 1916.]]
At the [[Yunnan Military Academy]] in Kunming, he first met [[Cai E]] (Tsai Ao).<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ac5eFSWg02QC&pg=PA168 |title = Provincial Patriots|isbn = 978-0-674-02665-0|last1 = Platt|first1 = Stephen R.|year = 2007| publisher=Harvard University Press }}</ref> He taught at the academy after his graduation in July 1911.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/back/journals/2000/Vol26_2/14.htm |title = V26N2 - Personality Profile: Zhu De [Chu Teh] |website = mindef.gov.sg |access-date = 20 February 2014 |archive-date = 25 February 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140225143529/http://www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/back/journals/2000/Vol26_2/14.htm }}</ref> Siding with the revolutionary forces after the [[1911 Revolution]], he joined Brig. Cai E in the October 1911 expeditionary force that marched on Qing forces in Sichuan. He served as a regimental commander in the [[Cai E#Opposition to Yuan Shikai|campaign to unseat]] [[Yuan Shikai]] in 1915–16. When Cai became governor of Sichuan after Yuan's death in June 1916, Zhu was made a brigade commander.<ref>Shum Kui-kwong, ''Zhu-De (Chu Teh),'' University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia: 1982),  p. 3-4.</ref>

Following the death of his mentor [[Cai E]] and of his first wife Xiao Jufang in 1916, Zhu developed a severe [[opium]] habit that afflicted him for several years until 1922, when he underwent treatment in Shanghai.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA307 |title = Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History |isbn = 978-0-313-29337-5 |last1 = Wortzel |first1 = Larry M. |last2 = Wortzel |first2 = Larry |last3 = Higham |first3 = Robin |year = 1999 |publisher = Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> His troops continued to support him, and so he consolidated his forces to become a [[Warlord Era|warlord]]. In 1920, after his troops were driven from Sichuan toward the Tibetan border, he returned to [[Yunnan]] as a public security commissioner of the provincial government. Around this time he decided to leave China for study in Europe.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140225041306/http://hfmhmg08.fotopages.com/?entry=4104070 Zhu De and his Marriages]</ref> He first traveled to Shanghai, where he broke his opium habit and, according to historians of the Kuomintang, met [[Sun Yat-sen]]. He attempted to join the [[Chinese Communist Party]] in early 1922, but was rejected for being a warlord.<ref>Shum Kui-kwong, ''Zhu-De (Chu Teh),'' University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia: 1982),  p. 4-5.</ref>

=== Converting to Communism ===

[[File:Zhu De (1922).jpg|thumb|left|Zhu photographed in Berlin, 1922]]

In late 1922 Zhu went to [[Berlin]], along with his partner He Zhihua. He resided in [[Germany]] until 1925, studying at one point at [[University of Göttingen|Göttingen University]].<ref name="High Command">William W. Whitson, Huang Chen-hsia, ''The Chinese High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927–1971'', Praeger Publishers: New York, 1973, p. 30f.</ref> Here he met [[Zhou Enlai]] and was expelled from Germany for his role in a number of student protests.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA307 |title = Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History|isbn = 978-0-313-29337-5|last1 = Wortzel|first1 = Larry M.|last2 = Wortzel|first2 = Larry|last3 = Higham|first3 = Robin|year = 1999| publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> Around this time he joined the Chinese Communist Party; Zhou Enlai was one of his sponsors (having sponsors being a condition of probationary membership, the stage before actual membership).<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.china.org.cn/china/CPC_90_anniversary/2011-06/21/content_22829447.htm |title = The legacy of overseas study for China's early leaders: Zhu De |author=马玉佳 |website = china.org.cn}}</ref> In July 1925, after being expelled from Germany, he traveled to the [[Soviet Union]] to study military affairs and Marxism at the [[Communist University of the Toilers of the East]]. While in Moscow He Zhihua gave birth to his only daughter, [[Zhu Min (linguist)|Zhu Min]]. Zhu returned to China in July 1926 to unsuccessfully persuade Sichuan warlord [[Yang Sen]] to support the [[Northern Expedition]].<ref name="High Command" />

In 1927, following the collapse of the [[First United Front]], Kuomintang authorities ordered Zhu to lead a force against Zhou Enlai and [[Liu Bocheng]]'s [[Nanchang uprising]].<ref name="High Command"/> Having helped orchestrate the uprising, Zhu and his army defected from the Kuomintang.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zhu De|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/cpc2011/2010-09/30/content_12475227.htm|access-date=16 June 2021|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref> The uprising failed to gather support, however, and Zhu was forced to flee [[Nanchang]] with his army. Under the false name of Wang Kai, Zhu managed to find shelter for his remaining forces by joining warlord [[Fan Shisheng]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zhu De|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/COLDzhu.htm|access-date=16 June 2021|website=Spartacus Educational}}</ref>

=== Zhu-Mao ===
[[File:1930s Mao Zhu De Zhou Enlai Bogu.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Zhu (second from right) photographed with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai (second from left) and Bo Gu (left) in 1937.]]
Zhu's close affiliation with [[Mao Zedong]] began in 1928 when, with the help of [[Chen Yi (marshal)|Chen Yi]] and [[Lin Biao]], Zhu defected from Fan Shisheng's protection and marched his army of 10,000 men to [[Jiangxi]] and the [[Jinggang Mountains]].<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=W0odGKx3TnAC&pg=PA177 |title = Mao's Road to Power: From the Jinggangshan to the establishment of the ... |isbn = 978-1-56324-439-1 |last1 = Mao |first1 = Zedong |year = 1992 |publisher = M.E. Sharpe }}</ref> Here Mao had formed a [[Soviet (council)|soviet]] in 1927, and Zhu began building up his army into the [[Chinese Red Army|Red Army]], consolidating and expanding the Soviet areas of control.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-6.htm |title = The Chinese Communist Party 1927–37 – The development of Maoism – Part Six |author = Daniel Morley |work = In Defence of Marxism|date = 9 November 2012 }}</ref> The meeting, which happened on the [[Longjiang Bridge]] on 28 April 1928, was facilitated by [[Mao Zetan]], who was Mao's brother serving under Zhu.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Mao: The Real Story|last1=Pantsov|first1=Alexander|last2=Levine|first2=Steven|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4516-5447-9|location=New York|page=208}}</ref> He carried a letter to his brother [[Mao Zedong]] where Zhu stated, "We must unite forces and carry out a well-defined military and agrarian policy."<ref name=":0" /> This development became a turning point, with the merged forces forming the "Fourth Red Army", with Zhu as Military Commander and Mao as Party representative.<ref>{{Cite book|title=China Since 1919: Revolution and Reform: a Sourcebook|last=Lawrance|first=Alan|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=0-415-25141-9|location=London|page=39}}</ref>

Zhu's leadership made him a figure of immense prestige; locals even credited him with supernatural abilities.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140225232410/http://jpkc.swjtusfl.cn/content3.aspx?id=5801&&CId=21&&PId=2 Zhu De Early History Profile]</ref> During this time Mao and Zhu became so closely associated that to the local villagers they were known collectively as "Zhu-Mao"<ref>{{cite book |last = Bianco |first = Lucien |author-link = Lucien Bianco |title = [[Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915–1949]] |publisher=Stanford Press |year = 1957 |page = 64, note 10}}</ref><ref>http://chineseposters.net/themes/zhude.php Zhu De Biography</ref> In 1929, Zhu De and Mao Zedong were forced to flee [[Jinggangshan City|Jinggangshan]] to [[Ruijin]] following military pressure from [[Chiang Kai-shek]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_museum/2003-09/24/content_30564.htm |title = Ruijin Revolutionary Memorial |website = chinaculture.org |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051204223548/http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_museum/2003-09/24/content_30564.htm |archive-date = 4 December 2005 }}</ref> Here they formed the [[Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet|Jiangxi Soviet]].{{cn|date=December 2024}} In 1931 Zhu was appointed leader of the Red Army in [[Ruijin]] by the CCP leadership.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GZRHhd5-WrwC&pg=PR76 |title = Mao's Road to Power – Revolutionary Writings, 1912–1949|isbn = 978-1-56324-457-5|last1 = Mao|first1 = Zedong|last2 = Schram|first2 = Stuart R.|year = 1992| publisher=M.E. Sharpe }}</ref> He successfully led a conventional military force against the Kuomintang in the lead-up to the [[Fourth encirclement campaign|Fourth Counter Encirclement Campaign]];<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wortzel |first1=Larry M. |author-link=Larry Wortzel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA72 |title=Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History |last2=Higham |first2=Robin |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-313-29337-5}}</ref> however, he was not able to do the same during the [[Fifth encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet|Fifth Counter Encirclement Campaign]] and the CCP fled.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4y6mACbLWGsC&pg=PA311 |title = Mao |isbn = 978-0-8050-6638-8 |last1 = Short |first1 = Philip |date = February 2001 |publisher = Macmillan }}</ref> Zhu helped form the 1934 break-out that began the [[Long March]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/long_march_1934_to_1935.htm |title = The Long March 1934 to 1935 |website = historylearningsite.co.uk}}</ref>

=== Red Army leader ===
[[File:Zhu De Evans Carlson 1937 Edit.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Zhu with American military observer [[Evans Carlson]] at the [[Eighth Route Army|Eighth Route Army's]] field headquarters in [[Shanxi province]], December 1937]]
During the Long March Zhu and Zhou Enlai organized certain battles in tandem. There were few positive effects since the real power was in the hands of [[Bo Gu]] and [[Otto Braun (communist)|Otto Braun]]. In the [[Zunyi Conference]], Zhu supported Mao Zedong's criticisms of Bo and Braun.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=meBsMli4JN4C&pg=PA71 |title=Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and the Evolution of the Chinese Communist Leadership|isbn=978-87-87062-76-3|last1=Kampen|first1=Thomas|year=2000|publisher=NIAS Press }}</ref> After the conference, Zhu cooperated with Mao and Zhou on military affairs. In July 1935 Zhu and [[Liu Bocheng]] were with the Fourth Red Army while Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai with the First Red Army.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ayLTpS8iujQC&pg=PA117 |title=New Fourth Army |isbn=978-0-520-21992-2 |last1=Benton |first1=Gregor |year=1999 |publisher=University of California Press }}</ref> When separation between the two divisions occurred, Zhu was forced by [[Zhang Guotao]], the leader of Fourth Red Army, to go south.<ref>[http://www.republicanchina.org/BattleOfBaizhangguanPass-v0.pdf Battle of Baizhangguan Pass]</ref> The Fourth Red Army barely survived the retreat through Sichuan Province. Arriving in [[Yan'an]], Zhu directed the reconstruction of the Red Army under the political guidance of Mao.<ref>[http://www.cctv.com/lm/176/71/71839.html CCTV Eyewitnesses to history: Yan'an]</ref>

During the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] and the [[Chinese Civil War]], he held the position of [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the Red Army<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite encyclopedia |url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657001/Zhu-De |title = Zhu De |encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> and, in 1940, Zhu, alongside Peng Dehuai, devised and organized the [[Hundred Regiments Offensive]]. Initially, Mao supported this offensive.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DGbyzKLVh30C&pg=PA427 |title = Biographical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China |isbn = 978-1-4766-0298-1 |last1 = Song |first1 = Yuwu |date = 10 January 2014 |publisher = McFarland }}</ref> While a successful campaign, Mao later attributed it as the main provocation for the devastating Japanese [[Three Alls policy]] later and used it to criticize Peng at the Lushan Conference.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EWtBMQgUGmEC&pg=PA87 |title = Mao Zedong as Poet and Revolutionary Leader |isbn = 978-0-7391-0406-4 |last1 = Zhang |first1 = Chunhou |last2 = Edwin Vaughan |first2 = C. |year = 2002 |publisher = Lexington Books }}</ref>

In 1944, [[United States Marine Corps]] colonel [[Evans Carlson]] praised Zhu as "a master of [[guerilla warfare]]."<ref>{{cite news |title=Colonel Carlson, Here for Rally, Hails China's 8th Route Army |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1144077592/ |access-date=3 September 2025 |work=[[Daily Worker|The Worker]] |date=12 March 1944 |location=New York}}</ref>

=== Later life ===
[[File:1955授衔3.jpg|thumb|Zhu and [[Peng Dehuai]] (left) at the [[Yuanshuai|Marshal of the People's Republic of China]] rank awarding ceremony.]]
In 1949 Zhu was named Commander-in-Chief of the [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA).<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3xsBBw7uCBcC&pg=PA38 |title = Distant Water|isbn = 978-1-936909-35-3|last1 = Gray|first1 = Bruce|year = 2012| publisher=Greenleaf Book }}</ref> From November 1949 to May 1955, he served as the first [[secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 November 2016 |title=朱德：中央纪委第一任书记 |trans-title=Zhu De: First Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection |url=http://dangshi.people.com.cn/n1/2016/1130/c85037-28912791.html |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=People's Daily}}</ref> Zhu also served as the vice-chairman of the Communist Party (1956–1966) and vice-chairman of the People's Republic of China (1954–1959).<ref>[https://archive.today/20140226063530/http://www.cpcchina.org/2010-09/30/content_14470703.htm Zhu De Concurrent Positions]</ref> Zhu oversaw the PLA during the [[Korean War]] within his authority as Commander-in-Chief.{{cn|date=December 2024}} In 1955, he was conferred the rank of [[Yuanshuai|marshal]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Marshal of People's Liberation Army: Zhu De |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/pla2010/2010-07/29/content_11068610.htm |website=[[China Daily]]}}</ref> At the [[Lushan Conference]], he tried to protect [[Peng Dehuai]], by giving some mild criticisms of Peng; rather than denouncing him, he merely gently reproved his targeted comrade, who was a target of Mao Zedong. Mao was not satisfied with Zhu De's behavior.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wortzel|first1=Larry M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA201|title=Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History|last2=Wortzel|first2=Larry|last3=Higham|first3=Robin|year=1999|isbn=978-0-313-29337-5|page=201|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> After the conference, Zhu was dismissed from vice chairmen of Central Military Commission, not in least part due to his loyalty for the fallen Peng.<ref name="britannica.com" />

In April 1969, during the summit of the [[Cultural Revolution]], Zhu was dismissed from his position on the [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]], and the activity of the [[National People's Congress]] was halted.<ref>{{cite web |title= |script-title=zh:共产党新闻网—资料中心—历次党代会 |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64168/64561/index.html |website=[[People's Daily]]}}</ref> In October 1969, Lin Biao issued a command named "''Order Number One''" that evacuated important martial figures to distant areas due to the tension between China and Soviet Union, and Zhu De was taken to [[Guangdong]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Angang|first=Hu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNPNDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA189|title=Mao and the Cultural Revolution (Volume 2)|date=2017|publisher=Enrich Professional Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1-62320-154-8|page=189|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zweig |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgtsU4789kMC&pg=PA58 |title=Agrarian Radicalism in China, 1968-1981 |date=1989 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-01175-5 |language=en}}</ref> In 1973 Zhu was reinstated in the Politburo Standing Committee.<ref>{{cite web |author=陈霞 |title=The Tenth National Congress (Aug. 1973) |url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/CPC_90_anniversary/2011-06/16/content_22798472.htm |website=[[China Internet Information Center]]}}</ref>

He continued to work as a statesman until his death on 6 July 1976.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zhu De Death |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/cpc2011/2011-07/06/content_12849381.htm |website=[[China Daily]]}}</ref> His passing came six months after the death of Zhou Enlai,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1950_leaders.htm |title = Three Chinese Leaders: Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping – Asia for Educators|publisher=Columbia University|author-first1=Catherine H. |author-last1=Keyser}}</ref> and just two months before the death of Mao Zedong.<ref>{{cite news |date=9 September 1976 |title=BBC ON THIS DAY – 9 – 1976: Chairman Mao Zedong dies |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/9/newsid_3020000/3020374.stm |website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Zhu was cremated three days later, and received a funeral days afterwards.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BdhDM6Qcl1IC&pg=PA121 |title=Encyclopedia of Cremation |isbn=978-1-4094-2317-1 |last1=Davies |first1=Douglas J. |date=October 2010 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing }}</ref><ref>http://politics.ntu.edu.tw/RAEC/comm2/InterviewItaly%20Sauro%20Angelini%20English.pdf Sauro Angelini Interview</ref>

== Personal life ==
=== Marriage ===
Zhu De married four times, according to the unfinished biography written by [[Agnes Smedley]]. However, there is no evidence of his marrying the mother of his only daughter. His known relationships were with:

* [[File:2025-02-07 Former Residence of Zhu De in Jianshui 建水朱德舊居 05.jpg|thumb|Former Residence of Zhu De in Jianshui 2025]][[Xiao Jufang]] ({{zh|c=萧菊芳}} or Hsiao Chu-fen). Xiao was a fellow student of Zhu's at [[Kunming]] Normal Institute ({{zh|labels=no|c=昆明师范学院}}).<ref name="cpc">{{cite web |date=14 July 2006 |editor-last=Chang 常 |editor-first=Xuemei 雪梅 |title= |script-title=zh:朱德与四位女性的感情经历 |trans-title=The relationship experience of Zhu De with four women |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64172/64915/4591918.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719051253/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64172/64915/4591918.html |archive-date=19 July 2006 |access-date=22 January 2017 |website=[[People's Daily]] |publisher=}}</ref> The pair married in 1912. Xiao died of a fever in 1916 after giving birth to Zhu's only son, Baozhu.<ref>Smedley, ''The Great Road'', p. 106</ref><ref name=cpc/>
* [[Chen Yuzhen]] ({{zh|labels=no|c=陈玉珍}}). After the death of Xiao Jufang, Zhu was advised to find a mother for his infant son. He was introduced to Chen by friends in the military. Chen had participated in revolutionary activities in [[Xinhai Revolution|1911]], as well as in 1916. Chen reportedly set the condition that she would not marry unless her future husband proposed to her in person, which Zhu did. The two married in 1916. Chen looked after the home, even building a study for Zhu and his scholarly friends to meet, which she furnished with pamphlets, books, and manifestos on the Russian [[October Revolution]]. In the spring of 1922, Zhu left his home to visit the Sichuanese warlord [[Yang Sen]].<ref name=cpc/> According to [[Agnes Smedley]]'s biography, Zhu considered himself separated from Chen after leaving her and felt free to marry again, though there had been no formal divorce. Chen was killed by the Kuomintang in 1935.<ref>Smedley, ''The Great Road'', p. 122 and 314</ref>
* He Zhihua ({{zh|labels=no|c=贺治华}}). She met Zhu in [[Shanghai]] and followed him to [[Germany]] in late 1922.When Zhu was deported from Germany in 1925, she was already pregnant and later gave birth in a village on the outskirts of [[Moscow]]. Zhu named the daughter Sixun ({{zh|labels=no|c=四旬}}), but relations between the two had diminished, and He Zhihua rejected his choice, naming the baby Feifei ({{zh|labels=no|c=菲菲}}) instead. He Zhihua sent her daughter to live with her sister in [[Chengdu]] shortly after the birth. She then married Huo Jiaxin ({{zh|labels=no|c=霍家新}}) in the same year. He returned to Shanghai in 1928. She reportedly betrayed wanted communists to the Kuomintang, before being blinded in a gun attack by [[Red Army]] soldiers that killed her husband. After this, she returned to Sichuan, dying of illness before 1949.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* [[Wu Ruolan]] ({{zh|labels=no|c=伍若兰}} or Wu Yu-lan). Wu was the daughter of an [[Intellectual]] from Jiuyantang ({{zh|labels=no|c=九眼塘}}) in [[Hunan]]. Zhu met Wu after attacking [[Leiyang]] with the Peasant's and Workers Army. They married in 1928.<ref>Smedley, ''The Great Road'', p. 223-4</ref> In January 1929, Zhu and Wu were encircled by Kuomintang troops at a temple in the [[Jinggang Mountains]]. Zhu escaped, but Wu was captured. She was executed by [[decapitation]] and her head was allegedly sent to [[Changsha]] for display.<ref name="cpc2">{{cite web |date=14 July 2006 |editor-last=Chang 常 |editor-first=Xuemei 雪梅 |title= |script-title=zh:朱德与四位女性的感情经历（2） |trans-title=The relationship experience of Zhu De with four women, part 2 |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64172/64915/4591927.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202010713/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64172/64915/4591927.html |archive-date=2 February 2017 |access-date=22 January 2017 |website=[[People's Daily]] |publisher=}}</ref>
* [[Kang Keqing]] (K'ang K'e-ching or Kang Keh-chin). Zhu married Kang in 1929 when he was 43.<ref name=cpc2/> She was a member of the [[Red Army]] and also a peasant leader. Kang was highly studious and Zhu taught her to read and write before they married. Kang outlived him.<ref>Smedley, ''The Great Road'', p. 272-3</ref> Unlike most women who joined the Long March, she did not become part of the [[Propaganda in China|propaganda]] unit marching at the rear. Kang fought by the side of her husband, distinguishing herself as a combat soldier, a markswoman, and a troop leader.<ref>{{Cite book|title=China's Reforms and Reformers|last=Ho|first=Alfred|publisher=Praeger|year=2004|isbn=0-275-96080-3|location=Westport, CT|page=15}}</ref>

=== Children ===
* Zhu Baozhu ({{zh|labels=no|c=朱保柱}}) was born in 1916 and later changed his name to Zhu Qi ({{zh|labels=no|c=朱琦}}). He died in 1974 from illness.
* [[Zhu Min (Russian language professor)|Zhu Min]] ({{zh|labels=no|c=朱敏}}) was born in [[Moscow]] in April 1926 to He Zhihua ({{zh|labels=no|c=贺治华}}). Zhu De named her Sixun ({{zh|labels=no|c=四旬}}), but she rejected this and choose Feifei ({{zh|labels=no|c=菲菲}}). He Zhihua sent her daughter to her sister in [[Chengdu]] shortly after her birth, where she went by the name He Feifei ({{zh|labels=no|c=贺飞飞}}). She pursued higher education in Moscow from 1949 to 1953 before teaching at [[Beijing Normal University]]. She died of illness in 2009.<ref name="ChinaDaily">{{cite web |title = Late Chinese marshal Zhu De's daughter dies at 83 |publisher = China Daily |url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-04/20/content_7693955.htm |date = 20 April 2009 |access-date = 22 January 2017 }}</ref>

== Awards ==

; {{flag|Cambodia}}:
: [[File:KHM_Ordre_Royal_du_Cambodge_-_Grand_Croix_BAR.svg|40px]] [[Royal Order of Cambodia]] (Grand Cross Medal) (1964)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rmrb.zhouenlai.info/%E5%91%A8%E6%80%BB%E7%90%86%E4%B8%93%E6%A0%8F/%E6%80%BB%E7%90%86%E7%9B%B8%E5%85%B3/1964/1964-10-06%200330124%20%E4%B8%AD%E6%9F%AC%E4%B8%A4%E5%9B%BD%E8%81%94%E5%90%88%E5%85%AC%E6%8A%A5%E5%9C%A8%E4%BA%AC%E7%AD%BE%E5%AD%97.htm|title=中柬两国联合公报在京签字|newspaper=People's Daily (zhouenlai.info)|date=1964-10-06|access-date=2023-01-17}}</ref>

; {{flag|Indonesia}}:
: [[File:Bintang_Republik_Indonesia_Adipradana_rib.svg|40px]] [[Star of the Republic of Indonesia]] (2nd Class Medal) (1961)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cn.govopendata.com/renminribao/1961/6/15/1/|title=1961年6月15日人民日报 第1版|newspaper=People's Daily (govopendata)|date=1961-06-15|access-date=2023-01-17}}</ref>

== Works ==
* {{cite book|last=Zhu|first=De|author-mask=Zhu De|title=Selected Works of Zhu De|year=1986|edition=1st|publisher=Foreign Languages Press|location=Beijing|isbn=0-8351-1573-9|url=http://book.theorychina.org/upload/b39f7ece-232a-4fe5-9a73-13544e284395/|access-date=7 May 2020|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225092348/http://book.theorychina.org/upload/b39f7ece-232a-4fe5-9a73-13544e284395/}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Communism|Biography}}
* [[History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)]]
* [[List of generals of China]]
* [[Outline of the military history of the People's Republic of China]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
; English sources
* Pozhilov, I. "Zhu De: The Early Days of a Commander". ''Far Eastern Affairs'' (1987), Issue 1, pp.&nbsp;91–99. Covers Zhu from 1905 to 1925.
* {{cite encyclopedia |chapter = Chu Teh |pages = 459–465 |last = Boorman |first = Howard L. |year = 1967 |title = Biographical Dictionary of Republican China Volume I |publisher = Columbia University Press |location = New York |isbn = 0-231-08958-9 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1 = Klein |first1 = Donald W. |first2 = Anne B. |last2 = Clark |chapter = Chu Te |year = 1971 |title = Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921-1965 |pages = 245–254 |publisher = Harvard University Press |location = Cambridge, Mass. |isbn = 0-674-07410-6 }}
* [[Agnes Smedley]], ''[[The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh]]'' (Monthly Review Press, New York and London, 1956)
* Nym Wales ([[Helen Foster Snow]]), ''Inside Red China'' (New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1939)
* William W. Whitson, ''The Chinese High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927–71'' (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973)

; Chinese sources
* Liu Xuemin, Hong jun zhi fu: Zhu De zhuan (Father of the Red Army: Biography of Zhu De) (Beijing: Jiefangjun Chubanshe, 2000)
* Zhonggong zhongyang wenxian yanjiu shibian, Zhu De Zhuan (Biography of Zhu De) (Beijing: Zhongyang wenxian chubanshe, 2000)
* Liu Xuemin, Wang Fa'an, and Xiao Sike, Zhu De Yuanshi (Marshal Zhu De) (Beijing: Jiefangjun wenshu chubanshe, 2006)
* Zhu De guju jinianguan, Renmin de guangrong Zhu De (Glory of the People: Zhu De) (Chengdu: Sichuan renmin chubanshe, 2006).
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/people/zhude.shtml People's Daily Biography]
* {{cite web |url = http://chineseposters.net/themes/zhude.php |title = Zhu De |website = chineseposters.net }}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Vice President of the People's Republic of China]]|years=1954–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Dong Biwu]] and [[Soong Ching-ling]]}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander-in-Chief of the [[People's Liberation Army]]|years=1949–1954}}
{{s-aft|after=Marshal [[Peng Dehuai]]|as=Minister of National Defense}}
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{{s-end}}

{{Ten Marshals}}{{SCNPCHeads}}{{Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection}}{{10th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
{{9th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
{{8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
{{7th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, De}}
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