Liu Po-ch'eng (1892-1986)

Liu Po-ch'eng was born to a wandering entertainer, received a classical education, and graduated from the Chengtu Military Academy. He participated in the revolution of 1911 and joined the Kuomintang in the early 1920s. Commissioned a general in 1926, he joined the Communists in the same year. He participated in the Northern Expedition until the split between Chiang and the Communists in July 1927. He led the Nanchang uprising, and when it collapsed, he fled to Russia, where he attended the Frunze Military Academy. In 1930 he returned to China, joined the Kiangsi Soviet, and was a leader in the Long March.  He lost an eye in a skirmish, and took the nickname "One-eyed Dragon" thereafter.

Liu commanded 129 Division throughout the Pacific War period. Like the other 8 Route Army division commanders, he spent the war occupying rural areas cleared of the Kuomintang by the Japanese advance and building up his division to army group size.

Postwar Liu initially led guerrilla operations against the Kuomintang in northern China, but as the Communists gained the upper hand he fought openly in central China and played a major role in the final campaigns in south China. He was appointed one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army and survived the Cultural Revolution and other political turmoils.

Service record




Commander, 129 Division



Dupuy et al. (1992)

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