In order to confer titles, the whole army began to grade them in 1952, and all major military regions and all headquarters, armies, and arms reported the ranks of senior generals. This process was selected and reported by the party committees of the various military regions, armies, and arms, rather than by the general cadre department at the time, which may come as a surprise to some.
The rating is mainly based on the position held during the war years, and generally speaking, the position held can be rated at what level. Most generals can get a rank that matches their qualifications and positions, but there are also a few generals who have been artificially intervened, resulting in a downgrade, such as Mo Wenhua.
Mo Wenhua was originally a cadre of the Red 7th Army, and was transferred to the Northeast Battlefield during the Liberation War, where he successively served as the political commissar of the column and the corps. According to such a position, he should be rated at the level of a regular corps, and the party committee of the Northeast Military Region also adopted this decision. However, when it was reported to Gao Gang, Gao Gang disagreed, vetoed the conclusion of the party committee, and changed him to the rank of deputy corps.
Gao Gang's reasoning was that the deputy commander and deputy political commissar of the military region were both at the level of deputy corps, and if a director of a political department was rated at the level of a regular corps, he would be higher than the deputy political commissar and his work leadership would be affected. This reason seems to make some sense, but it also ignores Mok's contribution and position in the war.
In fact, Mo Wenhua is not the only general who has served as a regular corps-level position, but has been rated as a deputy corps-level general. There are also Guo Huaruo, Li Tianhuan, Wei Guoqing and others, all of whom once served as political commissars of the Corps. Except for Wei Guoqing, these generals all have one thing in common, that is, they all worked in organs during the Anti-Japanese War, and Mo Wenhua and Guo Huaruo have also been engaged in education in Yan'an for a long time. In contrast, Mo Wenhua served in the left-behind corps after graduating from Kang University, although it was the rear, it was also a combat unit. During the War of Liberation, they all went to the front.
Wei Guoqing's situation is somewhat different, his achievements and positions during the Red Army period were not outstanding, but during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, he has been commanding on the front line, first as a military cadre, and then as a political cadre.
On the contrary, Su Zhenhua's qualifications are similar to Wei Guoqing, and he was also a regiment-level cadre during the Red Army, but he has been fighting in the army, and his combat achievements and merits are much higher than those in the rear, and he also had outstanding performances during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, so he was rated as a regular corps level.
The difference between the regular corps level and the deputy corps level may not seem to be large, but it has a great impact on the evaluation of military ranks. Except for Xu Liqing, he was originally a general, but he applied for a demote many times and finally became a lieutenant general. Only 19 of the 42 deputy corps level are generals, and they are basically in the front-line combat units for a long time, and they are representative to a certain extent.
Mo Wenhua didn't have much advantage in this regard, and when he was rated as a deputy corps level, he was still not convinced, but who can really have no desires. ** is the director of the General Political Department and head of the General Cadre Department, and he cannot change the decision of the party committee of the military region, but can only comfort him. At that time, he had not yet been conferred the title, and his heart may not have been so uncomfortable.
Later, he was transferred from the Northeast Military Region to the newly established Political Academy as vice president.