Chairman Mao s abolition of the military rank system and Deng Xiaoping s reinstatement of the milita

Mondo Military Updated on 2024-01-19

In 1955, our army carried out the first large-scale award of titles, and produced a military rank system of ten marshals, ten major generals, founding generals, founding lieutenant generals, founding major generals, and so on. However, by 1965, the rank system was abolished until 1988, when the rank system was reinstated under the auspices of ***. What is the reason for this change?

**The original intention and problem of abolishing the rank system.

The purpose of our army's initial implementation of the rank system was to bring in line with international standards and modernize military management, and at the same time, it was also to give due honor to soldiers who had shed blood in wars. However, after the introduction of the rank system, a series of discordant phenomena emerged.

The military's lack of experience with the criteria for determining military ranks has led to many people being rated low in rank when they are first conferred. Although the ** Military Commission later made revisions, the problem was still not completely resolved. The unreasonableness of stipulating the time for promotion has also led to dissatisfaction with the rank system among some officers.

In addition, the military rank in our country is not tied to the treatment and is different from abroad. In foreign countries, military rank is an important basis for the salary of soldiers, but after the implementation of the military rank system in China, the salary of soldiers is still assessed according to the level of their positions, which deviates from the goal of international standards.

What worries the army even more is that the army has a bad atmosphere of comparing ranks. Some people see military rank as a symbol of political status, and they don't want to make progress, and they just want to get higher ranks by forming factions. In order to maintain unity within the army, veterans do not even wear medals, epaulettes and other symbols, which weakens the presence of military ranks.

Therefore, at the Ninth Session of the Standing Committee of the Third National People's Congress held in 1965, the "Decision on Abolishing the Military Rank System of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" was put forward and adopted on the spot, which came into effect on June 1 of the same year. Since then, all PLA officers and men have taken off their cap badges, epaulettes, collar badges and other military rank insignia, and put on red five-pointed star cockades and collar badges, and the military rank system has temporarily withdrawn from the stage of history.

** The motivation and process for the reinstatement of the rank system.

Since the abolition of the rank system, the hierarchical contradictions in the army have been alleviated, but it has also brought some new problems. Due to the uniform dress, the ranks of cadres cannot be distinguished from their appearance, which brings certain problems to management. This hidden danger was particularly evident in the 1979 self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, when the commanders and fighters were unable to effectively unify their opinions because they did not have military ranks, resulting in confusion in command.

There were also diplomatic problems, such as in 1978, when Shaw visited Iran, the Iranian side asked about his military rank in order to prepare the corresponding reception specifications. However, due to the fact that our country has long since abolished the military rank system, it is impossible to provide a clear answer, which makes the scene very embarrassing.

Based on these considerations, a proposal was made in 1980 to reinstate the rank system. He believes that there are three main reasons for this: it is convenient for commanding operations and it is easy for management;It can motivate officers and men to work hard and forge aheadIt is oriented to the construction of a modern army and is in line with international standards.

However, some veteran comrades expressed concern about this, after all, the military rank system was abolished, and the restoration could have a bad effect. But *** resolutely said: "I'm responsible for what happened!."”

In June 1982, the enlarged meeting of the symposium of the Central Military Commission was held, and the Military Commission clearly proposed the implementation of a new military rank system, and set up a "Military Rank Office" group to begin to reassess military ranks. After five years of research and discussion, in 1987, a draft assessment of the "third class and nine grades" was preliminarily formed, and at the same time, it was stipulated that there would be no marshal and general rank in peacetime.

On July 1, 1988, the Second Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress decided to restore the military rank system and adopted the Regulations on the Ranks of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The final military rank system includes general, lieutenant general, and major general;Colonel, colonel, lieutenant colonel, major;Captain, lieutenant, second lieutenant;Sergeant, sergeant, corporal;Private and private.

On September 14 of the same year, at the award ceremony held in Huairen Hall, Zhongnanhai, a total of 17 generals, 146 lieutenant generals, and 1,279 major generals were awarded. Chairman of the Military Commission and Vice Chairman Yang Shangkun originally wanted to set up a "first-class general" and award them to the two, but both of them refused, saying that they did not accept the rank of "generalissimo" back then, and they did not need to set up a "first-class general".

In general, both the abolition of the rank system and the reinstatement of the rank system were decisions based on the problems that arose at the time. There is no doubt that this process has embodied the principle of "seeking truth from facts" that our party has always adhered to.

After going through the turmoil of the change of military ranks, our army has ushered in a more mature and modern management system. This evolution is not only a historical necessity, but also the only way for our army to continue to move forward.

The reform of military ranks was a profound change in the management system of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which introduced the military rank system in 1955, however, in the following decade, the problems caused by the military rank system gradually emerged, which eventually led to the decision to abolish the military rank system in 1965. The decision was made to eliminate the disharmony caused by the rank system, including the lack of experience in the evaluation criteria, the disconnect between rank and treatment, and the culture of comparing ranks.

The original intention of abolishing the military rank system was to build a more harmonious and efficient military management mechanism, but it was also worried about the bad atmosphere of comparing ranks and the weakening of unity within the army. This decision is essentially a trade-off between the pursuit of internal cohesion and a balance in combat effectiveness of the PLA. At the same time, he made a keen analysis of the actual situation of military management, and the in-depth thinking of decision-making also laid the foundation for later adjustments.

However, the abolition of military ranks also raises new questions, especially in the area of command operations and diplomatic exchanges. In the Vietnam War, chaos within the military was revealed, and in diplomatic settings, the lack of a military rank system in our country made contacts with other countries awkward. The dilemma of this period shows that while the abolition of the rank system has solved some problems, it has also exposed new management difficulties in practice, especially at a time when modern armies require efficient command and diplomatic communication.

With the coming to power, our country has ushered in the era of reform and opening up, and the country needs a more modern and international army. In 1988, after careful consideration, it was decided to reinstate the rank system. This decision was made out of consideration for the convenience of commanding operations, the convenience of management, the encouragement of the enterprising spirit of officers and men, and the integration of international standards. This series of reasons fully reflects the profound grasp of the actual situation of the country and the army at that time and the clear planning for future development.

The process of restoring military ranks was discussed and studied in many ways, including five years of research and discussion, and in 1988 the Regulations on the Ranks of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army were adopted. This shows that the Chinese party and military are cautious and thoughtful about the reform of the management system. While restoring the military rank system, the CCP leadership also insisted on the importance of the decisions made by its predecessors with an attitude of "seeking truth from facts" and avoided arbitrary negation of history.

On the whole, the reform of our military's military ranks has gone through a process from establishment to abolition and then to restoration, and each change is based on the consideration of solving the problems at that time and adapting to the needs of national development. This process has embodied our party's consistent principle of "seeking truth from facts" and has played a positive role in absorbing historical experience and making rational plans for future army building. This also provides useful experience and enlightenment for the modernization and international development of our team.

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