Chinese
What citizenship did Ye Jianying hold in Sep 1952?
Ye Jianying Ye Jianying ( ; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986 ) was a Chinese communist revolutionary leader and politician , one of the founding Ten Marshals of the Peoples Liberation Army . He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthrew the Gang of Four and ended the Cultural Revolution , and was the key supporter of Deng Xiaoping in his power struggle with Hua Guofeng . After Deng ascended power , Ye served as Chinas head of state as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress from 1978 to 1983 . Life . Born Ye Yiwei ( ) into a wealthy Christian Hakka merchant family in Jiaying county ( modern-day renamed as Meixian District ) , Guangdong , his courtesy name was Cangbai ( ) . After graduation from the Yunnan Military Academy in 1919 , he joined Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang ( KMT ) . He taught at the Whampoa Military Academy , and in 1927 joined the Communist Party . That year , he participated in the failed Nanchang Uprising and was forced to flee to Hong Kong with two other uprising leaders , Zhou Enlai and Ye Ting ( no relation ) , with only a pair of handguns to share between them . Shortly after , he faithfully carried out his assigned duties during the Guangzhou Uprising , although he had been opposed to it ; upon this uprisings failure he was once again obliged to flee to Hong Kong with Ye Ting and Nie Rongzhen . However , Ye was far more fortunate than Ye Ting , who was made a scapegoat for the Cominterns failures and forced into exile . Ye was not blamed , and subsequently studied military science in Moscow . After returning to China in 1932 he joined the Jiangxi Soviet , serving as Chief of Staff of Zhang Guotaos Fourth Front Army . However , after Zhangs fighters met up with Mao Zedongs force during the Long March , the two leaders disagreed on the subsequent move of the Chinese Red Army . Zhang insisted on turning southward to establish a new base in the regions inhabited by Tibetan and Qiang minorities . ( This later proved to be a disaster , as Mao had anticipated , with Zhang losing over 75% of his men and retreating to the Communist base at Shaanxi. ) During the two leaders disagreement , Ye – though he was Zhangs Chief of Staff – sided with Mao ; and instead of supporting Zhang unconditionally as he had during the Guangzhou Uprising , Ye absconded to Maos headquarters with Zhangs code books and maps . As a result , Zhangs communications with Comintern were cut , while Mao was able to establish a radio link , leading to Cominterns acceptance of Maos leadership in the Communist Party of China . Mao would never forget Yes contribution , observing later that Ye Jianying saved the ( Chinese Communist ) Party , the ( Chinese ) Red Army , and the ( Chinese ) Revolution . During the Long March , Ye assisted Liu Bocheng in directing the crossing of the Yangtze River at Anshunchang and Luding Bridge . After 1936 , Ye became director of the offices that liaised with the KMT , first in Xian , then in Nanjing and finally in Chongqing . He worked together with Zhou Enlai in this capacity . After the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China , Ye was placed in charge of Guangdong , which was to cost him his political career under Maos reign . Ye understood that the economic conditions in the province were very different from those in the rest of China , since most Cantonese landlords were peasants themselves who participated in production without exploiting their tenants . He therefore declined to dispossess the landlords , and instead protected their businesses and land . However , Yes policies contradicted the general directives of the Party-mandated land reform , which emphasized class struggle . His policies deemed too soft , Ye and his local cadres were soon replaced by Lin Biaos , and a much harsher policy was implemented , with Yes political career effectively over . However , Mao did not forget what Ye had done for him during the Long March , and thus removed him only from political posts while preserving his military positions . As a result , until 1968 , Ye remained active in various military functions , having been made a marshal in 1955 . Ye was clever in using his military influence to provide limited support and protection for reformers like Zhao Ziyang , and he was responsible for interfering with assassination attempts on Deng Xiaoping during the Cultural Revolution . After Lin Biao was overthrown and died in 1971 , Yes influence grew , and in 1975 he was appointed Defense Minister , taking Lin Biaos post . From 1973 , he was also a Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China . He led the conspiracy of generals and Party elders that overthrew Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four ; during initial planning at his residence , he and Li Xiannian communicated by writing , although they sat next to each other , because of the possibility of bugging . Thanks to Yes support of Chairman Hua Guofeng , he was confirmed as party vice-chairman at the Eleventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1977 . Because the physical demands of Defense Minister were too great for the octogenarian Ye , he resigned from that position in 1978 and was appointed Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress , filling a post left unoccupied since Zhu Des death in 1976 . As such , Ye was Chinas ceremonial Head of State . Ye retired from this position in 1983 and in 1985 he withdrew completely from the Politburo . He died a little over a year later at the age of 89 . Personal life . Ye married six times and had six children . His sons include Ye Xuanping ( 1924–2019 ) , Ye Xuanning ( 1938–2016 ) , and Ye Xuanlian ( , born 1952 ) . Yes granddaughter Robynn Yip ( born 1986 ) , daughter of Xuanlian , is a professional musician based in Hong Kong .