保定陸軍軍官學校
Born to a wealthy land-owning family, he graduated from the Baoding Military Academy, rose to high military positions in the Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai-shek and was closely associated with Zhang Zhizhong. In 1949 he defected to the Communists, playing a key role in the incorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China and then went on to hold high office under Mao Zedong, most notably serving as the first commander of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps from 1954 to 1968.