Han Youwen

Han Youwen
Major General Han Youwen
Vice Chairman of Xinjiang Province
In office January 1981 – January 1998
Personal details
Born	October 1912 Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Qinghai
Died	February 22, 1998 (aged 86)
Nationality	Salar
Political party	Kuomintang, then Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang
Children	Han Zhihua (韓芝華)
Religion	Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Republic of China  People's Republic of China
Years of service	1931–1949
Rank	Major General
Unit	First Cavalry Division of the National Revolutionary Army
Commands	Chief of the Kuomintang Qinghai province Police Bureau, commander of KMT First Cavalry Division
Battles/wars	Long March, Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War, Ili Rebellion, Pei-ta-shan Incident

Han Youwen (simplified Chinese: 韩有文; traditional Chinese: 韓有文; pinyin: Hán Yǒuwén; Wade–Giles: Han Yu-wen; October 1912–February 22, 1998) was an ethnic Salar Muslim General in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, born in Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Qinghai.

The book, "Who's who in China current leaders" shows that Han Youwen had been the chief of the "Kuomintang Qinghai province Police Bureau", in addition to his military service as commanding the "Kuomintang First Cavalry Division".

In 1931 he joined the army under General Ma Bufang.

During World War II he was an officer in the 5th Cavalry Army's 1st Provisional Cavalry Division. Han survived an aerial bombardment by Japanese planes in Xining in 1941 while he was being directed via telephone from Ma Bufang, who hid in an air raid shelter in a military barracks. The bombing resulted in human flesh splattering a Blue Sky with a White Sun flag and Han being buried in rubble. Han Youwen was dragged out of the rubble while bleeding and he managed to grab a machine gun while he was limping and fired back at the Japanese warplanes and cursed the Japanese as dogs in his native Salar language.

In Xining Han Youwen was the captain of the defense squadron.

Han was transferred from Qinghai to Xinjiang to serve in the 5th Cavalry Army under General Ma Chengxiang in the Ili Rebellion to fight against Soviet backed Uyghur rebels. Han led Chinese Muslim forces in a bloody battle against Soviet Russian and Mongol forces during the Pei-ta-shan Incident, along with Hui Muslim General Ma Xizhen. As commander of the First Cavalry Division, General Han Youwen was sent to Beitashan by the Kuomintang military command to reinforce Ma Xizhen with a company of troops, approximately three months before the fighting broke out. At Pei-ta-shan, Major General Han Youwen was in command of all the Muslim cavalry defending against Soviet and Mongol forces. Han Youwen (Han Yu-wen) said "that he believed the border should be about 40 miles to the north of the mountains" to A. Doak Barnett, an American reporter. Han Youwen's 1st army division received at Beitashan Osman's forces after he retreated in battle. Qitai county was where Han Youwen's 1st army division of the 5th Army was headquartered in 1946, the following year, at the Beitashan incident Ma Xizhen battled the Mongols.