Xu Shiyou

Xu Shiyou
许世友
Personal details
Born	1905 Xinxian, Henan
Died	1985 Nanjing
Military service
Service/branch	People's Liberation Army
Rank	General of People's Liberation Army

Xu Shiyou (1905–1985; Chinese: 许世友; pinyin: Xǔ Shìyǒu) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Born in Xinxian, Henan Province (it belonged to Hubei previously), Xu grew up studying martial arts at the Shaolin Temple for eight years and he later became a soldier in Wu Peifu's warlord army. After having served as a lieutenant in the Kuomintang army, he joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1927.

Xu first emerged in the annals of Chinese military history in Hubei in 1927, as part of a nascent military unit that included future generals Qin Jiwei and Chen Zaidao. In 1932, he commanded the 34th Regiment, 12th Division of the Fourth Front Army led by future Marshall Xu Xiangqian. His deputy in the 25th Division, 9th Corps (which Xu later led) in 1933-36, Chen Xilian, later rose to serve on the Politburo Standing Committee during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the age of 29, Xu Shiyou commanded the Red 9th Corps of the Fourth Front Army.

Eight months after the First Front Army abandoned the Jiangxi Soviet and embarked on the Long March, it met up with Zhang Guotao’s Fourth Front Army, in June 1935 at Maogong, Sichuan. Zhang favored consolidating power in Sichuan whereas Mao Zedong wanted to continue on to Gansu and Ningxia, to receive aid from the Soviet Union. The compromise decision was to convene a conference, in July at Mao’ergai. Despite support from Liu Bocheng, Zhu De and other commanders, Mao would not be convinced. As a result, the Fourth Front Army was divided into a Left Column under Liu, Zhu and Zhang; and a Right Column under Xu Xiangqian. Xu Shiyou at the time commanded a cavalry regiment.

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