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ABSTRACT
The Communist Party of China swiftly embarked on its first overseas mission by sending military advisors to Vietnam right after founding the People’s Republic of China in 1949. By relying on first-hand archival materials and interviews with former advisors, this study reveals the formation, evolution, and disbandment of the Chinese advisory groups in Vietnam, the details of which remain generally vague, if not unknown, to the academic community. Thus, the study works to uncover the historical facts that can explain the rise and fall of these groups that operated in Vietnam from 1950–56.
Acknowledgments
I express my sincere gratitude to Ms He Yanhong, daughter-in-law of Luo Guibo, the CC-CPC’s representative to the CC-CPV and the PRC’s first Ambassador to the DRV. With Chinese leaders’ permission, Ms He collected materials regarding Chinese advisors’ aid to Vietnam in the early 1950s from the Archives of the CC-CPC, the International Department of CC-CPC, the PLA, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1986–89. During the same period, Ms He conducted dozens of interviews with former Chinese advisors and other cadres who had once worked in Vietnam in the early 1950s. Without these invaluable archival materials, I could not have written this paper. Thanks also go to the three anonymous referees for their valuable comments. The author takes full responsibility for the paper’s legality and academic integrity.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Viet Minh stands for the ‘League for the Independence of Vietnam’, which was formed by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) on 19 May 1941. The CPV was founded in February 1930 but was renamed the ‘Indochinese Communist Party’ in October of that year and the ‘Vietnam Workers’ Party’ (VWK) in 1951; however, to avoid confusion, the party is solely referred to as the CPV in this paper.
2 Writing Team for the History of Chinese Military Advisory Group, Chubanshe, Zhongguo junshi guwentuan yuanyue kangfa douzheng shishi [Historical Facts About the Chinese Military Advisory Group’s Assist-Vietnam and Resist-France Struggle] (Beijing: Junshi Chubanshe, 1990); Philipee Devillers, End of a War: Indo-China, 1954 (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969); Geng Chen, Chen Geng Riji [Chen Geng’s Diary] (Beijing: Zhanshi Chubanshe, 1982); Zhuang Wen, ‘Fengyu Tongzhou Hua yuenan: chushi yuenan jingli fangtanlu [Standing Together Through Storm and Stress in Vietnam: Interview Record of my Personal Experiences in Vietnam]’, Guoji Zhengzhi Yanjiu, 1–10 (2002–04); Bifu Wu and Yanping Zheng, ‘Mimi yuanyue kangfa de zhongguo junshi guwentuan [Chinese Military Advisory Group in the Secret Assisting-Vietnam and Resisting-France War]’, Wenshi Bolan 3 (2005); Chunfu Sun, ‘Zhongguo junshi guwentuan zai yuenan [The Chinese Military Advisory Group in Vietnam]’, Wenshi Tiandi 8 (2010); Jian Chen, ‘China and the First Indo-China War, 1950–54, The China Quarterly 133 (1993): 85–110; Zhai Qiang, China & The Vietnam Wars, 1950–1975 (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2000); Bernard B. Fall, Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1961); Jiang Qian, Yuenan Mizhan: 1950–1954 zhongguo yuanyue zhanzheng jishi [The Secret War in Vietnam: A Factual Account of Assisting Vietnam from 1950–54] (Beijing: Huaxia Chubanshe and Chengdu: Sichuan Renmin Chubanshe, 1950); and Laura M. Calkins, China and the First Vietnam War, 1947–54 (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969).
3 Charles Kraus, ‘A Border Region ‘Exuded with Militant Friendship’: Provincial Narratives of China’s Participation in the First Inchochina War 1949–1954, Cold War History 12, no. 3 (2012): 494–514.
4 Ibid., 496.
5 Zhe Shi, Wode yisheng: She zhe zishu [My Life: Shi Zhe’s Self Statement], recorded by Shi Langqiu (Beijing: Renmin Chubanshe, 2001), 309.
6 Hu Zhimin pai Li Bishan, Ruan Derui laijing [Ho Chi Minh Sends Ly Bich Son and Nguyen Duc Thuy to Beijing], 9 August 1949, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
7 Party Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee. Liu Shaoqi nianpu [Chronicle of Liu Shaoqi]. Vol. 2. (Beijing: Zhongyang Wenxian Chubanshe, 1996), 241.
8 For the sake of convenience, in the following text, a cadre (or advisor) with a division-grade rank (师级干部) will be described as a divisional cadre (advisor). The same will apply to a cadre (advisor) with regiment-grade (团级), battalion-grade (营级), company-grade (连级), or platoon-grade (排级) rank. Qing Guangxi, Yunnan xuanpai guwen de qingshi [Instruction on Selection of Advisors from Guangxi Yunnan], 24 March 1950, No. 1056, Archive of the International Department of CC-CPC, Beijing, China. As the raw archival materials studied were in their original condition, the cited archival files did not have titles. Most of the file titles were formulated by the author by selecting the first sentence of the files, which usually contained basic information about who cabled whom and for what reason. This practice is widely used by Chinese scholars. Only the titles of a few files whose first sentence did not contain useful information were summarised by the author to indicate their main content; some cited files are presented with their original archival numbers, while some file numbers had been unintentionally omitted due to poor academic training or simply did not exist, and it was impossible to do remedial work.
9 Li Yunyang, who was then head of the Political Section and secretary of the party branch at the office of the MAG.
10 Luo Guibo tingqu yuegong zhongyang lingdaoren de qingkuang baogao [Luo Guibo Receives Situation Briefings from Vietnamese Leaders], March 15–21, 1950, No. 8/403A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
11 Luo Guibo xiang Zhongyang baogao [Luo Guibo’s Report on the Military Advisors Requested by the CC-CPV], 12 May 1950, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
12 Zhongyang zuochu liangxiang Jueding [The CC-CPC Makes Two Decisions], 2 March 1950, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
13 Xilan Liao, ‘Mao Zedong paichu diyige junshi guwentuan [Mao Zedong Sends Out First-Ever Military Advisory Group]’, Wenshi Chunqiu 6 (1994): 6. The article was based on materials provided by Xu Qijing, Wei Guoqing’s wife.
14 Party Literature Research Office, Liu Shaoqi nianpu, 247.
15 Ibid.
16 Advisors with battalion-grade, regiment-grade, and division-grade ranks.
17 Zhongyang junwei guanyu diao Yuenan junshi guwen de fenpei Jueding [The CMC’s Decision on the Method of Selecting Vietnam-bound Military Advisors], 20 April 1950, No. 1/405B, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Chen Geng was concurrently the Chairman of Yunnan Provincial Government and Commander of the Yunnan Military Region and the Southwestern Military Region.
22 Song Renqiong was concurrently the Party Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and Political Commissar of the Yunnan Military Region.
23 Liu Shaoqi dian Luo Guibo [Liu Shaoiqi Cables Luo Guibo], 8 May 1950, No. 11/388A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China; see also Party Literature Research Office, Liu Shaoqi nianpu, 250.
24 Luo Guibo xiang zhongyang baogao yuegong zhongyang yaoqiu junshi guwen bangzhu shi [Luo Guibo Reports to the Central Committee of the CPC the Request of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam for Chinese Military Advisers], 12 May 1950, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
25 Hong Shui was a member of both the CPC and CPV and joined the Red Army in China and participated in the Long March. He was awarded the rank of Major General by both the VPA and the PLA.
26 Chen Geng he Song Renqiong tichu xuanpai yuenan gongzuo de tongzhi de shixiang [Chen Geng and Song Renqiong Make Suggestions for Selecting Vietnam-bound Comrades], 25 June 1950, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the PLA, Beijing, China.
27 Ibid.
28 Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De deng Lingdao tongzhi zai Zhongnanhai jiejian bufen Junshi guwen [Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De and Other Leading Comrades Meet Military Advisors in Zhongnanhai], 27 June 1950, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China; see also Writing Team, Chubanshe, Zhongguo junshi guwentuan yuanyue kangfa douzheng shishi, 5–7.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid.
36 Junshi guwentuan chengli geji dangwei [The MAG Establishes the Party Committees at Various Levels], 8 August 1950, No. 3/406A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
37 Party Literature Research Office, Liu Shaoqi nianpu, 259.
38 Wu and Zheng, ‘Mimi yuanyue kangfa de zhongguo junshi guwentuan’, 50.
39 Zhang Yunyi shuai siye ganbu bashijiu ren cheng feiji di Kunmin [Zhang Yunyi Leads 89 Cadres of the Fourth Field Army to Kunming], 22 July 1950, No. 50/408A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
40 Luo Guibo dian junwei [Luo Guibo Cables the CMC], 19 February 1952, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the PLA, Beijing, China.
41 Luo Guibo de shumian Baogao [Luo Guibo’s Written Report], 10 October 1950, No.51/404A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
42 Luo Guibo de shumian Baogao [Luo Guibo’s Written Report], 10 October 1950, No. 51/404A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
43 Wen, ‘Fengyu Tongzhou Hua yuenan: chushi yuenan jingli fangtanlu’, 105.
44 Zhongyang pai Zheng Zhijian De liuwei maoyi ganbu fu Yuenan gongzuo [The CC-CPC Sends Zheng Zhijian and Five Other Trade Cadres to Vietnam], 20 March 1951, No. 26/330A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
45 Yuenan Caijing gongzuo qige yue de gongzuo qingkuang [Report on Financial and Economic Advisors’ Work in Vietnam in the Past Seven Months], 14 August 1951, No. 76/330A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
46 Deng Yifan baogao [Deng Yifan’s Report], 6 December 1951, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
47 Deng Yifan baogao [Deng Yi Fang’s Report], 6 December 1951, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
48 Xianquan Wang (former military advisor), in discussion with Yanhong He, May 1989.
49 Junzheng Guwentuan Hebing Wenti de Zhuanmen Huiyi zai Beijing Zhaokai [A Special Meeting on the Merger of Military and Political Advisory Groups Held in Beijing], 1 December 1951, No. 77/331A, Archive of the CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
50 Luo Guibo genju Mao Zedong he zhongyang lingdao yijian zhengli de xiang Hu Zhiming he yuegong Kkoutou chuanda de baogao [Luo Guibo’s Oral Report Conveying Mao Zedong and Other Party Leaders’ Messages to Ho Chi Minh and the CC-CPV], 5 January 1952, No. 1333, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
51 Ibid.
52 Luo Guibo dian junwei, Archive of the PLA, Beijing, China.
53 Since 1955, 10,000 old Yuan has equalled 1 new Yuan. Luo Guibo dian junwei, Archive of the PLA, Beijing, China.
54 Luo Guibo dian junwei he zhonglianbu [Luo Guibo Cables the CMC and the International Department], 28 September 1952, No. 976, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
55 Junwei dian luo guibo [The CMC Cables Luo Guibo], 29 May 1952, No. 5/335, Archive of the PLA, Beijing, China.
56 Luo, Mei, Deng dian junwei bing zhonglianbu [Luo Guibo, Mei Jiasheng, and Deng Yifan Cable the CMC and the International Department], 13 June 1952, No. 974, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
57 Luo Guibo baogao guwentuan qingkuang [Luo Guibo Reports on the Affairs of the Advisory Groups], 20 April 1953, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the International Department, CC-CPC, Beijing, China.
58 Ibid.
59 Wu and Zheng, ‘Mimi yuanyue kangfa de zhongguo junshi guwentuan’, 50.
60 Chen Jiakang was the then Director-General of the Asia Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the ‘Yuenan Small Group’ formed in August 1954. Lei Yingfu was the then Director of the First Department of the Operation Bureau of the General Staff, PLA.
61 Shujichu huiyi [Meeting of the Secretariat of the CC-CPC], 25 August 1954, No.12/599, Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC, Beijing, China.
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 Luo Guibo baogao Zhongyang [Luo Guibo’s Report to the CC-CPC], 28 November 1954, No. 54/606, Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC, Beijing, China.
68 Zhonggong zhongyang shiyue shiliuri dian [The CC-CPC Cable Reply of October 16], 23 September 1954, No. 26/605, Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC, Beijing, China.
69 Zhongyang tichu zhongyao guiding [The CC-CPC Proposes Important Regulations], 24 February 1955, No. 2/603, Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC, Beijing, China.
70 Guanyv chuli zhuyue zhongguo zhuanjia yiji jinnian paizhu yuenan zhuanjia wenti de Chubu yijian [On the Treatment of the Chinese Experts in Vietnam and the Preliminary Opinion on Sending Experts to Vietnam This Year], 20 May 1955, No 285, Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRC, Beijing, China.
71 Wei Guoqing baogao junewei bing Zhongyang [Wei Guo Qing Reports to the CMC and the CC-CPC], 15 September 1955, the original file number was unintentionally omitted or did not exist, Archive of the PLA, Beijing, China.
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Xiaohe Cheng
Xiaohe Cheng serves as professor at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. His main research focus lies in the fields of China's foreign relations in general and China's relations with neighboring countries in particular. He earned a PhD in political science from Boston University.