Chu Teh (Chinese, 朱德, Pinyin: Zhu De) (1 December 1886 - 6 July 1976) was a Chinese soldier, revolutionary, general, warlord, politician, and founder of the Chinese Red Army, forerunner of today's People's Liberation Army.
Born to a poor household in 1886 in Sichuan, Chu was adopted by a wealthy uncle at age nine; this prosperity provided him a superior early education that led to his admission into a military academy. After his time at the academy, he joined a rebel army and soon became a warlord. It was after this period that he adopted communism. He ascended through the ranks of the Chinese Red Army as it closed in on securing the nation during the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949). By the time China was under Mao's control, Zhu was a high-ranking official within the Chinese Communist Party. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1955 he became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the principal founder. Zhu remained a prominent political figure until his death in 1976. As the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1975 to 1976, Zhu was the head of state of the People's Republic of China.
Chu Te[1] commanded the People's Liberation Army during the resistance to the Race's occupation ofChina. He held the army together through strength of will and was the Chinese Communist Party's undisputed military expert. Despite his importance, his appearance and behavior were quite undistinguished: He looked like an aging peasant, and, while he attended meetings of the CCP's Central Committee, usually did not contribute substantively to political decisions, at least not during official deliberations.[2] For instance, at the Central Committee's 1963 meeting in Fengchen, he offered only hollow expressions of agreement with Mao Tse-Tung.
