Cai Tingkai (1892--1968), courtesy name Xianchu, was born in a poor peasant family in Luoding County, Guangdong Province on April 15, 1892 (March 19, the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty). His father worked as a farmer, tailor and veterinarian. Cai Tingkai helped with farm work in his childhood. He entered a private school at the age of 9. His mother died at the age of 11. He dropped out of school at the age of 12 and worked as a tailor and studied medicine with his father. Cai has a stubborn character, and his poor life makes him even more rebellious against the old society. When he was 12 years old, he was deeply moved when he heard the story of Liu Yongfu's heroic fight against foreign invaders told by his fellow villagers. When I heard about the Qing government's actions of ceding territory to pay indemnities and losing power and humiliating the country, I felt resentful and patriotism gradually emerged.
In order to find a way out of life and with the vague idea of ??serving as a soldier to defend the country, Cai Tingkai joined the Guangdong New Army in 1909. After Guangdong became independent after the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911, Cai transferred to the Guangdong Provincial Guards. After several rounds, in 1918 he served as a platoon leader in the Chen Mingshu Battalion of Li Yaohan Zhaojun. In 1919, the Zhaojun Army was disbanded, and Chen Mingshu's camp was reorganized into the Lin Hu Division of the National Protective Army. Cai was selected to study in the Army Lecture Hall of the Second Army of the National Protective Army for one year.
In 1920, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou to reorganize the French military government and sent Deng Keng to form the First Division of the Guangdong Army. Chen Mingshu's department was organized into the Fourth Regiment of the First Division of the Guangdong Army. Cai served as the flag officer of the regiment headquarters, and later Transferred to platoon leader. Deng Keng trained the First Division of the Guangdong Army very strictly and educated the soldiers on modern military technology, political common sense, social knowledge and industrial production. Cai was nurtured and trained in the division and joined the Kuomintang. His military and political understanding was closely related to that of the Japanese army. enhance. In 1921, Cai participated in the battle against Shen Hongying of the Gui Army and was promoted to captain and company commander. In May 1922, Sun Yat-sen supervised the Northern Expedition, and Cai participated in the fierce battle to capture Ganzhou. In June, Chen Jiongming rebelled. In January of the following year, Cai participated in the battle to expel Chen Jiongming and reoccupy Guangzhou. In April, Shen Hongying attacked Guangzhou, and the First Division was ordered to attack. In May, Zhaoqing was captured. Cai was promoted to major company commander due to his military exploits. In 1924, he was promoted to battalion commander. At the beginning of 1925, Cai Ying and various units of the First Division entered Guangxi, defeated Shen Hongying, and set out for Dongjiang. As soon as the first Eastern Expedition ended, Chen Jiongming immediately returned to Guangzhou from Dongjiang and participated in quelling the rebellion of Yang Ximin and Liu Zhenhuan. In the battles with the northern and southern warlords, Cai Tingkai became a brave and capable officer.
In July 1925, the Kuomintang government was established in Guangzhou. The First Division of the Guangdong Army was expanded into the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Li Jishen was appointed as the commander, Chen Mingshu was appointed as the commander of the 10th Division, and Cai Tingkai Battalion was assigned to the 10th Army. Division 28th Regiment. In the winter of that year, Cai Ying served as the vanguard against Deng Benyin and played a major role in the southern expedition.
In July 1926, the National Revolutionary Army set out for the Northern Expedition. Cai Tingkai was promoted to the commander of the 28th Regiment of the 10th Division. He led his troops to participate in the battles of conquering Pingjiang and Wuchang. He fought bravely and hard and achieved military exploits. He was an effective force in the "Iron Army". Later, the lower division was expanded into the 11th Army. Chen Mingshu was appointed as the commander, under the jurisdiction of Jiang Guangnai's 10th Division and Dai Ji's 24th Division. Cai was promoted to deputy commander of the 24th Division.
In early 1927, Chiang Kai-shek was in conflict with the National Government in Wuhan. Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, and Dai Ji successively left Wuhan to join Chiang Kai-shek, and Cai Tingkai was promoted to commander of the 10th Division. After Chiang Kai-shek's "April 12" coup, the Wuhan government sent troops to Henan to continue the Northern Expedition. Cai's division fought fiercely with Feng's army in Henan, and cooperated with his brothers' troops to conquer Linying and Kaifeng. After Wang Jingwei's anti-Japanese campaign in Wuhan in July, Cai followed Ye Ting's troops and participated in the August 1st Nanchang Uprising. He was appointed as a member of the Military Commission, deputy commander of the 11th Army and commander of the 10th Division, and served as the commander-in-chief of the left wing, leading the The division went south. However, due to class and cognitive limitations, he did not agree with the Communist Party's ideas, so when he went south, he separated from the insurrectionary troops and moved the 10th Division to Qianshan in eastern Jiangxi. Soon, Jiang Guangnai came to Qianshan and returned to serve as deputy commander of the 11th Army. Cai led his troops to follow Jiang into Fujian.
After that, Cai Tingkai continued to participate in the melee between the new warlords under Chiang Kai-shek.
In 1930, the two divisions of Chiang Kai-shek and Cai participated in the Central Plains War between Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang and Guangxi. On August 17, the Jiang and Cai divisions were expanded into the 19th Route Army, with Jiang Guangnai as the commander-in-chief and Cai Tingkai as the commander of the 19th Route Army.
In early 1931, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized the 19th Route Army into Jiangxi to participate in the second and third counter-revolutionary "encirclement and suppression" campaigns against the Central Soviet Area. In August, during the battle of Xingxingwei, the 19th Route Army was severely hit by the Red Army. , 3,000 casualties, and Cai himself survived after risking his life to resist.
The Japanese army launched the "September 18th War" and occupied Northeast China. The whole country unanimously called for unity to resist Japan. In October, the 19th Route Army was gradually transferred from Jiangxi to Shanghai and Ningbo. The 19th Route Army headquarters and the 61st Division were stationed in Nanjing and Zhenjiang, the 60th Division was stationed in Suzhou, Changzhou and other places, and the 78th Division was stationed in Songhu and Nanjing. Xiang and other places.
In January 1932, the Japanese imperialists continued to send troops to Shanghai and caused further trouble. They even unreasonably demanded that the 19th Route Army retreat 30 kilometers. He Yingqin and Zhang Jingjiang, the Ministers of Government of the Kuomintang, successively advised Cai Tingkai to withdraw his troops. Cai objected, believing that the 19th Route Army was stationed in Chinese territory and there was no reason to retreat. The 19th Route Army had the responsibility to defend the territory. In case the Japanese army dared to invade, we decided to A head-on blow. On January 23, Cai and Jiang Guangnai held a meeting of cadres above the 19th Route Army stationed in Shanghai in Shanghai and decided to resist various deployments of the Japanese army. On the 24th, Cai went to Suzhou to hold an emergency meeting of senior generals of the 19th Route Army stationed in Suzhou to express his determination to resist the war. Although the Kuomintang government repeatedly compromised and backed down, the Japanese army still launched a brazen attack on the Zhabei area on the night of January 28. The 19th Route Army immediately rose up to resist, and the "128" Songhu Anti-Japanese War broke out, which shocked China and foreign countries.
On January 29, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai and others sent a message to the whole country, saying that they had the responsibility to defend the land, not to give up, and to save the country and protect the homeland. Although they sacrificed even one soldier and one bullet, they could not give up. Don't back down. Encouraged and supported by the masses, all officers and soldiers of the 19th Route Army had unprecedentedly high patriotic enthusiasm. They stood firm and continuously repelled the rampant attacks of the Japanese army. With fearless courage, Cai personally went to the front line to supervise the battle amidst the hail of bullets and boost morale. At that time, there was a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves. The total force of the 19th Route Army was about 30,000 people. Including Zhang Zhizhong's 8th Army, which came for reinforcements in mid-February, there were only more than 40,000 people in total. Japan has continuously increased its troops to approximately 70,000 to 80,000 people, equipped with a large number of artillery, tanks, aircraft, and warships. However, the 19th Route Army held firm in Shanghai from January 28 to March 1. Relying on the national spirit, they fought bloody battles with the enemy for 33 days. They fought one after another and suffered about 10,000 casualties. They experienced Zhabei street fighting, Wusong Fortress fighting, Baziqiao fighting, Yunnan fighting, etc. Battles such as the Battle of Zaobang, the Battle of Jiangwan and Miaoxing, and the Battle of Liuhe inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese invading forces, resulting in more than 10,000 casualties, and the commanders were changed four times. Finally, because the Kuomintang government insisted on the policy of non-resistance against Japan and would not send additional reinforcements, the Japanese troops landed at Liuhe, Taicang on March 1, and the 19th Route Army was forced to withdraw from Shanghai and retreat to Jiading and other places. Cai Tingkai and Jiang Guangnai sent a telegram to the whole country on March 2, expressing their determination to "exhaust all ammunition and soldiers" and not to fight against the violent sun for a day. After a severe attack by the 19th Route Army, the Japanese army's conspiracy to invade Shanghai could not succeed. After "mediation" by Britain, the United States and other countries, China and Japan declared a ceasefire on March 3. On May 5, the Kuomintang government and Japan signed the "Songhu Armistice Agreement."
The 19th Route Army's Songhu War of Resistance was an unprecedented victory in my country's war against Japan. It inspired the anti-Japanese spirit of the country's military and civilians and wrote a new chapter in the Chinese nation's fight against foreign aggression. Cai Tingkai was hailed as a "Famous Anti-Japanese General" and "National Hero" at home and abroad due to his outstanding achievements in commanding Songhu during the Anti-Japanese War.
Cai Tingkai resisted Chiang Kai-shek's non-resistance policy and insisted on the stance of the Anti-Japanese War, which aroused dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang. On May 6, Chiang ordered three divisions of the 19th Route Army to be transferred to Jiangxi, Hubei, and Anhui to "suppress*" **", Cai and others objected based on reason. Chiang Nai changed his order and was transferred to Fujian, hoping to wipe out the 19th Route Army in the battle with the Red Army. Cai was appointed commander-in-chief of the 19th Route Army in September.
After Cai Tingkai and others led the 19th Route Army into Fujian, under the urging of Chiang Kai-shek, they took advantage of the opportunity when the main force of the Fujian Red Army entered Jiangxi to fight, and successively occupied many places in the Soviet areas in western Fujian and northern Fujian. In the autumn of 1933, the main force of the Red Army marched eastward from Jiangxi to Fujian. It first annihilated about three regiments of the 78th Division of the 19th Route Army in Liancheng and other places in western Fujian. Then it annihilated two regiments in northern Fujian and besieged Tingping, Shunchang, and Jiang. Le, and other county towns threatened Fuzhou.
Cai realized that attacking the Red Army fell into Chiang Kai-shek's scheme. Anti-Japanese resistance against Chiang and "suppression of the Communist Party" could never go hand in hand. He resolutely decided to change the policy of "anti-Chiang, anti-Japanese and anti-Japanese forces" to "anti-Chiang, anti-Japanese and anti-Japanese alliance". ", immediately took active steps to contact the Communist Red Army, and achieved a ceasefire in late September. On October 26, they also signed the "Preliminary Agreement to Anti-Chiang and Resist Japan" with the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Union and the Red Army, so that there would be no worries about the West when the incident was launched. On November 20, the "Provisional National People's Congress of China" was held in Fuzhou, with Li Jishen as chairman, and Cai Tingkai as member of the People's Revolutionary Government, commander-in-chief of the First Front Army of the People's Revolutionary Republic, and commander-in-chief of the 19th Route Army. Chiang Kai-shek quickly gathered hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Fujian. The Nineteenth Route Army was outnumbered and isolated. The Fujian Incident failed in January 1934, and the Nineteenth Route Army was completely disintegrated.
After the failure of the Fujian Incident, Cai Tingkai traveled abroad to Europe, the United States, and Australia for a year to inspect the military, political and economic affairs of each country. With his patriotic passion, he promoted anti-Japanese ideas to overseas Chinese and friendly people from various countries, introduced the Songhu Anti-Japanese War and the Fujian Incident, and criticized the Kuomintang government's non-resistance policy against Japan. In July 1935, he, Li Jishen, Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai and others organized the "Chinese National Revolutionary Alliance" in Hong Kong to fight for national independence, overthrow the Chiang Kai-shek government in Nanjing, establish people's power, organize a united front, and make armed resistance against Japan their mission. They also founded the "Public Daily News".
After the "July 7th Incident", soldiers and civilians across the country rose up to resist the war. Cai Tingkai was patriotic and rushed to Nanjing to fight against the national calamity. However, Chiang Kai-shek only entrusted him with the empty post of special counselor of the Military Commission. In November, Cai was hit by a car in Nanjing and returned to Luoding to recuperate. In 1939, he served as deputy commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief of the 16th Army, stationed in southern Guangxi and western Guangdong. In November, the Japanese troops landed in Fangcheng, Longmen and other places and attacked Nanning. Cai Tingkai was transferred to the commander-in-chief of the 26th Group Army. From the end of the year to the beginning of the next year, he commanded the various units in Guangnan and Guangdong South Road to fight against the enemy in the Battle of Guangnan. In July, the 26th Army was reorganized into the General Headquarters of the Guangdong-Guangxi Border Region, but all the troops under its jurisdiction were transferred, leaving only a few guerrillas. Cai Cheng had no troops as commander and was unable to realize his anti-Japanese ambitions, so he resigned in September. In the next few years, Cai lived idle in Guilin as a special counselor. After returning to Luoding in August 1944, he organized an anti-Japanese guerrilla force with Tan Qixiu and others to attack the Japanese army.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, in order to oppose Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship and civil war policies, Cai, Li Jishen, He Xiangning, Li Zhangda and others formally organized the "Chinese Kuomintang Democracy Promotion Association" in Guangzhou in March 1946 to realize the revolutionary Three People's Principles. , with the goal of establishing an independent, free, democratic, and happy New China.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cai Tingkai was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the First, Second and Third National People's Congress, and also served as a member of the Second Central Standing Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang and deputy chairman of the Third and Fourth Central Committees. Chairman, you have made great efforts for the great cause of the reunification of the motherland. During the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, he was elected as a standing member of the Committee to Defend the Homeland and Country to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, and went to North Korea to express condolences to the Chinese and North Korean soldiers and civilians.
On April 25, 1968, Cai Tingkai died of illness in Beijing.