In August 1949, as Governor of Hunan, he peacefully surrendered to Mao Zedong's advancing Communist forces, joined the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang and, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, went on to serve as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (1949–1968), Governor of Hunan (1952–1967) and Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress (1954–1968), among other posts.

Born into a prosperous landlord family in Liling, Hunan, Cheng received a classical Confucian education and at the age of the 16 he obtained the Xiucai (the first degree in the imperial civil service examination), and then studied at the Yuelu Academy in Changsha.

In 1905 Cheng met Sun Yat-sen and joined the Tongmenghui, a secret revolutionary society, committed to overthrow the Qing dynasty and modernize China.

Cheng then returned in China, where he was assigned by the Qing imperial government to train a New Army in Sichuan Province under the overall command of Zhu Qinglan.

During the Constitutional Protection Movement he was first appointed military commander of Changsha, then Deputy Minister of War in Sun Yat-sen's Guangzhou Government.

In the following years, Cheng served in several capacities, including Chief of General Staff of the Military Affairs Commission (which was chaired by Chiang Kai-shek himself) from 1935 to 1937.

[1][2] As the Chinese Communist Party forces gained ground, Chiang Kai-shek stepped down in January 1949; after the collapse of peace talks in April, the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River.