Wang Shitai

Born to a peasant family in Shaanxi Province, Wang Shitai joined the Communist Youth League in 1927 and participated in the failed Weihua Uprising against Nationalist forces in 1928.

[1] During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Wang commanded the 8th Route Army's 4th Regiment (1937–1942) in Ningxia, pioneering mobile guerrilla tactics in arid regions.

Promoted to deputy commander of the Northwest Field Army in 1947, he directed critical supply lines during the Yulin Campaign in 1949, which secured Communist dominance in Shaanxi.

[5] His administrative career was interrupted in 1967 when he was purged during the Cultural Revolution for alleged associations with Peng Dehuai's faction, leading to six years of political imprisonment.

[7] Wang married educator and women's rights advocate Wei Nai in 1940, with their archived correspondence at the Yan'an Revolutionary Museum documenting the personal costs of military-political service.