Tao Zhiyue

Tao Zhiyue
Commander of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
In office 1954–1968
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Liu Shuangquan
Personal details
Born	1892 Xianfeng Township, Ningxiang County, Hunan, Qing dynasty
Died	26 December 1988(1988-12-26) (aged 95–96)
Nationality	Chinese
Political party	Communist Party of China (1982–88) Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang
Awards	Order of Liberation (First Class Medal) (1955)
Military service
Allegiance	Republic of China  People's Republic of China
Branch/service	Hunan clique (1914–26) National Revolutionary Army (1926–47) Republic of China Army (1947–49) People's Liberation Army Ground Force (1949–68) Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (1954–68)
Years of service	1914–1968
Rank	General of the PLA (awarded 1955) Lieutenant general of the Republic of China Army
Commands	NRA 1st Army (1938–45) NRA 37th Army Group (1942–44) PLA 22nd Corps (1949–54) PLA Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (1954–68)
Battles/wars	Northern Expedition (1926–28) Third Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet (1931) Second Sino–Japanese War (1937–45) Chinese Civil War (1946–49) Peaceful Liberation of Xinjiang (1949)

Tao Zhiyue (Chinese: 陶峙岳; pinyin: Táo Zhìyuè; Wade–Giles: T'ao Chih-yüeh; 1892 – 26 December 1988) was a Chinese military officer and politician, lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, and a full general of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China.^[1]

Born to a wealthy land-owning family, he graduated from the Baoding Military Academy, rose to high military positions in the Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai-shek and was closely associated with Zhang Zhizhong. In 1949 he defected to the Communists, playing a key role in the incorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China and then went on to hold high office under Mao Zedong, most notably serving as the first commander of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps from 1954 to 1968.