Rao Zhengxi was born on May 14, 1911, in Zhongxiang, Hubei. He received early education in Wuhan and later studied medicine at Pu’ai Hospital in Daye County, Hubei. During his student years, he became involved in underground revolutionary activities. In June 1930, he joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and in 1932 he became a member of the Chinese Communist Party.[2]
During the Chinese Civil War in its early revolutionary phase, Rao served primarily in military medical and political roles. He worked as a physician and later as director of military hospitals within the Red Third Army Corps, eventually becoming head of its Medical Department. He participated in multiple campaigns against Nationalist encirclement operations and took part in the Long March beginning in 1934.[3]
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Rao held senior posts in the Medical Department of the Central Military Commission, including Director of Medical Affairs and Deputy Minister. He also served as political commissar of military medical schools and as political commissar of the China Medical University. In this period, he combined administrative leadership with political work, contributing to the institutional development of the Communist military medical system.[4]
In the later stages of the Chinese Civil War, Rao served as deputy political commissar and director of the political department in several field armies, including the Northwest Field Army and the First Field Army. He participated in major campaigns in Northwest China and in the advance into Xinjiang.[5]
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Rao assumed key leadership positions in Xinjiang. He served as Deputy Political Commissar of the 22nd Army Group, Secretary of the Dihua (now Ürümqi) Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and Mayor of Dihua.[6] He later became Minister and Political Commissar of the Medical Department of the PLA General Logistics Department, and subsequently served multiple terms as deputy director of the General Logistics Department.[7]
In 1955, Rao was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General. He received the Second Class Order of August 1, the First Class Order of Independence and Freedom, and the First Class Order of Liberation. In 1988, he was awarded the First Class Order of the Red Star of Merit. During the Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted and imprisoned for several years, before being politically rehabilitated in the late 1970s.[8]
From 1980 to 1985, Rao served as Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Military Commission, contributing to the restoration of military discipline and institutional norms. He was a member of the 4th and 5th National Committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a delegate to the 7th and 8th National Congresses of the Chinese Communist Party.[9]
Rao Zhengxi died of illness in Beijing on June 22, 1998, at the age of 87.[10]
People's Republic of China