Group photo of the first class of the first session of the University of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

In October 1933, Xiang Ying, acting chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission appointed He Changgong to be president and political commissar of the University of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

　　The Central Revelutionary Military Commission issued The Command Concerning Transformation of Schools of the Red Army and made a farsighted decision, creating a precedent of people's army to run university, thus giving the birth of the University of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

　　According to Ji Yunfei, professor of military history in the Nanjing Institute of Politics, the university was the highest institution for the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Army during the Land Revolution War, with He Changgong holding the position of the first president.

　　In early period of founding, the university had only 16 full-time teachers and set senior commanding department, superior politics department, command department, staff department, logistic department, with instruction team, flack team and survey and mapping team. Its students were cadres at the levels of division and regiment of the Red Army with experiences in the flames of war.

　　"During studying in the university, there was no desk and chair, we had to sit on stones, read on laps and write with a stick on sand," wrote a veteran of the Red Army in his memoir. Each student, regardless of positions, lived a same life as servicemen. They had to study knowledge, while exercising and drilling.

　　According to Prof. Ji Yunfei, the university stressed on both theory and practice and combined the situations in the front and the rear in terms of teaching principle and method. During teaching, they not only adopted military and political regulations of the Red Army of the Soviet Union, but also summed up operational experience on the basis of operational experience of Chinese Red Army, teaching students how to adopt flexible and mobile strategies and tactics for eliminating enemies and saving oneself. In order to closely integrate with actual practice of battles, the university assigned students to frontline to fight together with troops. In case that frontline commander sacrificed, the student would serve as acting commander temporarily until the successor arrived at the post.

　　It created publications such as the Revolution and War and the Red Battlefield, frequently publishing articles wrote by senior generals of the Red Army, such as Zhu De, Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying. From the establishment of the university to the beginning of the Long March of the Red Army, the university totally recruited students of three sessions, forging a group of talents, including Peng Xuefeng, Song Renqong, Cheng Zihua, Wei Guoqing, Deng Hua and Zhou Zikun, many of them became well-known generals leading a strong army with thousands of troops.

　　The university joined the Long March along with the Central Red Army in October 1934. It was moved to Yan'an in January 1937, later renamed as the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University.

　　By Zhang Ying, Nanjing Institute of Politics

　　(July 19, PLA Daily)