The changing face of Chinese military generals: evolving promotion practices between 1981 and 2009

Abstract

Abstract It is difficult to overstate the importance of the human factor in any institution. The motivation of this study is to discern patterns, by examining and analyzing the biographical information of those who had been promoted to People's Liberation Army (PLA) full generals (shangjiang), for a better insight into how Chinese military leadership has remade the PLA. A close examination of biographical information of PLA generals promoted during the past three decades indicates a number of intriguing patterns and trends, suggesting that Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao during their tenures as chairmen of the Central Military Commission (the highest command authority in China's armed forces) have furthered the modernization of China's military by incorporating elements of diversity, stability and professionalization into the promotion practice of PLA generals.