How He Long Started a Revolution with Two Kitchen Knives: The Beginning of a Legend

From Two Kitchen Knives to Marshal of the Republic: The Legend of He Long

On a spring night in 1916 in Sangzhi County, Hunan, the twenty-year-old He Long gripped two sharp kitchen knives in his hands and led more than twenty hot-blooded young men into the local tax police branch. After several rounds of fierce fighting, the tax police were disarmed and their weapons seized. The entire salt bureau at Bamaoxi was taken down. This was the legendary beginning of what would later become famous as "The Revolution with Two Kitchen Knives." Decades later, this rough hero who emerged from the deep mountains of western Hunan became a founding marshal of the People's Republic of China, one of the creators of the Chinese Communist armed forces, and one of the most legendary figures in Chinese revolutionary history. How did He Long come to walk this path? What story lies behind those two kitchen knives? How did he grow from a bandit-like grassroots leader into a marshal of the republic?

The Harsh Mountains of Western Hunan: He Long's Youth

On March 22, 1896, He Long was born into a poor peasant family in Hongjia Pass, Sangzhi County, Hunan. Sangzhi County lies deep in the mountains of western Hunan, one of the most remote and barren regions in Hunan province. Winding mountain paths, poor transportation, roaming bandits, and corrupt officials—this was the environment of He Long's childhood.

The He family was a major clan in the region, but being a major clan did not mean wealth and prosperity. He Long's father, He Shidao, was a tailor. With eight siblings in the family, only his older brother He Wenxian had a few years of schooling. The other children had almost no opportunity to attend school. He Long began working in the fields at age nine, helped manage pack horses at ten, and started working at docks at fourteen, transporting local goods from Sangzhi—including tung oil, tea, and medicinal herbs—by mule to other places in exchange for salt and cloth.

Life working at the docks broadened He Long's horizons. He traveled down the澧 River and Yangtze River all the way to Changsha and Wuhan, seeing the wider world. But he also witnessed greater suffering—warlord conflicts, bandit plunder, bureaucratic corruption, and peasants exploited to the bone. These experiences planted seeds of resistance in his heart.

At fifteen, He Long witnessed his father being beaten and permanently disabled by tax collectors for resisting their extortion. This incident completely changed his view of the government. Officials were not there to serve the common people but to bully them. From that moment, he decided: he would make something of himself and become a person who would not be bullied.

1916: The Origin of the Two Kitchen Knives

By spring 1916, He Long was twenty years old. He was doing small business with several sworn brothers in the western Hunan region and was secretly contacting groups of dissatisfied young people. Their common desire was to resist oppression and overthrow corrupt officials.

At that time, western Hunan was ruled by Beiyang warlords who had established numerous "salt tax bureaus," "checkpoints," and "tax police squads" to extort the common people. In the Bamaoxi region of Sangzhi County, there was a salt tax bureau where the salt tax official Wang Yuelin colluded with local bandits, doubling the salt taxes and arresting, beating, imprisoning, and robbing anyone who resisted. The common people were full of complaints but had nowhere to appeal.

He Long and several friends decided: "Let's take down this bastard!" The problem was they had no guns. "Then we'll use kitchen knives!" He Long said. He found the two sharpest kitchen knives in the kitchen and summoned more than a dozen companions, each prepared with large knives, sickles, axes, and other weapons.

One night, He Long led these twenty-odd young men and crept toward the Bamaoxi salt tax bureau. At the time, the bureau had only seven or eight tax police on duty. Seeing suddenly dozens of men with knives rush in, they quickly drew their guns. He Long charged forward first, swinging one kitchen knife at the tax police chief's neck and the other at another policeman. After several rounds of fierce fighting, the entire salt bureau was taken. They captured more than twenty rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, several thousand pieces of silver, and large quantities of salt.

This was He Long's first armed action in his life and the origin of his legendary story of "the revolution with two kitchen knives." He distributed the salt to the surrounding poor people, gave silver to impoverished relatives, and armed his own forces with the captured rifles. From that point on, he was no longer a small merchant but an armed leader commanding dozens of brothers.

From Bandit to Revolutionary: He Long's Ten-Year Transformation

During the ten years from 1916 to 1926, He Long repeatedly engaged in warfare throughout western Hunan. He fought against warlords and bandits alike, and was even designated a bandit by warlords and put on wanted lists. His forces grew from twenty-odd men to hundreds, then thousands, and his name spread throughout western Hunan and Hubei.

In 1920, He Long's forces were reorganized as a company in the Xiangxi Guomin Protection and Bandit-Suppression Army. He began to receive training in regular military methods, military theory, and political knowledge.

In 1923, He Long led his troops to join Sun Yat-sen's National Revolutionary Army, becoming a regimental commander in the bandit-suppression army. By this time, he was no longer purely a grassroots armed leader but had begun to accept revolutionary ideology.

In 1924, He Long was appointed commander of a mixed brigade of the Sichuan bandit-suppression army and participated in various campaigns against the Beiyang warlords.

In 1926, the Northern Expedition began. He Long was appointed commander of the First Division of the Ninth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and led his troops on the Northern Expedition from western Hunan. His troops achieved outstanding military results in the Northern Expedition, capturing Shaanshi and Yichang in Hubei, and occupying Linxian and Shimen in Hunan. Marching northward, they captured Wuhan, Henan, and Jiangxi. By spring 1927, He Long had become commander of the Twentieth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, commanding over twenty thousand troops and becoming one of the powerful warlords in the Hunan military establishment.

But He Long had always faced one question: what was his political stance? Was he an ordinary warlord or a genuine revolutionary? The major political upheaval of 1927 gave him the opportunity to choose.

The Nanchang Uprising: He Long's Political Turning Point

In April 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12" Counter-Revolutionary Coup, during which large numbers of Communists were slaughtered. On July 15, the Wuhan government led by Wang Jingwei also launched the "July 15" Counter-Revolutionary Coup, completely breaking the KMT-CCP alliance. The Chinese Communist Party faced a life-or-death situation.

At this time, He Long was commander of the National Revolutionary Army's Twentieth Army, stationed in Jiujiang. Zhou Enlai and He Long met in Jiujiang. Zhou Enlai informed He Long of the Central Committee's plan to launch an armed uprising in Nanchang and asked whether he was willing to participate.

He Long replied immediately: "Comrade Enlai, I He Long have long wanted to follow the Communist Party. Whatever opposes Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei, I will do it. Count me in for the uprising!"

On August 1, the Nanchang Uprising broke out. He Long served as the general commander of the uprising, commanding the uprising forces alongside Zhu De, Ye Ting, and Liu Bocheng. The uprising forces fired the first shot of the Chinese Communist Party's armed resistance against the Nationalist reactionaries. He Long's Twentieth Army was the largest and most combat-capable force in the uprising army.

After the uprising, He Long formally proposed joining the Chinese Communist Party. In September 1927 in Ruijin, He Long officially joined the Chinese Communist Party. From that moment, he transformed from a warlord officer into a steadfast communist.

After the Nanchang Uprising army marched south to Guangdong, they suffered defeats in the Chaoshan region and the army largely disintegrated. He Long's forces were also scattered. He made his way back to his home in western Hunan and prepared to reorganize armed struggle.

Establishing a Foothold in Western Hunan and Eastern Hubei

In spring 1928, He Long, Zhou Yequn, Lu Dongsheng, and others returned to Sangzhi in western Hunan. They utilized He Long's prestige and connections in the local area to quickly organize a Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary armed force. This was the origin of the Red Army of western Hunan and eastern Hubei.

In May 1928, the Red Army of western Hunan and eastern Hubei was officially established, with He Long as general commander. In its early stages, it had only a few hundred members, primarily peasant militias from the Sangzhi and Hefeng areas. They used the guerrilla warfare methods that He Long had perfected in western Hunan, attacking landlords, distributing land, and establishing base areas.

By 1930, the western Hunan and eastern Hubei base area had rapidly expanded. The Red Second Army Corps led by He Long (later reorganized as the Red Third Army) grew to over ten thousand fighters, with the base area covering more than a dozen counties bordering Hunan and Hubei, encompassing a population of over one million. The western Hunan and eastern Hubei Soviet area became the second-largest revolutionary base area in China at the time, second only to the Central Soviet Area in Ruijin, Jiangxi.

He Long's command style in western Hunan and eastern Hubei was quite unique. He combined traditional western Hunan guerrilla warfare with modern revolutionary war theory. He was skilled at using terrain (the many mountains and rivers of western Hunan were suitable for guerrilla warfare); skilled at utilizing the masses (local peasants oppressed by landlords responded enthusiastically to his call); skilled at psychological tactics (positioning the Red Army forces as "upright and strictly disciplined"). These characteristics allowed his forces to survive and develop in extremely difficult conditions.

From 1932 to 1934, due to interference from "leftist" errors and the Nationalist army's encirclement campaigns, large portions of the western Hunan and eastern Hubei base area were lost. The Red Third Army (later the Red Second Army Corps) was forced to begin the Long March, with He Long leading his troops to relocate to the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou.

In November 1935, He Long, Ren Bishi, and Guan Xiangying led the Red Second and Red Sixth Army Corps out of Sangzhi, Hunan, on another arduous Long March. They traveled through Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Xikang, and Sichuan, crossing great snow-covered mountains and traversing vast grasslands. They finally reached Gansu in October 1936 where they linked up with the First Front Army. This Long March route was even more difficult than that of the Central Red Army, but He Long's force suffered relatively fewer casualties, demonstrating his outstanding command abilities.

War of Resistance and War of Liberation: He Long's Military Career at Its Peak

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, He Long was appointed commander of the Eighth Route Army's 120th Division and led his forces into northwest Shanxi. Departing from Yan'an, he led a force of over six thousand troops and opened up the revolutionary base area in northwest Shanxi.

In 1940, He Long established the famous "northwest Shanxi base area" (later expanded to the "Jinsu base area"), which included northwest Shanxi and northern parts of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border region and became an important pillar of the CCP's war of resistance in North China. During his eight years in Jinsu, he successfully maintained anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare and repulsed countless Japanese sweeps.

During the War of Liberation, He Long served as commander of the Jinsu Field Army, deputy commander of the Northwest Field Army, and fought alongside Peng Dehuai in a series of campaigns to liberate the northwest. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he held important positions including member of the Central People's Government Committee, vice-chairman of the National Defense Committee, vice-premier of the State Council, and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission.

In 1955, He Long was awarded the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China, becoming one of the ten founding marshals. His military career, beginning with his 1916 seizure of a salt bureau with two kitchen knives and ending with his 1955 promotion to marshal, spanned exactly forty years of battlefield experience.

He Long's Personal Charm: Why So Many Were Willing to Follow Him

One phenomenon throughout He Long's life was that those who served under him remained consistently loyal to him. From the earliest soldiers of Sangzhi, to Red Army generals in western Hunan and eastern Hubei, to Eighth Route Army officers in Jinsu, He Long's subordinates were universally respectful of him. Where did this cohesive power come from?

First, he kept faith. Born in the chivalrous land of western Hunan, He Long was a man of loyalty and righteousness throughout his life. Toward brothers, comrades-in-arms, and subordinates, he could truly practice "sharing both good fortune and hardship." During the most difficult periods of the War of Resistance, when He Long was in the Jinsu base area, he would give his horse to wounded soldiers and walk dozens of miles himself. At mealtimes, he always saved the best food for soldiers and ate leftovers himself. Such conduct deeply moved his troops.

Second, he was unpretentious. Even after He Long became an Eighth Route Army division commander and a marshal of the People's Republic, he maintained his grassroots character. He loved smoking dried tobacco, speaking the western Hunan dialect, and joking with ordinary soldiers. He never put on airs, treated subordinates kindly, and spoke to soldiers as brothers.

Third, he dared to accept responsibility. Throughout his life, He Long made many major decisions, and regardless of success or failure, he personally accepted the consequences. When the Nanchang Uprising failed, he did not blame others. When the western Hunan and eastern Hubei base area was lost, he accepted primary responsibility. For many difficult decisions during the Long March, he personally issued orders and personally executed them.

Fourth, he possessed genuine revolutionary conviction. From the day he joined the Communist Party, He Long demonstrated extremely high political consciousness. He never wavered, never hesitated, and remained committed to the communist ideal throughout his life. This conviction enabled him to lead his troops forward through any difficulty.

Historical Status

He Long's position in Chinese revolutionary history is unique. He was neither a typical "intellectual revolutionary" (like Zhou Enlai or Mao Zedong) nor a typical "military academy graduate" (like Lin Biao or Liu Bocheng). He was truly a "grassroots revolutionary," who rose from being the child of an impoverished peasant to a marshal of the republic through two kitchen knives and passionate conviction.

In his person was concentrated an important characteristic of the Chinese revolution: that revolution was driven by the most destitute people. They may not have possessed profound theory or formal education, but they possessed the deepest consciousness of resistance, the most steadfast revolutionary conviction, and the most courageous fighting spirit.

The He Long Family House in Hongjia Pass, Sangzhi County is today a nationally protected cultural heritage site. Standing before that humble wooden dwelling, visitors find it difficult to imagine that a farm boy from this place would later become a founding marshal of the new China, his name inscribed in the nation's history.

"The Revolution with Two Kitchen Knives" is no longer merely a historical event; it has become a symbol of the Chinese revolutionary spirit—daring to resist, daring to struggle, daring to triumph. He Long, through his entire life, engraved this symbol in the memory of the Chinese nation.

This is He Long, this is the legend of the journey from two kitchen knives to marshal of the republic. A seemingly impossible life that actually happened in twentieth-century China.