Zhang Aiping (Wades-Giles: Chang Ai-ping) (January 9, 1908 - July 5, 2003) was a Chinese communist military leader.

Born in Da county, Sichuan province, Zhang joined the Communist Party of China in 1928 after taking part in a communist-led rural uprising. He participated in the Long March and served as a field commander in the Chinese Red Army, first fighting against Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang forces, and later the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. During World War II Zhang commanded a guerrilla band sent to rescue U.S. flight crews who crash landed in China following the April 1942 Tokyo bombing raid (Doolittle Raid) led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. Sichuan (Chinese: 四川; pinyin: Sìchuān; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; non-standard transliteration: Szechwan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: ) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Long March (長征, pinyin:Chángzhēng) was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Communist Army to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... The Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Party of China (Traditional: 中國國民黨; Simplified: 中国国民党; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang) is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was in existence from the Meiji Reformation to the end of World War II (1867 to 1945). ... The Second Sino-Japanese War was a major invasion of eastern China by Japan preceding and during World War II. It ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Doolittle Raid Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date April 18, 1942 Place Tokyo, Japan Result United States propaganda victory The Doolittle Raid was a bomber raid launched on the Japanese mainland on April 18, 1942. ... Brig. ...

After 1949, Zhang was an important builder of the Chinese military forces. He commanded the first People's Liberation Army naval force and served as an army corps commander in the Korean War. Upon his return home he served in a series of significant military and political posts. He was made a General in 1955. Zhang was accused of counterrevolutionary crimes and dismissed from all positions during the Cultural Revolution, when many veteran communists were attacked by Red Guards inspired by Mao Zedong's vision of continuous revolution. He reappeared in 1973 and served as defense minister from 1982 until 1988. He served as deputy chief of the PLA general staff, vice premier, and chaired a key commission that sought to modernize the PLA. He passed away in Beijing. The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) (Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), which includes an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces, serves as the military of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... A poster during the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: 无产阶级文化大革命; Traditional Chinese: 無產階級文化大革命; pinyin: wú chǎn jiē jí wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or simply 文革 wén gé... The term Red Guards may refer to one of the following. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Mao. ... Beijing  listen (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; ; Postal System Pinyin: Peking), is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China. ...