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He Long (Wades-Giles: Ho Lung) (1896-June 8, 1969) was a Chinese communist military leader.
Born in Sangzhi, Hunan Province, he was the son of a minor military officer who was a member of the Gelaohui (Elder Brother Society), a secret society dating back to the early Qing dynasty. A cowherd during his youth, he received no formal education. He killed a local government tax assessor who had murdered his uncle, and afterwards became an outlaw. By the mid-1920s, he had emerged as an important local military figure, commanding the Nationalist Twentieth Army in 1923. In 1927 He joined the CPC. Chiang Kai-Shek continuously tried to make him rejoin the Kuomintang, but failing that, Chiang had 100 of He's relatives killed, including three sisters and his brother. During the Long March, he emerged as a supporter of Mao Zedong's strategies. In 1934 he commanded the Second Army of the Chinese Red Army. After 1949, He headed the National Sports Commission. He was made a marshal in 1955. During the Cultural Revolution he was branded as an anti-Party element and purged in 1966.
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