Hu Kexian

Hu Kexian (Chinese: 胡克先; pinyin: Hú Kèxiān) was a Chinese general who served in the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. The 6th year graduate of the famous Whampoa Military Academy the age of 19, Hu Kexian became a major general at the age of 28 and was in charge of the only heavy artillery regiment (10th regiment/第十團重炮兵團長) of the ROC army during his time. His heavy artillery regiment played a major role during the Second Sino-Japanese war (1937–1945) such as the Battle of Shanghai because the artillery regiment was trained under the German Nazi instructors and possessed the most effective weaponry in both skill and technology for its time.

The son of an ex-government official (華陽縣縣長) of the Qing Dynasty, Hu Kexian was sent away by his parents to study business in Chongqing when he was a teenager; However, Hu Kexiang ran away en route to Chongqing and joined the Huangpu Army Academy in Nanjing. The young man had the ambition of helping Chiang Kai-shek to restore order to China during the period of chaos with warlords throughout the country. By the time Hu Kexian graduated the academy, the campaign against the warlords had already ended, but the invasion of the Japanese had just begun.

Hu Kexian was very talented in Chinese calligraphy. During his trip to join the Huangpu Academy, Hu Kexian had run out of money by the time he reached Guangzhou, where the academy used to be before it relocated to Nanjing. Hu was able use his calligraphy skill to make some fast cash to help him reach the academy in Nanking successfully.

After the Chinese Civil War, Hu Kexian became the head of security in the southern region of Taiwan (南區警備司令) and often accompanied Chiang Kai-shek to patrol and inspect the cities in the region.

Hu Kexian died in Tainan due to cerebral hemorrhage. He was survived by three sons: Hu Shaoning (胡紹寧), Hu Shaorong (胡紹蓉), and Hu Shaoyu (胡紹渝). His eldest son, Hu Shaoning, was the most trusted one and would often be called in by his father to consult on different matters.