Qiu was born in a poor rural family in Zhejiang province, but he was very talented as a youth and very hardworking.
In 1922, he was enrolled in the University of Shanghai, majoring in sociology.
In 1924, he went to Guangdong Province and was admitted into the newly founded Whampoa Military Academy, and chose military engineering as his major.
He participated a series of local wars in which the nationalist government became the dominant political authority in the area of Pearl River Delta.
In 1926, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek became the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, and Qiu was promoted to captain, and was involved in some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire war.
When the KMT-CCP split occurred, he was arrested along with other Chiang protégés by the Communist government in Wuhan under Premier Wang Jingwei and they somehow managed to escape to Nanjing.
Qiu was then promoted to the rank of major by Chiang.
In 1928 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and battalion commander, and participated in the Central Plains War on Chiang's side.
In 1931 he was promoted to regimental colonel of the 10th division, and in 1933 he was promoted to major general.
In 1934 he was sent to Germany to study tank warfare and became a student of Heinz Guderian in the Prussian Military Academy, when he returned to China he became a founding member of the nationalist armored troops, and was assigned as chief of staff of the training division, one of Chiang's elite units.
Qiu was born in a poor rural family in Zhejiang province, but he was very talented as a youth and very hardworking. In 1922, he was enrolled in the University of Shanghai, majoring in sociology. In 1924, he went to Guangdong Province and was admitted into the newly founded Whampoa Military Academy, and chose military engineering as his major. He participated a series of local wars in which the nationalist government became the dominant political authority in the area of Pearl River Delta. In 1926, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek became the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, and Qiu was promoted to captain, and was involved in some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire war. When the KMT-CCP split occurred, he was arrested along with other Chiang protégés by the Communist government in Wuhan under Premier Wang Jingwei and they somehow managed to escape to Nanjing. Qiu was then promoted to the rank of major by Chiang. In 1928 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and battalion commander, and participated in the Central Plains War on Chiang's side. In 1931 he was promoted to regimental colonel of the 10th division, and in 1933 he was promoted to major general. In 1934 he was sent to Germany to study tank warfare and became a student of Heinz Guderian in the Prussian Military Academy, when he returned to China he became a founding member of the nationalist armored troops, and was assigned as chief of staff of the training division, one of Chiang's elite units.
Qiu Qingquan