Hundreds of people paid their last respects to Ye Xuanning, former director of the Liaison Department of the People's Liberation Army General Political Department, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Thursday.

Ye, the second son of late PLA Marshall Ye Jianying, died from an illness in Guangzhou on Sunday at age 79.

Ye Xuanning was born in 1938 and joined the Army in 1956. With his right arm disabled when he was 31, Ye still kept a positive attitude and worked hard, and was awarded the rank of major general. He was widely known as the "One-armed General" to the public.

The low-profile ex-PLA officer rarely appeared in public during his twilight years, but he had his calligraphy works displayed often in many places including Beijing and Guangdong.

Ye didn't give up calligraphy, a hobby he pursued since his childhood, after his right arm was injured. He learned to use his left hand to hold the brush, and his achievements were widely recognized in the calligraphy circles.

On the back of commemorative booklets handed out at the funeral was a photo of a calligraphy work by Ye. The platforms and stairs outside the mourning hall were crowded with people at 9 am on Thursday, an hour before the rite started. They all held the booklets and white roses in their hands, waiting under the summer sun.

Chen Zhizhen, a businessman in Hong Kong, came to pay his last respects to his "old friend for more than 20 years".

"Ye is highly respected by people in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and by overseas Chinese because he contributed a lot to friendly exchanges when he was in charge of liaison work," Chen said.

Ye Zhirong, a relative from Meizhou, Guangdong province, described Ye as being "forthright and helpful".

"One of the family rules that Marshall Ye Jianying set is, Remember what others have done to help you, and forget what you have done to help others. I think Ye Xuanning carried it out well," the 43-year-old said.

"Time will pass judgment on Ye Xuanning's achievements, but I think it proves he was well-liked with so many people coming from across the country to mourn."

The seven members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, including President Xi Jinping, sent wreaths.

The PLA, the provincial government of Guangdong and the standing committee of the provincial People's Congress also sent wreaths.

xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/15/2016 page5)