Ye Jianying was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthrew the Gang of Four and ended the Cultural Revolution, and was the key supporter of Deng Xiaoping in his power struggle with Hua Guofeng. After Deng ascended power, in his capacity as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ye served as China's head of state during the period from 1978 to 1983.

Yuanshuai was a Chinese military rank that corresponds to a marshal in other nations. It was given to distinguished generals during China's dynastic and republican periods. A higher level rank of Dayuanshuai, which corresponds to generalissimo was awarded to Chiang Kai Shek of the Republic of China. It was also proposed for Mao Zedong on the mainland, but he ultimately never accepted it.