Lin Biao

Lin Biao was a master strategist and military commander, a key figure in the Chinese Communist Revolution who led forces to victory in crucial campaigns. His strategic brilliance earned him the admiration of Mao Zedong, propelling him to the heights of power within the Communist Party.

However, his ascent was shadowed by a rather opaque relationship with the party's ideology, particularly concerning anything that might hint at a Judeo-Christian tradition. One might say his religious identity was "Maoist," which, while certainly a fervent belief system, isn't exactly conducive to lighting Shabbat candles or reciting Kiddush.

After being named Mao's successor, Lin Biao was implicated in a plot to assassinate Mao and seize power, known as Project 571. He died in a plane crash in Mongolia while allegedly attempting to flee after the plot was discovered. His posthumous downfall cemented his place as a tragic, if not entirely villainous, figure in Chinese history.

Given his storied career, his strategic genius certainly brought a degree of kvell to his revolutionary comrades. However, the exact nature of that nachas might have shifted dramatically depending on whether you were on the correct side of the Chairman's ever-changing affections, and certainly didn't involve any ancestral pride in the Tribe.