Former Residence of Qu Qiubai

Former Residence of Qu Qiubai

The Former Residence of Qu Qiubai is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Qu Qiubai Memorial Hall was originally the ancestral shrine of the Qu family in the western part of the city. It was donated and built by Qu Gengfu, Qu Qiubai’s great-uncle, during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty when he served as the governor of Hubei. Covering an area of 1,025 square meters, it consists of two large courtyards, east and west, each with four sections. Due to financial hardship, the Qu family lived in the eastern courtyard of the shrine from 1912 to 1916. The Former Residence of Qu Qiubai was designated as a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit on March 25, 1982, by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government. Approved by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, it officially opened to the public on June 18, 1985, the 50th anniversary of Comrade Qu Qiubai’s martyrdom. The golden horizontal plaque under the memorial’s gate, inscribed with “Qu Qiubai Memorial Hall,” was written by [Name redacted]. The main exhibition, “The Life and Deeds of Qu Qiubai Exhibition,” is located in the western courtyard, while the “Former Residence of Qu Qiubai Exhibition” is in the eastern courtyard. Special exhibitions such as the “Memorial Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition for Qu Qiubai” have also been launched. Since its establishment, the memorial has hosted visits from national leaders, political and party delegations and scholars from 16 countries including North Korea, as well as hundreds of thousands of visitors. It has published “A Swallow of the South” and “Qu Qiubai Studies” (a serial publication), and produced “Qu Qiubai Research Information.” It serves as an important base for commemorating, learning about, promoting, and studying Qu Qiubai.

Qu Qiubai (1899–1935) was one of the principal early leaders of China, a great Marxist, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, theorist, and propagandist, as well as one of the founders of China’s revolutionary literature.

He participated in the Party’s 3rd to 6th National Congresses, was elected as a member of the Central Committee, the Central Bureau, and the Standing Committee of the Politburo. At the critical moment following the failure of the first great revolution, he presided over the August 7th Meeting and subsequently led the work of the Central Committee. In January 1931, at the 4th Plenary Session of the 6th CPC Central Committee, he was attacked by Wang Ming and others, removed from his central leadership position, and subsequently led the left-wing cultural movement in Shanghai together with Lu Xun. In 1934, he went to the Soviet Area to serve as the People’s Commissar of Education of the Central Government. After the Red Army’s Long March, he remained in the Soviet Area and was arrested by [enemy forces] on February 26, 1935, in Xiaojing Village, Shuikou Town, Changting County, Fujian Province. He was martyred heroically on June 18 of the same year on Luohan Ridge, Changting County.

The Former Residence of Qu Qiubai includes his birthplace, the Tianxiang Tower of Bagui Hall, and the Qu Family Ancestral Shrine in the western part of the city where he moved in 1912. The shrine was built by Qu Gengfu, Qu Qiubai’s great-uncle and the governor of Hubei in the late Qing Dynasty.

Bagui Hall is located at No. 82 Qingguo Lane. Originally one of the “Eight Great Mansions of the Tang Clan” from the Ming Dynasty, it covered an area of 3.6 mu. Later, it became the residence of the Qu family, divided into eastern and western courtyards, with more than 80 rooms including the sedan hall, main hall, scripture tower (Tianxiang Tower), etc. Qu Qiubai was born on January 29, 1899, in the western room on the second floor of Tianxiang Tower.

The Qu Family Ancestral Shrine covers an area of over one mu, with eastern and western courtyards. The western courtyard was originally used to store ancestral tablets, while the eastern courtyard was where the Qu family lived. It was restored in 1985, and the Qu Qiubai Memorial Hall was built and opened to the public.

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batches of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units