Su Zhong Public School Memorial Park

Su Zhong Public School Memorial Park

Su Zhong Public School Memorial Park is a cultural heritage site of Baoying County, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

Su Zhong Public School Memorial Park is located in Jinwuzhuang, Caodian Town, Baoying County. In February 1944, the Su Zhong District Party Committee and the Su Zhong Military Region, following the directives of Chairman Mao Zedong, decided to establish Su Zhong Public School based on the Ninth Branch of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. In April 1944, Su Zhong Public School published an enrollment notice in the "Su Zhong Daily." The admission brochure clearly stated: to cultivate talents for the war of resistance and nation-building, aspiring youths who had graduated from junior or senior high school were welcome to apply. The school offered majors in politics, culture, military affairs, finance, and democracy, with a study period of six months. The military department only required a junior high school diploma, while other departments required a senior high school diploma. This announcement greatly excited a large number of passionate youths, who then decided to apply for relevant majors.

In early May 1944, students from various parts of the Su Zhong region arrived in batches at the Caodian-Anfeng area in the northeast of Baoying County. The students of Su Zhong Public School mainly came from three sources: cadres selected and sent by various districts and counties; students recruited from the public through the admission brochure; and progressive intellectuals sent by underground party organizations in occupied areas, including local party and government officials, underground party members, and some primary school teachers. Among the students, junior high school graduates from southern Jiangsu were the most numerous. The entrance examination was divided into preliminary and final tests. The preliminary test only covered politics and Chinese. The political questions tested basic knowledge such as democratic centralism, the "three-three system," the driving forces of the Chinese revolution, and the Opium Wars, while the Chinese test focused on "The Road of Youth Behind Enemy Lines."

On the evening of June 1, 1944, a grand assembly was held in a square at the school headquarters in Jinwuzhuang to celebrate the graduation of students from the Ninth Branch of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University and the opening of the first term of Su Zhong Public School. Comrade Su Yu, the school president, Comrade Guan Wenwei, the vice president, and Comrade Xia Zhengnong, the educational director, attended the opening ceremony and delivered important speeches. The students were divided into six companies, each with three platoons and nine squads, with 10 to 12 students per squad. The company commanders, political instructors, and platoon leaders were transferred from the Ninth Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. The school provided military uniforms for the students, and each squad was issued two rifles and grenades for self-defense. After about two weeks of training in drills, military conduct, and etiquette, the focus shifted to political education.

Su Zhong Public School was a new type of institution under the leadership of the Su Zhong District Party Committee and the Su Zhong Military Region, dedicated to training military and political cadres. It was established following the scale and model of the Yan'an Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. Su Zhong Public School adhered to "taking the training motto, school song, and ethos of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University as its own." The school song sung at Su Zhong Public School was the anthem of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University—a majestic and inspiring hymn of righteousness. Its ethos was also that of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University: unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness. Its establishment was not only sought after by outstanding youths in Su Zhong but also aspired to by progressive youths in the occupied areas of Nanjing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. On May 10, 1946, Su Zhong Public School merged with Xuefeng University and the Field School of the Su-Zhe Military Region to form the Central China Xuefeng University. Over its two-year history, Su Zhong Public School held five terms and trained and dispatched over 4,000 cadres for both the military and local governments.

June 1, 1994, marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of Su Zhong Public School. The provincial party committee allocated funds to construct the "Su Zhong Public School Monument," which was completed on May 26. In 1997, it was designated as a provincial-level patriotic education base by the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department. In May 2000, it was recognized as a county-level cultural heritage site by the county government.