Qian Digen Martyrs' Monument

Qian Digen Martyrs' Monument

The Qian Digen Martyrs' Monument is a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou.

In Songling Park in Wujiang District, Suzhou, the lush, undulating Qiyang Earth Hill is dotted with pavilions and towers. The Qian Digen Martyrs' Monument stands in this park and is now a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou.

The monument faces south and is surrounded by a circular grassy plot, where evergreen holly and tall pines and cypresses thrive. A central pathway leads to the monument. The entire structure stands 5.4 meters tall. Two steps lead up to a platform, in the center of which sits a plain base. At the heart of the base lies a rectangular granite block, with a black background and white lettering inscription on the south side, while the north side originally featured a bronze plaque inscribed with the "Qian Digen Martyrs' Monument Inscription" written by Zhou Linshu—this has since been lost.

Above this sits another stone, crafted into three tiers: square, pentagonal, and circular, each layer tapering inward. Atop these rests the 2-meter-high triangular pyramid-shaped main body of the monument. The south-facing side of the monument body is engraved with eight large characters reading “Qian Digen Martyrs' Monument,” originally penned by Lin Sen, then Chairman of the Nationalist Government, and now bearing the handwriting of calligrapher Xu Muru.

Qian Digen (1887–1927), whose courtesy name was Gang and who went by his courtesy name, was a native of Songling Town, Wujiang. He was a martyr of the Northern Expedition. In the 31st year of the Guangxu reign (1905), he joined the Tongmenghui. In the 2nd year of the Xuantong reign (1910), he graduated from the Jiangxi Army Gendarmerie School. When the Xinhai Revolution broke out, he raised troops in response in Jiangxi and later served as Deputy Commandant and Head of the Inner Guard of the Jiangxi Military Governor's Office. During the "Second Revolution," he assisted Li Liejun in Jiangxi’s independence movement against Yuan Shikai, serving as head of the Judiciary Department of the Jiangxi Anti-Yuan Army, before fleeing to Japan. In the 4th year of the Republic (1915), he returned to Wujiang, and in the 6th year, he went to Guangzhou to take part in the… More details about Qian Digen ++