Former Residence of General Yu Xianwen

Former Residence of General Yu Xianwen

The Former Residence of General Yu Xianwen is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yu Xianwen (1886–1947), also known by his courtesy name Ding San and lineage name Xie Ming, was a native of Yanhu Township, Yueqing. Gifted and diligent from an early age, he completed elementary school thanks to the financial support of relatives and friends due to his family’s poverty. He later enrolled in Yueqing Middle School, followed by studies at the Nanjing Army Preparatory School, the Cavalry Department of the Baoding Military Academy, and the Beijing Army University. After graduation, he served in the military, holding positions such as probationary officer and platoon leader.

In the second year of the Xuantong era of the Qing Dynasty (1910), Yu Xianwen joined the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance) organized by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and engaged in anti-Qing activities. After the Wuchang Uprising, he returned to Zhejiang. In early January 1912, he was appointed Acting Chief of Section One of the Staff Office of the Zhejiang Military Governor's Office, and in June became a Major on the staff of the Fifth Army Command. In August of the same year, Yu Xianwen returned to the Baoding Military Academy to continue his studies. After graduation, he returned to Zhejiang and held various positions including Adjutant of the Cavalry Regiment of the First Army Division, Acting Regiment Commander, Regiment Commander, Brigade Commander, and Division Chief of Staff. In February 1921, he was conferred the rank of Major General. In 1925, he served as Commander of the Second Division of the Nineteenth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. In December 1926, he was appointed Commander of the First Division of the Nineteenth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and ordered to station in Ningbo to block the forces of Fujian warlord Zhou Yinren from entering Zhejiang. With only two regiments, he faced an enemy force of eighty to ninety thousand, ultimately suffering defeat. He then went alone to Fujian, hoping to regroup under the leadership of Cao Wanshun (a member of the Chinese Communist Party), who was Commander of the Seventeenth Army. In February 1927, he acted as Commander of the Nineteenth Army. Soon after, the army was temporarily reorganized as the Fifteenth Division of the National Revolutionary Army, and later renamed the Nineteenth Division of the Sixth Army, with Yu Xianwen continuing to serve as division commander. In July of the same year, he was transferred to serve as an advisor at the National Revolutionary Army General Headquarters.

After Chiang Kai-shek launched the “April 12” counter-revolutionary coup, Yu Xianwen retired to Hangzhou. During this time, he briefly returned to his hometown and, together with Yu Rongxuan, donated to establish a free medical clinic in Furong Town, hiring licensed traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to provide care and entrusting Chen Qiansheng Pharmacy to distribute medicine to the poor. He also built the Xicheng Stone Bridge to alleviate local residents’ difficulties in crossing the river. In November 1933, when Li Jishen, Cai Tingkai, and others launched an anti-Chiang uprising in Fujian and established the People’s Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China, Yu was appointed Commander of the Independent First Army. When the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out in 1937, Yu Xianwen immediately traveled to Nanjing and repeatedly volunteered to fight on the front lines. He was subsequently appointed a Senior Liaison Staff Officer at the rank of Lieutenant General and assigned to the Third War Zone Headquarters as an advisor. After the victory in the War of Resistance, when Chiang Kai-shek tore up the Double Tenth Agreement, Yu Xianwen retired once again and settled in Hangzhou, where he passed away in November 1947 at the age of 62.

The Former Residence of General Yu Xianwen is located in Lushang Village, Yanhu Township, Yueqing City. It faces south and is a courtyard-style building consisting of a gateway, wing rooms, main house, and side courtyard. The entrance gate is situated on the east side, constructed with blue bricks laid in staggered courses, with Western-style columns above the lintel supporting a triangular pediment, atop which hangs a clock. There is a patio connecting the entrance gate and the front east wing room. The front east and west wing rooms are two-story structures in Western architectural style. The first floor of the front east wing room has a passage linking the side courtyard and the main courtyard. The main house is a spacious two-story wooden structure built in a vertical layout with a mixed brick-and-wood construction. The rear east and west wing rooms each have attached rooms with staircases leading to the second floor of the main house, and the rear courtyard features horse-head walls. The residence of General Yu Xianwen is relatively large in scale, well-preserved, exquisitely crafted, and is quite representative among the former residences of notable figures in Yueqing, holding significant historical, artistic, and scientific value.

Source: Party History Research Office of the CPC Wenzhou Municipal Committee

Yu Xianwen (1886–1947), also known by his courtesy name Ding San and lineage name Xie Ming, was a native of Yanhu Township, Yueqing. Gifted and diligent from an early age, he completed elementary school thanks to the financial support of relatives and friends due to his family’s poverty. He later enrolled in Yueqing Middle School, followed by studies at the Nanjing Army Preparatory School, the Cavalry Department of the Baoding Military Academy, and the Beijing Army University. After graduation, he served in the military, holding positions such as probationary officer and platoon leader. In the second year of the Xuantong era of the Qing Dynasty (1910), Yu Xianwen joined the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance) organized by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and engaged in anti-Qing activities. After the Wuchang Uprising, he returned to Zhejiang. In early January 1912, he was appointed Acting Chief of Section One of the Staff Office of the Zhejiang Military Governor's Office, and in June became a Major on the staff of the Fifth Army Command. In August of the same year, Yu Xianwen returned to the Baoding Military Academy to continue his studies. After graduation, he returned to Zhejiang and held various positions... Yu Xianwen – Detailed Information++