Former Residence of Hu Gongmian

Former Residence of Hu Gongmian

The former residence of Hu Gongmian is a cultural tourism attraction.

Hu Gongmian (1888–1979), originally named Shizhou, was from Wushuniu Village in Yongjia County. In October 1921, he joined the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai, introduced by Chen Wangdao and Shen Dingyi. In January of the following year, he attended the First Congress of the Toilers of the Far East, convened by the Communist International in Moscow. In 1923, with the approval of the Party organization, he joined the Kuomintang as an individual to promote cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, assisting Sun Yat-sen in preparing for the convening of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang. In January 1924, he attended the First National Congress of the Kuomintang as a representative from Zhejiang. After the Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, he participated in the establishment of the Whampoa Military Academy and served as the guard commander upon its opening. During the Northern Expedition, he successively held positions such as commander of the Propaganda Brigade of the General Headquarters, head of the Adjutant Office, commander of the 677th Regiment of the National Revolutionary Army, and political director of the General Front Command of the Eastern Route Army. After the April 12 Coup, he was wanted by Chiang Kai-shek and lost contact with the Party. In early 1930, dispatched by the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, he returned to Yongjia to organize peasant militias and established the South Zhejiang Red Army Guerrilla Headquarters, serving as its commander. In May of that year, the 13th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was officially established, with Hu appointed as its commander.

In September 1932, Hu Gongmian was arrested and imprisoned in Shanghai by the Kuomintang. He was released in February of the following year after being rescued. During the Xi’an Incident, following Party instructions, he traveled to Guyuan in Gansu and Fengxiang in Shaanxi, using his past ties with Hu Zongnan to dissuade Hu Zongnan’s forces from attacking eastward. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Hu Gongmian carried out many activities beneficial to the anti-Japanese salvation effort and the revolutionary cause in accordance with the Party's policy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. During the Liberation War, he engaged in underground Party activities in Shanghai and was involved in instigating the defection of Ye Fang’s troops in Wenzhou, as well as efforts to undermine Hu Zongnan’s forces in the northwest. After the liberation, he served as a counselor at the Counselors’ Office under the State Council until his passing in Beijing on June 30, 1979. In January 1984, he was posthumously recognized as a member of the Chinese Communist Party, approved by the Party Committee of the State Organs of the CPC Central Committee.

The former residence of Hu Gongmian is located in Wushuniu Village, Wushuniu Township, Yongjia County. On May 16, 1930, the Kuomintang Fenglin Militia raided Wushuniu Village, setting fire to two-thirds of the village’s houses—64 buildings totaling over 300 rooms, including Hu Gongmian’s former residence. Later, members of Hu’s clan built a five-room, two-story residential house on the site of the old house.

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