Former Gathering Site of the 84-Village Peasant Uprising

Former Gathering Site of the 84-Village Peasant Uprising

In 1929, a rare major famine struck southern Zhejiang, leaving no grain harvested. The Kuomintang government increased taxes and levies, further burdening the people and sparking widespread discontent. Around this time, a monk from Xianju went to areas such as Ming’ao and Pingkeng in Xinei under the pretext of building a bridge, swindling 500 silver dollars, which were all confiscated by the Ming’ao Peasant Association. The monk then went to Sili Zhengzhuang to complain to Xu Minden, the leader of the local militia. Xu dispatched militiamen to Ming’ao, arresting four members of the Peasant Association and seizing the silver dollars. Chen Mingshan, head of the Ming’ao Peasant Association, sought help from neighboring farmers. Under the instigation and guidance of Communist Party members, on November 13, peasant militias from 84 villages—including Xiaxu and Qiancun in Zhongshan District, and Kunyang, Chiling, and Linshan in Xinei District—led by Hu Xiu, Chen Mingshan, Yang Yanbin, Chen Qiquan, Xu Yanxing, Wu Maoyuan, and Li Chengdeng, gathered at the Chen Ancestral Hall in Chen Village, Ming’ao, totaling over 4,000 people. They then marched in a mighty procession toward Zhengzhuang. Hearing the news, Xu Minden was terrified; he immediately released the four arrested association members and fled with his family. Upon arriving in Zhengzhuang, the peasant militias confiscated Xu’s property, opened the grain storages, and distributed food to the poor.

Afterward, the 84-village peasant militias joined forces with those from the Nanyan Dayuan region as well as Xiasheng, Shangdong, Shiran, and Kunyang, achieving one victory after another in battle. In December, the Yongjia County Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party seized the momentum and established the Southwest Zhejiang Revolutionary Committee and the Southwest Zhejiang Red Army Guerrilla Unit in Xixia, Yongjia, rapidly advancing the revolutionary situation in the region.

The Former Gathering Site of the 84-Village Peasant Uprising is located at the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in Chenxiacun, the lower part of Ming’ao Village, Ming’ao Township, Yongjia County. Due to years of aging, the structure became dilapidated and was deemed unsafe. In 2010, with government subsidies and private fundraising, reconstruction and renovation work began. Yongjia County’s Ming’ao Township boasts beautiful pastoral scenery with terraced fields. In autumn, when rapeseed flowers bloom, it attracts large numbers of photography enthusiasts, making it a great destination for leisure and travel.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party