Monument to Martyr Li Dezhaol

Monument to Martyr Li Dezhaol

The Monument to Martyr Li Dezhaol is a classic site on China's red tourism routes.

Li Dezhaol (1905–1936), also known as Dezhaol, was from Gangtou Village, Yongjia County. In the spring of 1920, he was admitted to Wenzhou Yiweng Middle School with outstanding academic performance. During his time at school, he and fellow students such as Jin Guanzhen actively participated in the "Xishan Students' Association," a progressive student organization. After graduating in 1924, he was hired to teach at the affiliated primary school of his alma mater. That winter, he joined the Socialist Youth League (later becoming a member of the Chinese Communist Party) through the introduction of Xie Wenjin. In the winter of 1925, he was sent by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to study at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East in Moscow, Soviet Union. After returning to China in 1927, he worked in the Propaganda Department of the CCP Central Committee and served as an editor for the CCP’s official newspaper, the Red Flag Daily. In 1930, he became the secretary of the CCP Central Military Commission, an effective assistant to Zhou Enlai, the commission’s secretary, and contributed to the establishment of the 13th Red Army of Chinese Workers and Peasants. In 1933, he was transferred to work in the General Affairs Department of the CCP Central Special Branch, and later to the Shanghai Central Bureau of the CCP. On the evening of June 26, 1934, around 7 PM, he was arrested at the CCP Central Sub-bureau office (Malis New Village, Shanghai) and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Nanjing. In prison, he remained steadfast and unyielding. The following August, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and then transferred to the Nanjing Military Prison. In September 1936, he died from torture at the age of 31. After the liberation of China, Premier Zhou Enlai personally wrote on a letter from Martyr Li Dezhaol’s family: “Comrade Li Dezhaol was an excellent comrade who sacrificed himself for the revolutionary cause.” A portrait of Martyr Li Dezhaol, his writings, and his revolutionary deeds are displayed at the Martyrs' Cemetery on Rain Flower Terrace in Nanjing.

The Monument to Martyr Li Dezhaol is located in Gangtou Village, Yongjia County, and was built in 1990. The monument base is square, measuring 8 meters on each side, covering an area of 64 square meters. Each side is surrounded by six square bluestone pillars and enclosed with railings. The central base features a sunken small pool, 1.6 meters long and 1.2 meters wide. The bluestone monument itself stands 3.9 meters high and 0.8 meters wide. The front bears the inscription “Eternal Glory to Martyr Li Dezhaol” written in the hand of Yang Shangkun, former President of China, while the back features a brief biography of the martyr. The top of the monument is adorned with a carved cloud design. Though modest in size, the monument symbolizes the martyr’s grand image: standing firm across land and sea, beneath the blue sky and white clouds, with an unwavering heart devoted to the communist cause.

The Monument to Martyr Li Dezhaol is a cultural relic protection unit of Yongjia County and a patriotic education base of Yongjia County.

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