Former Site of the Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School

Former Site of the Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School

The Former Site of the Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism destination.

After the full outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, a nationwide anti-Japanese salvation movement emerged. To train young cadres for the anti-Japanese salvation effort, the Provisional Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in the Min-Zhe Border Region established the Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School (abbreviated as the "Anti-Japanese Cadre School") on January 15, 1938, by repurposing the former campus of Shamen Chouxixiao Primary School. The school was publicly known as the "National Revolutionary Army Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Corps Salvation Cadre Training Class." Xiang Ying served as the principal, Huang Xianhe as the vice-principal, Huang Gengfu as the head of education, and Deng Sao as the head of general affairs. Students mainly came from progressive intellectuals in Wenzhou, along with a few workers and teachers, as well as youths from Lishui, Taizhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, and Shanghai, totaling over 100 individuals. The curriculum included four subjects: philosophy, political economy, the anti-Japanese national united front, and guerrilla tactics. Xiang Ying personally taught guerrilla tactics, and Liu Ying frequently gave lectures on the current situation and tasks. Zeng Shan, Deputy Secretary and Head of Organization of the Southeast Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also visited the school during his time in Shamen to deliver an important report on the situation and tasks. On March 15, the Anti-Japanese Cadre School completed its program ahead of schedule. Some students formed a mobile service team that accompanied Xiang Ying northward to join the resistance; others became a mobile propaganda team for the New Fourth Army, spreading anti-Japanese messages across the Min-Zhe border region; most were assigned to various parts of southern Zhejiang and other areas across the province to engage in revolutionary activities. In later revolutionary struggles, these students fought across the country, and the majority became key figures in the Party, government, military, and various sectors.

The Former Site of the Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School is located west of Shamen Town Primary School in Pingyang County today. The original school building was U-shaped, with one six-room two-story wooden building and one wing room on both the eastern and western sides, known as the East Building and West Building. The ground floor served as classrooms, while the upper floor housed the dormitories of teachers and students. The church to the north functioned as the auditorium. Only the West Building remains today, covering an area of 210 square meters. There is a osmanthus grove on the campus, planted by Liu Ying and Xiang Ying. In 1985, the West Building was renovated and turned into a memorial room for the Anti-Japanese Cadre School. Above the entrance of the memorial room hangs a plaque inscribed with the words “Former Site of the Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School,” handwritten by General Zhang Aiping, former Minister of National Defense. In February 1984, Xiang Ying, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and former principal of the Anti-Japanese Cadre School, passed away in Beijing. In May, in accordance with his wishes, local authorities scattered part of his ashes in the osmanthus grove at the former site of the Anti-Japanese Cadre School.

The Former Site of the Min-Zhe Border Anti-Japanese Salvation Cadre School is a key cultural relics protection unit in Zhejiang Province. It is one of the 21 sites within the Wenzhou Southern Zhejiang (Pingyang) Revolutionary Base Site Cluster and serves as a national patriotic education base.

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

Shamen Town: Located in the western part of Pingyang, Shamen Town is 44 kilometers from the county seat. It borders Shuitou Town to the east, Xiaokeng and Huaixi Townships to the west, faces Nan'yan Town across the creek to the south, and adjoins Fengwo Town to the north. The Ping (Pingyang)–Wen (Wencheng) Highway runs through the town. Covering an area of 35.84 square kilometers, the town administers three subdistrict offices—Shamen, Dongyu, and Chouxixi—and includes 26 administrative villages, 3 residential communities, with a total population of 28,700. It is recognized as a “Wenzhou Civilized Town” and a “Wenzhou Ecological Town.” In 2005, the town achieved a total industrial and agricultural output value of 145.01 million yuan, with per capita disposable income of urban residents at 6,138 yuan, and agricultural... [Detailed information about Shamen Town++]

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units