Lin Fu Memorial Hall

Lin Fu Memorial Hall

Lin Fu (1911–1942), originally named Lin Yu and styled Kuanru, was a native of Cangnan County. He excelled in painting and seal carving, but was especially skilled in woodcut art, and was one of the pioneers of China’s woodcut movement in the mid-1930s. In 1930, he enrolled at Ouhai Middle School in Wenzhou (now Wenzhou No. 4 Middle School), and graduated from the Shanghai Art Academy in 1935. That same year, he joined the Communist Party of China in Shanghai. He was once arrested and imprisoned by the Kuomintang government for carving a portrait of Karl Marx. In October 1936, his works were exhibited at the “Second National Mobile Woodcut Exhibition,” where they were praised by Lu Xun, who also had a discussion and took a commemorative photo with him. After the outbreak of the “August 13th” Shanghai Anti-Japanese War, he returned to Pingyang and participated in anti-Japanese salvation efforts at Shanmen School. In 1938, he became the leader of the New Fourth Army’s mobile propaganda team, operating in southern Zhejiang, and provided woodcut illustrations for literary publications organized by the Wenzhou CPC unit as well as for the poetry magazine *Storm*. In May of the same year, he worked for the Pingyang County Committee of the CPC, successively serving as a committee member, head of the Propaganda Department, and head of the Organization Department. In the summer of 1939, he headed north to Yan’an but was blocked in Jinhua and had to return to Pingyang. In the spring of 1940, while staying at the *Ping Bao She* (Ping Newspaper Office), he was arrested by diehard members of the Kuomintang and was soon sent to Shangrao Concentration Camp. In June 1942, when the camp was relocated southward to Chishi Town in Chongan, Fujian, he was shot and killed by guards during an escape attempt due to his disabled leg, which slowed his movement near Chishi River.

Lin Fu Memorial Hall is located in Linta Village, Qianku Town, Cangnan County. Construction of the memorial hall began in 1998, and it was completed and opened to the public in the summer of 1999. The memorial covers an area of 1,600 square meters, with a built-up area of 550 square meters. It includes a main building with three antique-style rooms, a two-story comprehensive building with five rooms, a two-way corridor, a decorative gateway with upturned eaves and glazed tiles, and surrounding walls. Upon entering the memorial hall, visitors are greeted by a 3-meter-high, 2.7-meter-wide marble statue depicting Lu Xun and Lin Fu sitting cross-legged in cheerful conversation. The exhibition is divided into five sections: the first introduces Lin Fu’s life and achievements; the second displays 46 of Lin Fu’s original woodcut prints; the third features over 40 inscriptions, couplets, and calligraphy pieces by veteran figures in the literary and art circles, Lin Fu’s classmates, and comrades; the fourth is a Zhejiang woodcut exhibition room; and the fifth is a screening room for the documentary film *Lin Fu*.

Lin Fu Memorial Hall is a Wenzhou Municipal Patriotic Education Base.

Source: CPC Wenzhou Municipal Committee Party History Research Office