Preparatory Office of the First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

Preparatory Office of the First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

The Preparatory Office of the First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is a cultural relics protection unit of Cixi City and a classic red tourism site.

In July 1930, the Jiangsu Provincial Action Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, following central directives, decided to expand revolutionary forces based on the Yu Yao Patrol Corps (originally the Eastern Zhejiang People's Self-Defense Army) led by the progressive local gentry Fei Dezhaiof Yao North, with the aim of launching an armed uprising of peasants and salt workers in the Sanbei region at an opportune time.

At the time, the Deputy Secretary of the Yu Yao County Committee of the CCP—Jiong, was tasked with contacting Shi Jixun of the Jiangsu Provincial Action Committee, Hu Yaotian, a member of the Yu Yao County Committee, and Fei Yongsi, the fourth son of Fei Dezhaio. Fei Dezhaio, who had participated in the Xinhai Revolution in his early years, was a radical thinker. Through these contacts, Fei agreed to the CCP’s propositions and established a "Military Action Committee" composed of Shi Jixun, Jiong, Fei Dezhaio, Luo Xisan, and Xu Yunqian. This committee prepared to form a revolutionary armed force of over 100 members based on the original Yu Yao Patrol Corps. In early August 1930, the Jiangsu Provincial Action Committee officially named this revolutionary unit the "First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army", with Fei Dezhaio as division commander, Shi Jixun as representative, Jiong as political director, and two battalions under its command. The division headquarters was stationed at Liuzao Temple in Kandong.

After its establishment, the First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army intensified efforts to propagate revolutionary ideas among the masses while deploying small armed units for guerrilla operations. They successively attacked the Huangjiabu Security Corps in Yaoxi and the Shushan Security Corps in Cixi’s western region. The emergence of the “Red Army” caught public attention and caused great alarm within the Nationalist government of Zhejiang Province. On August 20, the Second Battalion of the Zhejiang Provincial Security Sixth Regiment and the Yao North Security Corps, acting on provincial orders, launched an attack on the “First Red Division”. Faced with the fierce enemy offensive, the soldiers of the Red First Division did not retreat. Using tactics of diverting attention, they struck at police stations in the western part of Yin County, as well as at Erliushi and Sanshi Police Stations, tenaciously engaging in armed struggle against the reactionary Nationalist forces.

In November 1930, considering the severe situation of heavy encirclement and suppression by the Zhejiang Provincial Security Forces and the stark disparity in strength between enemy and friendly forces, the higher-level Party organization decided to postpone the uprising and disperse the troops of the Red First Division. Fei Dezhaio went into hiding in the French Concession of Shanghai, where he operated the Zhicheng Sand and Stone Company. On June 29, 1931, Fei Dezhaio was arrested in the French Concession. In prison, he endured repeated torture but refused to confess. He also organized two escape attempts by fellow inmates, although both failed due to betrayal. On June 25 of the following year, the Zhejiang Provincial Government of the Nationalist Party executed him on charges of being a “rebel leader” and committing the “unpardonable crime” of “endangering the nation”.

Although the First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army existed for only three short months from its preparation to its disbandment, it left a glorious chapter in the revolutionary history of Cixi.

The former site of the Preparatory Office of the First Division of the Eastern Zhejiang Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was originally the residence of Fei Dezhaio, located on Feijia Lane, Kandun Subdistrict, Cixi City. The main structure is a three-bay high, single-story wooden building facing south, with a total width of 9.2 meters and depth of 12 meters. The central bay is 4.5 meters wide and 8.6 meters deep, while the eastern side bay is 3.9 meters wide and 11.3 meters deep. It features a front porch, and all beams and columns use a through-tenon construction style. Except for the demolished western side bay, the rest of the building remains relatively well-preserved to this day. In December 2003, the Cixi Municipal People’s Government designated it as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit in its fifth batch.