Former Residence of Martyr Cheng Can

Former Residence of Martyr Cheng Can

The former residence of Martyr Cheng Can is a classic red tourism attraction.

The former residence of Martyr Cheng Can is located in Pingpu Natural Village, Baishe Neighborhood Committee, Baishe Town, Hanjiang District, Putian City.

Cheng Can (August 1914 – March 1949), also known as Cheng Xin, was a native of Baishe Town, Putian. After graduating from Baishe Primary School in late 1930, he returned home to farm. During this time, he came into contact with underground Communist Party members and developed progressive political views. In 1933, he participated in activities of the Guangye District Peasant Association, embarking on the revolutionary path. In October 1935, he was transferred to Changtai for centralized training and was later incorporated into the Second Detachment of the Minzhong Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Guerrilla Unit, serving as a messenger at the detachment headquarters. He took part in the three-year guerrilla warfare in Central Fujian. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in Fujian reached an anti-Japanese agreement through peace negotiations. In mid-October 1937, the Minzhong guerrilla forces accepted reorganization by the Kuomintang army and were renamed the Independent Battalion of the 80th Division of the National Revolutionary Army. They were soon stationed at Chengtian Temple in Quanzhou. In March 1938, the diehard faction of the Kuomintang instigated the “Quanzhou Incident,” assassinating Battalion Commander Liu Tujun, surrounding Chengtian Temple with troops, and forcibly confiscating the Independent Battalion’s weapons. Cheng Can and his comrades put up firm resistance against the Kuomintang diehards. Through the intervention of the New Fourth Army Headquarters, the Kuomintang diehards were compelled to return the confiscated weapons and provided vehicles to transport the Independent Battalion to Hongshan Bridge in Fuzhou for assembly. In May of the same year, Cheng Can followed the unit to the New Fourth Army Headquarters in southern Anhui, where he served as a messenger in the Second Company of the Headquarters Special Task Battalion and participated in the War of Resistance. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in March 1939. Soon after, he was appointed as clerk of the Second Company of the Special Task Battalion and later as the battalion’s scribe. In September 1940, he advanced into the Taihu-Wuhu area with the New Fourth Army’s Independent Second Regiment of Southern Jiangsu, successively serving as political instructor of a company and political commissar of a battalion under the regiment. After the victory in the War of Resistance, he became secretary of the General Party Branch at the Command Headquarters of the Su-Zhe-Wan Border Region. In mid-October 1945, he led troops to eliminate the “Homecoming Corps” in Yangxiang. In July 1946, he was dispatched by the Southern Anhui Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to lead a company to She County, Anhui, to establish a new base area. In May 1948, he was appointed alternate member of the Wan-Zhe Border Working Committee of the Southern Anhui Regional Committee of the CCP and deputy commander of the Wan-Zhe Detachment of the People’s Liberation Army. In early 1949, in preparation for the southward advance of the main force of the People’s Liberation Army, the Wan-Zhe Detachment was ordered to move south. In March of the same year, Cheng Can led two reinforced companies to the mountainous regions of central and southern Zhejiang to open up new battlefields and disarm local militias. When the troops reached a location three li from Yanzipu in Tonglu County, Zhejiang, they engaged in fierce combat with the enemy. During the breakout, Cheng Can was shot and wounded. After being rescued from the frontline, he succumbed to excessive blood loss and died a heroic death.

The former residence of Martyr Cheng Can is a two-story, three-bay earthen-and-wood structure rebuilt by the local government after liberation. It faces west and covers an area of over 30 square meters. To commemorate his achievements, a “Martyr Cheng Can Memorial Pavilion” was constructed 300 meters from the residence in October 2005. This pavilion is a four-cornered structure facing south, with a stone stele in the center inscribed with the martyr’s life and deeds. The stone pillars bear a couplet: “The martyr’s spirit soars over near waters and distant hills; the pavilion shines bright under the lofty sun and azure sky.” The pavilion covers an area of 36 square meters.

Source: Party History Research Office of the Putian Municipal Committee

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