Former Site of the CPC Mindong Special Committee — Banling

Former Site of the CPC Mindong Special Committee — Banling

Banling (now Banling Village, Julin Township) is located at the border between Minqing and Gutian. It borders the Min River to the left and the Gutian Stream to the right, featuring high mountains, dense forests, sparse population, and remote, inaccessible terrain—making it an ideal location for establishing an underground revolutionary base.

In late January 1944, under orders from the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, special envoy Huang Yiyu and four others—Liu Jiesheng, Chen Dingkun, and Wu Shengduan—secretly traveled to Gutian. On the 30th of that month, Huang Yiyu convened a meeting with over ten individuals, including Jiang Zuoyu and Zhou Daochun, at Zhou Daochun’s former residence in Pinghuwei. The meeting conveyed the Provincial Committee’s directives and established three key tasks: ① Form armed units, establish revolutionary bases, and wage armed resistance struggles; ② Establish an underground communication line connecting Northern Fujian—Gutian—Minqing—Yongtai—Southern Fujian; ③ Support the main forces of the Provincial Committee in their southern advance. Subsequently, Liu Jiesheng, Jiang Zuoyu, Yang Renping, and others led cadres to conduct activities in areas such as Dadong and Qianyang in Gutian, Wuhua Mountain, and Banling in Minqing.

In February, Jiang Zuoyu and Yang Renping went to Banling in Minqing to establish a revolutionary base in preparation for connecting the Gutian–Minqing–Yongtai underground communication line. Under the pretext of "feng shui" consultation and guided by a local, they first arrived at the Zhan family home in Sanqiu Field, Banling, where they formed sworn brotherhoods with Zhan Kaiqi (referred to as the eldest brother) and Zhan Kaida (the second brother). With the protection of the Zhan brothers, Jiang and Yang thoroughly surveyed the terrain around Sanqiu Field and carried out a series of preparations for establishing an armed base. In April, the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee dispatched Wang Yiping and Shen Zongwen to Sanqiu Field, Banling, to establish the Gutian Working Committee of the CPC, with Wang Yiping as the secretary. The Gutian Working Committee was responsible for leading revolutionary struggles in the border regions of Gutian and Minqing, with key tasks including mobilizing the masses, fundraising, dividing and disintegrating enemy forces, expanding armed units, conducting armed struggle, and establishing liaison bases.

In May, Zuo Fengmei and Wang Yiping led two main guerrilla units from Northern Fujian—the "Brave" and the "Tenacious"—to Banling, where they joined forces with the Gutian guerrilla unit led by Huang Yiyu, Liu Jiesheng, Jiang Zuoyu, and others. Together, they operated along the border of Gutian and Minqing. The guerrillas built barracks in the deep mountains more than two li behind Sanqiu Field in Banling, where they regrouped, rested, studied, and conducted mass work. Later, they also established barracks at Qincailiu in Banling.

In July, the Provincial Committee expanded the Gutian Working Committee of the CPC into the CPC Mindong Special Committee, with Zhang Yi as secretary, Liu Jiesheng as head of the Organization Department, and Yang Renping as head of the Propaganda Department. The Special Committee unified the leadership of revolutionary struggles across Gutian, Minqing, Jian’ou, Pindong, Luoyuan, and Ningde. The Special Committee’s headquarters were located in Banling Village, Minqing.

Under the leadership of the CPC Mindong Special Committee, revolutionary youths from Banling in Minqing—including Zhan Kaiqi, Zhan Kaida, Zhan Haishui, Zhan Qiulai, Zhan Taichou, Zhan Damei, Zhan Taiyi, Zhan Kaichu, and Zhang Deyu—actively participated in revolutionary activities. They not only mobilized and supported the local population to shield guerrilla operations in their hometown of Banling but also extended their mass work to other areas such as Qiantou and Cao’yang in Gutian. Zhan Haishui joined the CPC in early 1944 and soon became a member of the Gutian Working Committee and secretary of the Southern District Party Committee of Gutian, as well as the leader of the Southern Guerrilla Unit of the South-Gutian-Ou Guerrilla Brigade, actively engaging in party activities and guerrilla warfare. Zhan Qiulai joined the CPC in July 1944 and served as an underground courier and deputy leader of a guerrilla unit under the Central Fujian Guerrilla Detachment.

During this period, the CPC Mindong Special Committee and its affiliated guerrillas also engaged in successful united front work, winning over enlightened local gentry such as Zhang Wanchan from Banling and Chen Chongbi, the head of Shiping Township. The Zhang family were landlords, and Zhang Wanchan, who was educated and respected in the community, quickly aligned his thinking with the CPC and the guerrillas after persuasion by underground party members. He helped influence the surrounding populace and provided material support to the communists and guerrillas. Chen Chongbi, the head of Shiping Township, became a "white outside, red inside" leader after being persuaded, often hosting traveling guerrillas from Central and Southern Fujian at his home. Whenever guerrillas passed through Shiping Township on their way to Shuikou in Gutian, they did so smoothly under Chen’s covert protection. On one occasion, when provincial courier Ding Ke was arrested in Shiping, Wang Yiping and Jiang Zuoyu promptly intervened, leading Chen to release Ding without hesitation. However, when this incident was discovered, the stubborn faction of the Kuomintang Minqing County authorities dismissed Chen Chongbi from his position as township head.

In early October 1944, following the Provincial Committee’s directives on fundraising, the CPC Mindong Special Committee held a meeting in Banling to discuss specific fundraising plans. The meeting was chaired by Huang Yiyu, who decided that the primary target would be to forcibly "borrow" funds from the Gutian County Bank. On November 3, Huang Yiyu, Zhang Yi, Jiang Zuoyu, and 12 others from Banling—including Zhan Kaida—disguised themselves as market-goers and office workers, claiming to visit the bank for money withdrawals or remittances. They secretly carried eight firearms and four handguns, entered the bank, and executed a swift, surprise operation. Without firing a single shot, they successfully seized 1.05 million yuan in French currency from the Gutian Bank, along with all the firearms and ammunition used for bank security. They then left Gutian County and returned safely to the Special Committee headquarters in Banling, Minqing, by 11 PM that evening. Due to the success of the Special Committee’s forced "loan," the Kuomintang Gutian County Government reported the incident to the Provincial Security Command. That same night, Chen Zuocheng, captain of the Gutian County Security Team, and Cao Guangduan, captain of the Minqing County Security Team, led joint security forces from both counties to launch several encirclement and arrest operations in Banling. As a result, the revolutionary masses of Banling paid a heavy price: Zhan Haishui, Zhan Taichou, Zhan Qiulai, and civilians Zhan Damei, Zhan Taiyi, Zhan Kaichu, Zhang Deyu, Zhang Leizhou, and Zhan Kaiqi were arrested and imprisoned. Among them, Zhan Haishui was brutally executed by the enemy on Wangmu Street in Wudu, Gutian; Zhang Leizhou was killed by the Provincial Security Team; Zhan Kaichu, Zhang Deyu, and others died within six months of imprisonment in Gutian County Jail due to torture; shortly after his arrest, Zhan Kaiqi’s house was burned down by bandits acting on orders from the stubborn faction. Zhan Kaiqi, subjected to severe torture in prison, suffered serious injuries and was released on medical parole. Upon seeing his house destroyed, he fell into deep despair, worsening his condition, and eventually died in exile.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, five individuals from Banling—Zhan Kaiqi, Zhan Qiulai, Zhan Taichou, Zhan Haishui, and Zhang Leizhou—were posthumously recognized as revolutionary martyrs by the Provincial Civil Affairs Department. In 1985, during the resolution of lingering issues related to the underground party, the Minqing County Party Committee and County Government honored Banling Village with the title of "Revolutionary Base Village."