Former Site of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office

Former Site of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office

The former site of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office is a cultural heritage site protected by Fujian Province and a classic red tourism destination.

The former site of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office is located at No. 53 (formerly No. 27) on the south side of Anmin Lane, Gulou District, Fuzhou City.

In 1937, when the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out across the country, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party joined forces to fight the Japanese. In October, an agreement was reached through negotiations with the Kuomintang to reorganize the Red Army guerrilla forces from more than 10 regions in eight southern provinces into the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. To facilitate work in Fujian, the Southeast Bureau of the Communist Party of China dispatched New Fourth Army Chief of Staff Zhang Yunyi and Party Representative Ye Fei, among others, from Nanchang to Fuzhou. They negotiated with Chen Yi, Chairman of the Fujian Provincial Government of the Kuomintang, regarding the reorganization of the Red Army and local guerrilla forces in Fujian, and proposed the establishment of a New Fourth Army office in Fuzhou.

In February 1938, the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office was officially established. Wang Zhu, head of the Propaganda Department and also the Intelligence Department of the CPC Mindong Special Committee, served as director of the office in the capacity of New Fourth Army consultant (later replaced by Fan Shiren, Secretary of the Mindong Special Committee, who held the position in the capacity of a colonel from the New Fourth Army headquarters). On February 23, Zhang Yunyi, Wang Zhu, Sun Keji, and over ten others arrived in Fuzhou. They immediately negotiated with Chen Yi regarding personnel for the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office and the Zhangpu Incident, reaching an agreement: the staffing of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office would not exceed 20 people; the detained Red Army guerrilla members and weapons from the Zhangpu Incident were to be returned. The next day, Zhang Yunyi and Wang Zhu met with Fuzhou journalists to express the Chinese Communist Party’s determination to resist Japan and confidence in victory. In March, the Quanzhou Incident occurred, where Red Army guerrilla forces incorporated into the 80th Division of the Kuomintang were surrounded and disarmed. Later, through negotiations by Wang Zhu and Fan Shiren with the then Kuomintang authorities, all personnel and weapons were returned. This unit was later incorporated into the Special Operations Company of the New Fourth Army Jiangbei Command and sent to the frontlines of the war.

After its establishment, the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office was under the leadership of the Southeast Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Min-Zhe-Jiang Special Committee of the CPC. In August 1938, it came under the direct leadership of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPC. Office leaders Wang Zhu and Fan Shiren became members of the provincial committee's standing committee and served respectively as head of the Propaganda Department and Organization Department. The office’s public tasks included operating under the leadership of the New Fourth Army headquarters, receiving cadres traveling between the army headquarters and local areas, sending cadres to the army headquarters, handling matters concerning local affairs after the New Fourth Army moved north, delivering soldiers’ letters, issuing certificates to soldiers and martyrs, upholding the anti-Japanese national united front, and conducting anti-Japanese propaganda. Its internal, covert tasks involved representing the local CPC organizations in Fuzhou to restore and develop organizational ties, organizing rural anti-Japanese armed activities, using legal anti-Japanese groups to promote the salvation movement, and leading the work of the Mindong Special Committee and party organizations in counties such as Minhou and Lianjiang.

In 1939, as the situation along the Fuzhou coast grew tense and urban populations were evacuated, Kuomintang government agencies and schools successively relocated inland. In May of the same year, Japanese forces occupied the Min River estuary. The New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office moved to Meishan Hou Shiling in Nanping and was renamed the New Fourth Army Nanping Office. The original duties of the Fuzhou Office were taken over by the CPC Fuzhou Working Committee. By this time, the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office had been in operation for one year and four months, making significant contributions to advancing the anti-Japanese salvation movement in Fujian.

The former site of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office is a Qing Dynasty building covering an area of 461 square meters. The structure is made of earth and wood, with a flat street-facing wall and arched gable walls on both sides.

In September 1961, the former site of the New Fourth Army Fuzhou Office was designated as a municipal cultural heritage site by the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government. In March 1991, it was listed as a Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Site by the Fujian Provincial People’s Government. In March 2012, it was announced as a Fujian Provincial Party History Education Base by the Party History Research Office of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPC. In 2017, it was designated as a Fuzhou Municipal Party History Education Base.

Zhang Yunyi (1892–1974) was a member of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, a general of the People’s Liberation Army, and a proletarian revolutionary and military strategist. His original name was Zhang Yunyi, also known as Zhang Shengzhi. He was from Shangliao Village, Touyuan Town. Born into a poor farming family, he attended a private school in his village from the age of seven, studying diligently and consistently ranking at the top of his class. After graduating from elementary school, due to financial constraints, he could not continue his education. To make a living, he went to Guangzhou to stay with fellow villager Zhao Shihuai, an officer, and worked as a handyman.

In 1908, Zhang Yunyi was admitted to the Second Class of the Guangdong Huangpu Army Primary School with outstanding results... More details about Zhang Yunyi ++

Chen Yi (May 3, 1883 – June 18, 1950), courtesy name Gongqia, art name Tuisu, was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and was a second-class general in the Republic of China Army. After World War II, he served as the Governor of Taiwan Province and Commander-in-Chief of the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command. During his tenure, the February 28 Incident, a tragic event in Taiwanese history, took place, and he was one of the most controversial political figures involved.

In the final stages of the Chinese Civil War, as the war situation deteriorated rapidly, Chen Yi once advised Chiang Kai-shek to accept the loss of mainland China by the Kuomintang. In June 1948, he became the Governor of Zhejiang Province... More details about Chen Yi ++

Nanjie Subdistrict: Located in the central-western part of Gulou District. It borders Dongjie Subdistrict to the east along Bayi 7th North Road, neighbors Antai Subdistrict to the south at the foot of Wushi Mountain, connects to Hongshan Town to the west via Xiaoliu and Henan Xincun, and adjoins Huada Subdistrict and Guxi Subdistrict to the north along Hujie Road, Xian South Road, and Yangqiao Road. It covers an area of 1.56 square kilometers, has 16,000 households, and a population of about 50,000. The subdistrict office is located at No. 28 Huangxiang. In 2000, there were 338 collective enterprises and 1,147 individual businesses within its jurisdiction. It includes administrative divisions such as Wenru, Nanjie, Taxiang, Nanhou, Anmin, Mingshan, and Yi... More details about Nanjie Subdistrict ++