Former Site of the Xunwu Investigation

Former Site of the Xunwu Investigation

The Former Site of the Xunwu Investigation is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

The Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall, short for the Mao Zedong Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall, is located on Matigang in Xunwu County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, and is a national cultural heritage site.

Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall

In May 1930, Comrade Mao Zedong carried out an extensive and in-depth social investigation here for 20 days in order to correct certain erroneous views within the Party and the Red Army and to further understand the reality of China’s rural areas. He also wrote two brilliant works: the famous “Xunwu Investigation” and “Oppose Book Worship.” In these two works, Comrade Mao Zedong first put forward the scientific proposition that “no investigation, no right to speak,” explicitly proposed for the first time the idea that the basic principles of Marxism must be combined with China’s actual conditions, laying the theoretical foundation for the formation of our Party’s ideological line of seeking truth from facts. This was also one of the signs indicating the initial formation of Mao Zedong Thought.

3 Opening Information On the afternoon of November 25, 2003, Matigang was adorned with flowers and filled with the sounds of drums and music as the opening ceremony of the Mao Zedong Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall in our county was held.

Attending the opening ceremony were Shangyang, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda; Yang Shengqun, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Central Party Literature Research Office; Shi Zhongquan, Vice President of the China History Research Society and former Deputy Director of the Central Party History Research Office; Liu Jianhua, former member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Vice Chairman of the Provincial CPPCC; Wang Yuyao, former member of the Office Committee and head of the Mao Zedong Research Group of the Central Party Literature Research Office; Feng Hui, former member of the Office Committee and Deputy Head of the Mao Zedong Research Group of the Central Party Literature Research Office; Gu Yimin, relative of Comrade Gu Bai; Luo Chuntao, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee; Yang Jinyun, Vice Chairman of the Municipal People’s Congress; Pan Qile, Vice Chairman of the Municipal CPPCC; and others. Leaders of the four leading teams in the county, heads of all townships, heads of all county-level units, and heads of units stationed in Xunwu from the province and city also participated in the ceremony. Liu Shangyang, Yang Shengqun, Shi Zhongquan, Liu Jianhua, Luo Chuntao, Pan Yeyong, Pan Yeyong, Chun Tao, Yang Jinyun, Pan Qile, and Wei Yunting cut the ribbon for the opening of the Mao Zedong Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall. Li Weiping, Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee, presided over the opening ceremony. Zhang Kexi, Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee, delivered a speech at the ceremony. He first expressed warm welcome on behalf of the County Party Committee and County Government to the central departments, provincial and municipal leaders, and guests who attended the opening ceremony. Zhang Kexi said: In May 1930, Comrade Mao Zedong conducted an investigation here for nearly a month, after which he wrote the two brilliant works, “Xunwu Investigation” and “Oppose Book Worship.” In the article “Oppose Book Worship,” he put forward the famous propositions that “no investigation, no right to speak” and “the victory of the Chinese revolutionary struggle depends on Chinese comrades understanding the Chinese situation.” These were powerful rebuttals to the erroneous tendency prevalent in the Party at the time to blindly copy the experiences of the Communist International and the Soviet Union. The great practice carried out by Comrade Mao Zedong in Xunwu not only embodied the Party’s ideological line, mass line, and fundamental principle of independence and self-reliance, marking the initial formation of Mao Zedong Thought, but also the germination of Mao Zedong Thought nurtured in the land of Xunwu is a glory bestowed upon the people of Xunwu by history. The decision to rebuild the former site of Mao Zedong’s “Xunwu Investigation” and the former site of the Red Army Hospital is aimed at fully utilizing these valuable political and historical resources and establishing an educational base for Party members and cadres across the county, city, and even the province on Matigang. The opening of the memorial hall is a major event in the ideological and political construction work of the Party in Xunwu, which will effectively advance the Party building in Xunwu and provide strong ideological and stylistic guarantees for achieving a new leap in Xunwu’s economy.

The predecessor of the Mao Zedong Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall was the Xunwu Revolutionary History Museum. In order to effectively protect this national key cultural relic and give full play to its role as a base for revolutionary tradition education, patriotism education, and socialist education, our county invested 3 million yuan in the first half of this year to carry out overall renovation and maintenance of the memorial hall. This included rebuilding the original “Red Army Hospital,” converting it into the “Xunwu Investigation Exhibition Hall,” maintaining the “Former Site of the Xunwu Investigation,” and enriching revolutionary historical materials. The rebuilt memorial hall has largely restored its original appearance, and the revolutionary historical materials are more abundant and enriched than before.

At the opening ceremony, Yang Shengqun, Director and Secretary-General of the Central Party Literature Research Office, also represented the office in donating books to the Mao Zedong Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall, and He Shilin, Deputy County Magistrate, accepted the donation on behalf of the memorial hall.

In May 2013, the State Council (State Council Document [2013] No. 13) announced the Xunwu Investigation Memorial Hall as part of the seventh batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

Extended Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level