Former Residence of Comrade Mao Zedong at Bayi Tower

Former Residence of Comrade Mao Zedong at Bayi Tower

The tower gets its name from an octagonal skylight on the upper floor of the building. During the struggle in Jinggangshan, Mao Zedong once lived and worked here. It was also here in Bayi Tower that he wrote and finalized two brilliant works: “Why Is It That Red Political Power Can Exist in China?” and “The Struggle in Jinggangshan.”

Based on China’s national conditions, Mao combined Marxism-Leninism with China’s reality, shifting the focus of the revolution from the cities to the countryside, and established the first rural revolutionary base in Jinggangshan. However, in semi-feudal and semi-colonial China, how to overthrow the reactionary rule by force and establish a people's democratic government remained unresolved for the whole Party. Even among the many Party leaders who had already gone deep into the countryside to wage armed struggle, this issue was not clear in their thinking. Moreover, after the establishment of the Jinggangshan Base Area, due to the influence and interference of “Left” adventurism, the base suffered two major setbacks—in March and August. Frequent military “encirclement and suppression” campaigns by the enemy and tight economic blockades caused tremendous difficulties for the base area. As a result, some comrades began to doubt, “How long can the red flag continue to fly?” To theoretically clarify the laws of development of the Chinese revolution, eliminate the interference of “Left” and “Right” deviations, and guide the Party and the people toward the path of victory, Mao, during those arduous years, conducted in-depth investigations and research and wrote these two works.

In these two works, Mao comprehensively summarized the experiences of the struggle in Jinggangshan, analyzed the nature, driving forces, and tasks of the Chinese revolution; put forward the idea of “armed agrarian revolutionary base areas”; elaborated on the five conditions under which a red political power could exist and develop; answered the question of how long the red flag could continue to fly, and strengthened the confidence of the soldiers and civilians in the border region in holding firm to the revolutionary regime in the middle section of the Luoxiao Mountains. Thus, he laid a solid foundation for the formation of the revolutionary path of encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing political power through armed struggle.

This building has been preserved as it was back then. A few slogans written by Red Army soldiers can still be seen on the walls. The furnishings inside, such as the bed frame, table, inkstone, oil lamp, tea table, and high-backed chair, are the original items used by Comrade Mao Zedong and Comrade He Zizhen when they lived here.

In March 1961, the State Council listed this building as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Source: China · Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum

Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), courtesy name Runzhi (originally Yongzhi, later changed to Runzhi), pen name Ziren. A native of Xiangtan, Hunan. He was the leader of the Chinese people, a Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist, and theorist, as well as the principal founder and leader of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and the People’s Republic of China. He was also a poet and calligrapher. From 1949 to 1976, Mao served as the paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China. His contributions to the development of Marxism-Leninism, military theory, and... More details about Mao Zedong++