Former Residence of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi in Dajing

Former Residence of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi in Dajing

The former residence of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi in Dajing is a cultural heritage site protected by Jiangxi Province and a classic red tourism attraction.

The former residence of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi in Dajing is located in Dajing, about 5 kilometers northwest of Ciping in Jinggangshan City, Jiangxi Province, approximately 10 meters from the former residence of Mao Zedong. It is a yellow-earth-walled house with blue tiles, commonly known as the "Yellow House." From May 1928 onward, Zhu De and Chen Yi lived here when they were in Dajing. The left room inside the main gate was Chen Yi’s living quarters, while the right room was Zhu De’s. In the autumn of 1928, Chen Yi had an ulcer on his leg and stayed here for treatment for some time. During this period, whenever the pain in his leg subsided slightly, he would walk around with a cane to conduct research in local households and even take his orderly to the fields to help villagers harvest rice. In February 1929, the former residence was burned down by the reactionary Kuomintang forces. It was rebuilt in 1984 according to its original appearance. This two-story earthen structure has a courtyard and covers an area of 671 square meters.

The former residences of Comrades Zhu De, Chen Yi, Mao Zedong, and Peng Dehuai are only about ten meters apart. After May 1928, when the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army moved its headquarters from Maoping in Ninggang to Jinggangshan, it operated in Dajing Village, using a traditional rammed-earth ancestral home belonging to the local Zou Anren family as its office and residence. Army Commander Zhu De and Director of the Political Department Chen Yi frequently worked and lived in this building. Together with Comrade Mao Zedong, they planned various tasks and military operations of the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base here. Comrade Zhu De also often set out from Dajing to climb Mount Bamian and the Shuangma Stone Outpost, personally inspecting and directing frontline defense preparations, and encouraging the Red Army soldiers guarding the outposts to stay vigilant at all times and guard against enemy surprise attacks on the base’s rear areas.

At the end of August 1928, when enemy forces from Hunan and Jiangxi provinces attempted to attack the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base from the direction of Huangyangjie while Mao Zedong and Zhu De were leading the main forces far away in southern Hunan, He Tingying, the Party representative of the 31st Regiment of the Fourth Red Army, and Zhu Yunqing, the regimental commander, convened a meeting of cadres at or above the company level in the central hall of this house in Dajing, in accordance with the spirit of an emergency meeting of the Special Committee. They successfully planned the “Battle of Huangyangjie Defense.”

The bamboo sleeping chair displayed in Comrade Zhu De’s living quarters is the same one he sat on for extended periods during his revisit to Dajing in March 1962, when he returned to Jinggangshan. He had stayed as a guest at the home of Zou Wenkai, former captain of the militia squad of the Dajing Township Workers-Peasants-Soldiers Government.

To help visitors understand how Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi came to Jinggangshan, the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum has added an exhibit in the central hall of the former residence titled “From the Nanchang Uprising to Jinggangshan – Highlights from the Lives of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi.” This exhibit introduces to the public how Zhu De and Chen Yi led the remaining forces from the Nanchang Uprising through immense hardship and bloody battles, eventually achieving the convergence of their forces in Jinggangshan—like a mighty army joining the ocean—and planting the revolutionary red flag on Jinggangshan.

In 1987, the People’s Government of Jiangxi Province designated the “Former Residence of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi in Dajing” as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit and restored it for public access.

In the summer of 1928, after the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army relocated its headquarters from Maoping in Ninggang to Jinggangshan, it operated in Dajing Village. Army Commander Zhu De and Director of the Political Department Chen Yi frequently worked and lived in this building.

At the end of August 1928, in accordance with the spirit of an emergency meeting of the Special Committee, the 31st Regiment of the Fourth Red Army held a meeting of cadres at or above the company level in the central hall of this house and planned the famous “Battle of Huangyangjie Defense.”

In 1984, the People’s Government of Jiangxi Province designated the “Former Residence of Comrades Zhu De and Chen Yi in Dajing” as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit and restored it for public access.