Site of the Wangchang Battle

Site of the Wangchang Battle

The Site of the Wangchang Battle is a Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Site and a classic red tourism destination.

Site of the Wangchang Battle. More than ten kilometers southwest of Cao County lies a large embankment over ten meters high. In September 1943, Japanese puppet troops assembled over 30,000 men to carry out the “Autumn Sweeping” campaign against the anti-Japanese base area in the Hebei–Shandong–Henan Border Region. Our military division command post of southwestern Shandong, the special district government, the First Regiment of the Militia, and the cavalry company of the military division, among others, led by Commander Zhu Cheng of the military division of southwestern Shandong and Commissioner Yuan Furong of the special district government, withdrew to the earthen fort in Zhengzhuang Village. However, due to the overwhelming disparity in numbers, Commander Zhu Cheng, Commissioner Yuan Furong, and other soldiers died as martyrs.

Zhu Cheng (1910–1943), courtesy name Gongxing, was from Neishan in Fanshan Town. In his early years, he studied at Wenzhou Commercial School and Xiamen Jimei School, later attending Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou, from which he graduated in the summer of 1929. He served as a probationary instructor in the training unit of a Nationalist army unit in Dezhou. He was arrested for participating in anti-Chiang activities and imprisoned in Nanjing for a year and a half. After being released, he returned to his hometown and taught at Aofeng Primary School in Mabu, where he was influenced by the ideas of the Communist Party member Ye Tingpeng and participated in progressive activities. After Aofeng Primary School was vandalized by local despots, he went south to Guangzhou. Over the course of two months, witnessing the actions of the Nationalist reorganizationists, … Zhu Cheng’s detailed information++

Yuan Furong (1909–1943) was from Cao County. He was an anti-Japanese martyr. From 1928 to 1931, he attended middle and high school in Luoyang, Henan, and Jinan, Shandong, respectively. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1931. In 1936, under the guise of a teacher at Xiguan Primary School in Cao County, he carried out anti-Japanese salvation work. In the winter of 1937, he served as the propaganda minister of the Cao County Working Committee of the CCP and organized a touring drama troupe to promote resistance against Japan and national salvation. In the summer of 1938, he went deep into grassroots areas to recruit party members and establish grassroots party branches and peasant mutual aid groups and other anti-Japanese organizations. In February 1939, he was appointed… Yuan Furong’s detailed information++

Shaozhuang Town: Shaozhuang Town is located in the southern part of Cao County, 12 kilometers from the county seat, covering an area of 121 square kilometers. It administers 49 administrative villages, 114 natural villages, has a population of 58,000, and 68,000 mu of arable land.

The town enjoys a superior natural environment. It is situated along the old course of the Yellow River, with sandy soil in the south and silt in the north. It has a temperate monsoon climate, with relatively long winters and summers, and shorter springs and autumns. The rainy season mainly occurs in summer and autumn, with an average annual rainfall of 700 millimeters. There are two major rivers in the area, … Shaozhuang Town’s detailed information++

Further reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites