Former Residence and Tomb of Feng Guozhang

Former Residence and Tomb of Feng Guozhang

The former residence and tomb of Feng Guozhang are designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The former residence and tomb of Feng Guozhang are located 10 kilometers north of Hejian, to the east of Xishijing Village. This was the residence of Feng Guozhang, the President of the Republic of China during the early Republican era, and also the site of the local township government of Xishijing Village. The area lies adjacent to National Highway 106 to the west, the Cangbao Expressway and Shuohuang Railway to the south, with the Guyang River flowing east of the village, situated on the Central Hebei Plain. Feng Guozhang’s state funeral tomb is located 2,000 meters north of the General’s Mansion, sharing the same central axis. The state funeral tomb was built in 1917 and has suffered three major instances of damage. The first occurred during the land reform period when villagers removed all pavilions, terraces, and trees from the tomb area. The second took place during the Great Leap Forward in 1958–1959, when all stone structures such as the tomb’s steles were toppled and smashed to support farmland water conservancy projects in Hejian. The third was in the spring of 1966, when local rebels exhumed the grave, causing damage to the burial chamber. Artifacts originally stored in the tomb—including a military portrait of Feng Guozhang, a ceremonial sword, two stone-carved jade artifacts, a jade hairpin, a night-shining pearl, and a jade incense burner—are now preserved at the Hebei Provincial Museum of History. The 1905 Autumn Military Exercises Map of Hejian and the portrait depicting Feng Guozhang during those exercises, along with letters written by Feng Guozhang to Yuan Shikai, are preserved in Hejian. In the spring of 2007, the People’s Government of Hejian City restored Feng Guozhang’s state funeral tomb.

Address: Hejian City, Cangzhou, Hebei Province

Feng Guozhang (January 7, 1859 – December 28, 1919), courtesy name Huafu (also recorded as Huafu), was a native of Xishijing Village, Hejian County, Zhili (now Hebei). He was the leader of the Zhili Clique warlords and, together with Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui, was known as one of the “Three Northern Warlord Giants.” Feng Guozhang graduated early from the Beiyang Military Academy and once served as the head of the Beiyang Infantry School and the director of the Training Camp Affairs Office. In the 29th year of the Guangxu reign (1903), he was appointed as the Director of Military Studies at the Central Military Training Bureau, later holding positions such as Division Commander and Commander-in-Chief of the First Army. Though sometimes indecisive, he was intelligent, studious, and diligent. During the Xinhai Revolution, he led the Beiyang... More detailed information about Feng Guozhang++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province