Former Site of the Cao Gate Revolutionary Red School & Hometown of Martyr Wu Huanxian

Former Site of the Cao Gate Revolutionary Red School & Hometown of Martyr Wu Huanxian

The Former Site of the Cao Gate Revolutionary Red School and Hometown of Martyr Wu Huanxian is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province, a classic red tourism attraction, and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of the Cao Gate Revolutionary Red School and Hometown of Martyr Wu Huanxian is an important part of the heritage complex of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base. It is located in Sijiao Cao Gate Village, Jianchanghe Township, Xin County. The site consists of two rows of 11 brick-and-wood structured houses, facing from southeast to northwest, covering an area of 260 square meters. In front of the houses lies a rectangular courtyard, with a “swallowtail” style gate situated on the northwest wall of the yard. A plaque inscribed with “Hometown of Wu Huanxian” hangs above the gate. In 1983, the southernmost three rooms of the front row were restored, and an exhibition on the life and deeds of Martyr Wu Huanxian was held. In 1985, a statue of Martyr Wu Huanxian was erected in the exhibition room, along with inscriptions by national leaders such as Li Xiannian, Xu Xiangqian, and Cheng Zihua commemorating the 50th anniversary of his sacrifice. Other houses are still inhabited by villagers surnamed Wu. On November 21, 1986, the site was designated as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Henan Province.

Wu Huanxian, born in 1907 in Sijiao Cao Gate Village, was one of the founders of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base and the Fourth Red Army. After joining the Communist Party of China in 1926, he gave up his studies and returned to his hometown to spread revolutionary ideals and ignite the peasant movement. In the autumn of that year, he established the first party cell and the first peasant association in Xin County. He led impoverished peasants in economic struggles against exploitation and oppression by landlords, initiating the “Five Resistances Movement” including resistance to rent and taxes, which ignited the flames of peasant revolution in the Jianchanghe area. His revolutionary activities were met with fierce suppression by the landlord class, resulting in the brutal murder of his entire family of five. This bloody lesson made Wu Huanxian and his comrades realize that to safeguard the fruits of the revolution, an armed revolutionary force was essential. Thus, using the traditional form of the “Red School” (i.e., Red Spear Society), under the pretext of bandit defense, he established a revolutionary Red School of over 100 members at his home. He also developed and reformed two other Red Schools, bringing the total number of trainees to more than 200. Wu Huanxian not only propagated anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ideas to the trainees and helped them dispel superstitions, but also organized them to rigorously train in combat skills. He led the trainees in suppressing local tyrants and eliminating “smuggling salt checkpoints.” Thus, during the Great Revolution period, he initiated the people's armed struggle in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border region.

On November 14, 1927, following the spirit of the Party’s August 7th Meeting, Pan Zhongru, Wu Guanghao, Cao Xuekai, Wu Huanxian, and others initiated and led the first large-scale armed uprising of workers and peasants in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border region — the Huangma Uprising — successfully capturing Huang’an City. The trainees of the three Red Schools led by Wu Huanxian became the backbone of the uprising and served as the assault team for the city attack, being the first to breach the north gate and storm the county government office, capturing the puppet county magistrate He Shouzhong. On the 18th, the Huang’an Workers’ and Peasants’ Democratic Government and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army Eastern Hubei Army were established. The trainees of the three Red Schools joined the ranks of the Eastern Hubei Army, forming the earliest foundation of the Fourth Red Army.

Wu Huanxian later held various positions including Secretary of the Huang’an County Committee of the CPC, Member of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Special Committee, Member of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Provincial Committee, Political Commissar of the 73rd Division of the Red Army, Director of the Political Department of the Fourth Red Army, Commander and Political Commissar of the 25th Red Army, and Acting Secretary of the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Provincial Committee.

On August 21, 1935, Comrade Wu Huanxian died a heroic death in battle at Sipo Village, Jingchuan County, Gansu Province, at the age of 28. In 1985, the Central Military Commission of the CPC posthumously recognized Wu Huanxian as a “Chinese Proletarian Revolutionary, Statesman, and Military Strategist.”

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province