Former Site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion

Former Site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion

The former site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The former site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion was originally the private residence of Wang Xitong (courtesy name Xiaoding, literary name Huizhai, and later known as Yizhai), a modern ethnic industrialist from Weihui. After liberation, it served as the municipal Party committee office building. Located within Lihu Garden on Daoxi Street in the city, it was built in the early years of the Republic of China and is now a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit in Weihui.

The Wang Family Mansion has a brick-and-wood structure with a blue brick foundation. It combines Chinese and Western architectural styles and is divided into upper, middle, and lower levels, standing about 15 meters high and covering an area of 576 square meters. The lower level is a basement, with a semicircular veranda at the front, surrounded by a double-column corridor. There are wing rooms on both sides of the veranda. Passing through the veranda leads to a spacious reception hall, with a room on each side to the east and west. Behind the screen wall are north-south corridors, which form a “T” shape with the east-west corridors at their ends. All rooms are situated along the “T”-shaped corridors, facing each other, totaling about 20 rooms. The upper and lower levels are largely similar, with staircases located at the rear. This building features exquisite design, elegant aesthetics, solid construction, and is well-preserved, making it a uniquely outstanding example of modern architecture.

In 1938, Japan invaded Jixian County (now Weihui City), and the following year established the Japanese Garrison Command at the Wang Family Mansion on the north side of West Gate Road inside the city. Aikawa served as the commander. Massacres were frequently carried out at the back pit of the Wang Family Mansion, the playground behind Weihui No. 1 High School, and near the wooden bridge of the textile factory. The Japanese imperialists often interrogated and executed prisoners here, resulting in countless casualties. This historical site starkly exposes the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese invaders in China, especially after occupying Weihui, making it a genuine relic site of Japanese war atrocities in China.

The architecture of the former site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion can be described as a fusion of Chinese and Western styles. The proportions of classical Western design, the brick-and-stone structural maintenance, along with the traditional-style roof, are all key design elements of architecture from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period. Architecture from the Republican era represents a significant chapter in the history of modern Chinese architecture, serving as a transitional phase from ancient to modern Chinese buildings, and holding great importance in the history of Chinese architecture.

The former site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion is of great significance for systematically reflecting the war crimes of the Japanese invasion of China, further exposing the Japanese right-wing’s attempts to distort history, and providing direct patriotic education to young people.

The former site of the Japanese Garrison Command at Wang Family Mansion holds extremely important historical reference value in terms of architecture, humanities, and the study of wartime history.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Henan Province