Martyr Zheng Jianzhong’s Tomb

Martyr Zheng Jianzhong’s Tomb

Martyr Zheng Jianzhong’s Tomb is located in Lugou Village, Yuecun Town, Xinmi City, Henan Province. In August 1980, his family relocated the tomb from Yanlou, Changge to its current site in Lugou Village, Yuecun Town, Xinmi City.

Zheng Jianzhong, originally named Zheng Chengxun with the courtesy name Zhenya, was a native of Dongcun in Lugou Village, Yuecun Township, Mixian County. He was born on March 14, 1916, into a poor farming family. After the September 18th Incident in 1931, he actively approached the Party organization and engaged in enthusiastic work.

In 1936, Henan suffered a severe drought. There was no harvest in autumn. That winter, Zheng Jianzhong, together with underground Communist Party members Yan Fengwan and Shen Daliang from the Second District of Mixian County, as well as key members of the Peasant Association Wang Laibin and He Chi, devised a plan. They used the Peasant Association to mobilize the masses, leveraging the so-called relief clause “Interim Measures for Wealthy Households to Lend Grain to Poor People” propagated by the Kuomintang to deceive the public, in order to gain legitimacy for their struggle. They united to forcibly borrow grain from landlords. After more than ten days of organizing and mobilizing, on February 23, over 1,000 Peasant Association members gathered at Wangjiagou and set out to borrow grain from wealthy households. Led by Zheng Jianzhong, the masses from Yuecun area surged toward one landlord household after another with sacks and winnowing baskets, forcing the despotic landlords to return the fruits of the peasants’ labor. Within three days, the movement quickly grew to involve five to six thousand people, covering an area of over 30 square kilometers, and resulted in borrowing over 300,000 kilograms of grain. This became the shocking nationwide “Mixian County Grain Seizure Storm.”

Due to Zheng Jianzhong’s active work and firm stance in struggle, his home became the main contact point for the underground Communist Party in eastern Mixian County. Underground Party members and leading cadres sent from higher levels often met and held meetings at his home to discuss major issues. In the autumn of 1938, the Mixian County Committee of the Communist Party of China held a short-term Party training class at his home to develop the Party organization and strengthen its ranks. It was during this period that, having undergone numerous tests through struggle, Zheng Jianzhong was introduced by Li Zonghua, Secretary of the Northeast District Committee of the Mixian County Communist Party, and joined the Communist Party of China.

In the spring of 1944, the Japanese army occupied Mixian County. Zheng Jianzhong, together with underground Party member Ren Xinzhi, contacted former Peasant Association members and progressive youths to organize a local armed force of nearly 200 people to rise up against the Japanese. In the autumn of the same year, Commander Pi Dingjun led the Western Henan Advance Detachment of the Anti-Japanese Forces into western Henan to establish a base area. He dispatched Wang Hongguang, Shen Dianzhi, and others to Mixian County to establish contact with Zheng Jianzhong. Guided by Zheng Jianzhong, the detachment entered Mixian County from Mihe, Gong County. In accordance with Commander Pi Dingjun’s instructions, together with Li Mo, they coordinated the defection of Ren Xinzhi, who had been sent by the underground Party organization to serve as a battalion commander in the Kuomintang guerrilla forces, leading over 130 of his men to revolt. In mid-December, Zheng Jianzhong served as a guide and led the detachment to attack the puppet army’s Northeast District Regiment Headquarters of Mixian County, which was entrenched at Jinlanzhai. They outwitted and captured over 60 stubborn enemies outside the stronghold and killed over 20. By the end of the year, after the establishment of the Mixian North Anti-Japanese Democratic Government, Zheng Jianzhong was appointed Director of the Political Work Unit. Following the Party organization’s instructions, he returned to Yuecun, Qiaodi, and Hongshiling areas to carry out anti-Japanese salvation activities.

In the spring of 1945, Zheng Jianzhong led the political work unit to cooperate with our main forces in gathering intelligence, successively achieving victories in battles at Huicui Mountain, Caomiao, Yanglaowan, and Xingshugang. Later, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Mixian South County Committee, Director of the Mixian South Office, and County Magistrate of the Mixian South Anti-Japanese Democratic Government, leading the armed struggle of the people in the region.

In 1946, Chiang Kai-shek betrayed his word and besieged our Central Plains troops. The Central Plains troops were ordered to break through to the North China base area. Zheng Jianzhong, along with Cai Yunsheng, Political Commissar of the Northwest Office of Xinyang, and Secretary Zhu Qun, headed north. When passing through Anyang, they were arrested and imprisoned by the Kuomintang. Later, they were rescued by the organization. After being released, following the Party’s instructions, he returned to southern Henan to engage in intelligence work and continued the struggle in enemy-occupied areas. On October 5, 1947, in order to thwart the enemy’s massacre plot, Zheng Jianzhong hurried from Zhengzhou to Changge overnight to notify underground Party members Si Ziming and Chen Jingbo to move northward. When he reached the former contact point, Damao Primary School in Changge, he learned that Chen Jingbo had been sacrificed after being betrayed by a traitor. He immediately rushed northwest to notify comrades in Yuxian. Unfortunately, he was captured by the enemy en route. Facing the enemy’s threats and temptations, Zheng Jianzhong remained brave and unyielding, and was ultimately executed by the enemy at the execution ground in Yanlou, Changge.

Source: Zhengzhou Municipal Party History Research Office

Yuecun Town: Yuecun Town is located 10 kilometers east of Xinmi City, only 25 kilometers from the provincial capital Zhengzhou. It borders Bazaar Town to the north, Quiliang Township to the east, Liuzhai Town to the south, and Yuanzhuang Township to the west. The total area is 66 square kilometers, with the town area covering 1 square kilometer, arable land of 46,000 mu, and jurisdiction over 22 administrative villages, 210 village groups, over 9,600 households, a total population of 39,000, and more than 1,300 Party members.

Yuecun Town has highly developed transportation and communication facilities. Zhengmi Highway and Qimi Highway intersect and pass through the town, connecting to National Highway 107 to the east and the provincial capital Zhengzhou to the north... More details about Yuecun Town++