Martyrs' Tomb of Fang Hanying

Martyrs' Tomb of Fang Hanying

The Martyrs' Tomb of Fang Hanying is a cultural relic protection unit of Xiangxi Prefecture, a classic red tourism attraction, and a patriotic education base.

The Martyrs' Tomb of Fang Hanying is located on Luozibao Hill, southeast of Ciyavillage, Ciyatang Town, Longshan County, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture.

Fang Hanying, also known as Fang Xianyu, was from Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province. He was born in 1912. In his early years, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and engaged in underground party work. In June 1935, upon assignment by the Party, he came to Ciyatang, Longshan County, and served as the County Party Secretary of Longshan.

Fang Hanying was a highly educated intellectual. After arriving in Ciyatang, in order to better connect with the local people, he took off his Zhongshan suit, wrapped a blue cloth around his head, wore a blue unbuttoned tunic with cloth buttons, and put on straw sandals, disguising himself as a local Tujia youth. This allowed him to quickly become familiar with the local residents.

Fang Hanying worked diligently and went deep among the people. He often visited district and township Soviet governments as well as poor farmers to understand conditions, conduct research, and promptly guide efforts such as fighting landlords, redistributing land, and building the Soviet political struggle. He frequently inspected work in places like Banzhai, Xinchang’ao, and Baoguping, often returning to the county Party committee headquarters late at night.

Fang Hanying shared weal and woe with the masses and never sought special treatment in his daily life. During a time of food scarcity, he ate just two meals of thin porridge a day, just like his comrades. The people held him in high esteem and offered him eggs and noodles, but he passed them all on to the wounded. When the people faced difficulties, however, he did everything he could to help. Guo Jiarui from Yanbanxi went to the Sangzhi Red Army School for studies, leaving his mother and three young siblings at home with neither food nor bedding, living in extreme hardship. Secretary Fang personally delivered two dou of corn and a cotton quilt to their home. Poor peasant Wu Jiyuan joined the guerrillas, and Secretary Fang sent him rice and a mosquito net. An elderly, destitute, and widowed woman surnamed Dong from Biandanpu was driven to desperation and prepared to hang herself with a palm-fiber rope. Secretary Fang brought her five silver dollars. She opened her eyes, dropped the rope, and knelt down: “Big brother, who… who are you?” Fang Hanying helped the old lady to her feet: “You shouldn’t do this—it would be too much for me. I’m Fang, a cadre of the Communist Party!”

Fang Hanying helped the people solve their problems, but he also dealt firmly with any violations of discipline. Young Pioneer Zhou Yaolin took a confiscated landlord’s chopping knife back to his own home. Fang Hanying severely criticized him, ordered him to make a public self-criticism, and return the stolen item. Teng Jiulong, a cadre of the county Soviet, was morally corrupt, raped a local woman, and caused a very negative impact among the people. In order to uphold political discipline and purify the organization, Fang Hanying resolutely had Teng Jiulong executed, thus upholding justice.

Fang Hanying was deeply loved by the people of the Soviet area, but also harbored intense hatred by the enemy. Mi Ermo, the chairman of the county Soviet who pretended to be revolutionary, secretly recruited a group of local ruffians including Tian Her to infiltrate the Soviet government as guards. They secretly colluded with the landlord militias and waited for an opportunity to sabotage the Soviet red regime. One day in early October 1935, after a long day of hard work during the day and staying up late working at his desk at night, Fang Hanying fell asleep as soon as he lay down. Tian Her and several other ruffians, armed with broadswords and spears, pried open his door and stabbed Fang Hanying. Seriously wounded, Fang Hanying struggled and fought back against the attackers, but ultimately died a heroic death due to excessive blood loss. He was later buried in the front yard of the county Party committee headquarters (the home of Yang Xiaolin). In October, when the Red Army marched northward, the tomb was dug up by the enemy and the coffin was burned.

In 1952, a delegation from the Central Southern Revolutionary Base Visiting Group came to pay respects and built a tomb on the main street of Ciyatang as a memorial. In 1974, it was renovated and relocated to Luozibao Hill on the back street. The tomb covers an area of 24 square meters and is 8 meters high. The base is 2.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, and the stele is trapezoidal, standing 5.5 meters tall.

The Martyrs' Tomb of Fang Hanying was designated as a prefectural-level cultural relic protection unit by the People's Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture in March 1979, and was also announced as a Xiangxi Prefecture Patriotic Education Base by the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee.