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Peng Dehuai’s Former Residence

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Peng Dehuai’s Former Residence is located in Pengjiawei, Wushi Village, Wushi Town, Xiangtan County, Xiangtan City. On October 24, 1898, Peng Dehuai was born here and spent his difficult childhood and youth in this place. At the age of 8, Peng Dehuai lost his mother and his father fell ill, leaving the family destitute. “Even the few thatched cottages were mortgaged, leaving only two rooms for shelter—providing shade on sunny days, but offering no difference between indoors and outdoors when it rained.” (From *Peng Dehuai’s Autobiography*) In 1916, Peng Dehuai joined the Hunan Army as a soldier. From 1925 to 1927, while serving as a company commander and battalion commander in the Hunan Army, he gave his younger brother savings of 400 yuan. The regimental finance committee secretly gave his second younger brother another 400 yuan, totaling 800 silver dollars. His brothers Peng Jinhua and Peng Ronghua built 12 new tiled houses covering about 400 square meters, located 30 meters southwest of the original residence. It was named “Sanhua Hall,” meaning the grand house of the three brothers—Dehua (Peng Dehuai’s original name), Jinhua, and Ronghua. Peng Dehuai personally wrote the couplet for the gate: “The greatest joy is in doing good; evil must be eradicated when seen.” Behind the house was a wooded area, and to the east was a bamboo grove, making it a typical and dignified rural homestead in Xiangtan. After Peng Dehuai initiated the Pingjiang Uprising, the Kuomintang reactionaries persecuted his relatives, and the former residence was also damaged. In 1949, the local government and people once suggested renovating it, but Peng Dehuai refused. The gate couplet was then changed to “Punish the wicked and relieve the people; carry on the past and open up the future,” with the horizontal inscription “Serve the People.” In December 1958, accompanied by Zhou Xiaozhou, the First Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee, Peng Dehuai returned to his hometown for an inspection and stayed for two days and one night. In November 1961, Peng Dehuai returned to his hometown again to conduct research, staying for over a month. He received over 2,000 visiting officials and locals during this time and wrote four investigative reports here. This place also preserved a long letter of over 82,000 words written by Peng Dehuai in 1962 to Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee, later known as the “August 1st Letter” or the “Petition for Rehabilitation,” which provided valuable historical material for *Peng Dehuai’s Autobiography*.

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Peng Dehuai’s Former Residence is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a classic red tourism attraction, and a patriotic education base.

Peng Dehuai’s Former Residence is located in Pengjiawei, Wushi Village, Wushi Town, Xiangtan County, Xiangtan City.

On October 24, 1898, Peng Dehuai was born here and spent his difficult childhood and youth in this place. At the age of 8, Peng Dehuai lost his mother and his father fell ill, leaving the family destitute. “Even the few thatched cottages were mortgaged, leaving only two rooms for shelter—providing shade on sunny days, but offering no difference between indoors and outdoors when it rained.” (*Peng Dehuai’s Autobiography*) In 1916, Peng Dehuai joined the Hunan Army as a soldier. From 1925 to 1927, while serving as a company commander and battalion commander in the Hunan Army, he gave his younger brother savings of 400 yuan. The regimental finance committee secretly gave his second younger brother another 400 yuan, totaling 800 silver dollars. His brothers Peng Jinhua and Peng Ronghua built 12 new tiled houses covering about 400 square meters, located 30 meters southwest of the original residence. It was named “Sanhua Hall,” meaning the grand house of the three brothers—Dehua (Peng Dehuai’s original name), Jinhua, and Ronghua. Peng Dehuai personally wrote the couplet for the gate: “The greatest joy is in doing good; evil must be eradicated when seen.” Behind the house was a wooded area, and to the east was a bamboo grove, making it a typical and dignified rural homestead in Xiangtan. After Peng Dehuai initiated the Pingjiang Uprising, the Kuomintang reactionaries persecuted his relatives, and the former residence was also damaged. In 1949, the local government and people once suggested renovating it, but Peng Dehuai refused. The gate couplet was then changed to “Punish the wicked and relieve the people; carry on the past and open up the future,” with the horizontal inscription “Serve the People.” In December 1958, accompanied by Zhou Xiaozhou, the First Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee, Peng Dehuai returned to his hometown for an inspection and stayed for two days and one night. In November 1961, Peng Dehuai returned to his hometown again to conduct research, staying for over a month. He received over 2,000 visiting officials and locals during this time and wrote four investigative reports here. This place also preserved a long letter of over 82,000 words written by Peng Dehuai in 1962 to Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee, later known as the “August 1st Letter” or the “Petition for Rehabilitation,” which provided valuable historical material for *Peng Dehuai’s Autobiography*.

Peng Dehuai’s Former Residence was also the main site of activities where Peng Dehuai’s elder brother, Peng Jinhua, established the underground CPC Pengjiawei Party Branch.

From 1980 to 1983, the Xiangtan County People’s Government carried out repairs on the former residence and built protective stone walls around it. In 1982, Deng Xiaoping inscribed the words “Former Residence of Comrade Peng Dehuai.” It officially opened to the public on August 1, 1983. In October of the same year, the Hunan Provincial People’s Government designated it as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In January 1995, it was announced by the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee as one of the first batch of patriotic education bases in Hunan Province. In 1998, a comprehensive renovation was carried out on the former residence to restore its appearance during Peng Dehuai’s return in 1961 for investigations. In June 2001, it was announced by the State Council as part of the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Admission

Free Entry

Opening Hours

8:30-17:00

Location

Pengjiawei Village, Wushi Town, Xiangtan County, Xiangtan City, Hunan Province

Wushi Village: Wushi Village…… More details about Wushi Village++