Former Site of the Tongzishan Workers' and Peasants' Guerrilla Command

Former Site of the Tongzishan Workers' and Peasants' Guerrilla Command

The Former Site of the Tongzishan Workers' and Peasants' Guerrilla Command is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province, a classic red tourism destination, and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of the Tongzishan Workers' and Peasants' Guerrilla Command is located 2 kilometers west of Yanghe Village, Liaotian Town, Hengnan County, Hengyang City. Situated in the mountainous border area of what were originally Hengyang, Leiyang, and Changning counties, it now belongs to the forest farm of Liaotian Town, Hengnan County.

In 1925, He Binglin, a local carpenter with a disabled leg, led his clansmen in secretly organizing a Hongmen society circle on Tongzishan Mountain. They openly robbed the rich to aid the poor, attracting over 130 followers. After the May 21st Incident (also known as the “Ma Ri Incident”) in Changsha on May 21, 1927, the May 27th Incident (the “Qin Ri Incident”) occurred in Hengyang. The reactionary Kuomintang fiercely suppressed the revolution, hunting down Communists and progressive masses everywhere, casting a dark shadow over Hengzhou. At that time, the Hengyang County Committee of the Communist Party of China led the masses in shifting to underground struggle. Zigejia, a Communist Party member and head of the county’s peasant movement organization department, mobilized and commanded five armed groups from eastern Hengyang. One of them was a peasant militia led by Communist Li Yusong, which operated in the Tongzishan area. Zigejia and Li extensively engaged with members of the Hongmen society, actively promoting revolutionary ideals. Guided by the Party, He Binglin and his Hongmen members abandoned their narrow mindset of robbing the rich to help the poor and finally embraced the revolutionary path, becoming part of the Tongzishan revolutionary armed forces. Thus, the newly formed Tongzishan Peasant Guerrilla Unit grew to over 300 members with firearms. The reactionary Kuomintang troops stationed in Hengyang attempted to crush this revolutionary force and launched two military expeditions, both ending in failure. In September 1927, during the Liaotian Uprising, Zigejia, the leader of the eastern Hengyang Party organization, was captured while covering the retreat of civilians. Despite being wounded, he remained defiant and was martyred.

At that time, the labor movement at the Shuikoushan mine, dozens of kilometers across the river from Tongzishan, had also been disrupted by the reactionaries. To unite and strengthen revolutionary forces, on January 27, 1928, the Shuikoushan Workers’ Guerrilla Unit, led by Captain Song Qiaosheng, marched up the mountain to join the Tongzishan Peasant Guerrilla Unit. The two merged to form the Tongzishan Workers’ and Peasants’ Guerrilla Unit, with Song Qiaosheng as captain. The guerrilla force quickly grew to over 1,000 members. Using Tongzishan as their base, they were stationed in more than a dozen small surrounding villages. They propagated revolutionary ideas among poor peasants, vigorously developed underground Party organizations, carried out armed struggle, incited peasant uprisings, suppressed local tyrants and evil gentry, redistributed land to households, opened granaries to aid the poor, and executed Yu Huandong, the puppet head of the Shuikoushan Mining Bureau. Victorious in numerous battles, they became renowned far and wide. After the Southern Hunan Uprising in 1928, Zhu De led his troops to station in Leiyang. The Tongzishan Workers’ and Peasants’ Guerrilla Unit eagerly went to meet them. Under Zhu De’s leadership, the unit was reorganized as the “3rd Independent Regiment of the 1st Division of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army.” Song Qiaosheng was appointed regimental commander, and Xie Hanwen, a Yanjing University student from Leiyang, was named the Party representative. From then on, this armed force, composed of the poorest peasants and workers at the grassroots level, officially had its own designation and became one of the earliest revolutionary armies of Red China.

In April 1928, considering the relatively narrow terrain of Tongzishan and the development of the revolutionary situation, following Zhu De’s instructions, the 3rd Independent Regiment, led by Song Qiaosheng and Xie Hanwen, marched to Leiyang to join forces with Zhu De and Chen Yi’s troops, and then proceeded toward the sacred revolutionary land of Jinggangshan. On May 4, the unit successfully rendezvoused with Mao Zedong’s Autumn Harvest Uprising forces in Ninggang’s Longshi. The 3rd Independent Regiment was reorganized as the Special Service Battalion of the 4th Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, with Song Qiaosheng as battalion commander and Xie Hanwen as the Party representative of the 11th Division. After the failure of the Fifth Encirclement Campaign, during the strategic relocation of the Central Red Army, this unit served as the vanguard and fought bravely in the Battle of the Xiang River. Most soldiers died heroically, and the remaining troops perished during the continued Long March.

The Former Site of the Tongzishan Workers’ and Peasants’ Guerrilla Command was designated as a county-level cultural relic protection unit by the Hengnan County People’s Government in March 1993, a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit by the Hengyang Municipal People’s Government in May 2010, and a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the Hunan Provincial People’s Government in January 2011. In May 2010, it was also recognized as a Hengyang Municipal Patriotic Education Base by the Hengyang Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department.

Xiangyangqiao Subdistrict: Established in December 2019, Xiangyangqiao Subdistrict is located in the southeastern part of Hengnan County. It borders Chashi Town and Xiangshi Township to the east, adjoins Leiyang City to the south, faces Songjiang Township across the Xiang River to the west, and connects to Yunji Town to the north. Covering a total area of 221.6 square kilometers, it governs 25 villages, 6 communities, 692 villager groups, 21 neighborhood groups, 24,145 households, and a total population of 74,000. Transportation is convenient, with waterways, highways, and railways available. The Xiang River, Leiyang River, and Chongling River are navigable all year round. National Highway 107, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, and the Wuhan-Guangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line run from north to south through the area. Tourism resources... More details about Xiangyangqiao Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hunan Province