Former Residence of Chen Mingchu

The former residence of Chen Mingchu

The former residence of Chen Mingchu serves as a base for patriotic education.

The former residence of Chen Mingchu is located in Zhangjia Village, Quzhang Township, Hepu County, Guangxi. Originally, the residence was a single-story building with a hip-and-gable roof and rammed earth walls, consisting of 14 rooms arranged in two rows with a central courtyard in between. It measured 34.3 meters in length and 12.1 meters in width. This was the ancestral home of Chen Mingchu, as well as his birthplace and where he lived during his childhood. After Chen Mingchu left his pen for the sword to serve as a division commander, in the spring of 1927 (the 15th year of the Republic of China), he returned to his hometown on official business. Observing the poverty, simplicity, and lack of education among the villagers, he deeply felt the need for enlightenment and urgent development in education. As a result, he donated a large sum of money to establish Zhangjia Primary School [at the time called the Third Public Primary School of the Seventh District of Hepu County, Guangdong Province (Hepu was then under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province)]. After Zhangjia Primary School was completed in 1928, Chen Mingchu returned to his hometown to preside over the opening ceremony and, due to the dilapidated condition of his family’s original houses, stayed in the school building. Feeling that he had no proper home to stay in the village, after returning to Guangzhou (by this time, Chen Mingchu had been appointed Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Government of the Nationalist Government), he sent back money and instructed the village elders to build a house on the original site of his family’s residence, designed in the popular Western style of the time.

The reconstructed former residence of Chen Mingchu, completed at that time, was originally built in 1929 as a two-and-a-half-story building combining Chinese and Western architectural styles with a brick-concrete structure. It included a main gate, the main building, a watchtower, a kitchen, a woodshed, a storeroom, and an earthen perimeter wall, covering a total area of about 185 square meters. It featured a typical Hakka architectural layout and Chen Mingchu lived here multiple times during his returns to his hometown. Due to historical reasons, the residence was demolished in the late 1950s. The main building that was completed that day was reconstructed based on the style of the residence in a photo from 1938 sent back by Chen Fosu, the daughter of General Chen Mingchu. In 1958, due to the construction of the Hepu Reservoir, the village was included in the reservoir’s flood zone, leading to the demolition of most of the residence. In 1984, the Hepu County People’s Government designated it as a county-level cultural relics protection unit. Many compatriots from both China and abroad visited the former residence of Chen Mingchu out of admiration, expressing their reverence and remembrance for this patriotic general and conveying their patriotic sentiments. However, as the residence had fallen into disuse and become a banana plantation, visitors couldn’t help but sigh. Later on, the relatives of General Chen Mingchu and insightful individuals from both home and abroad repeatedly expressed to the local government their wish to restore the residence as soon as possible. As a result, in September 1999, the Hepu Hakka Association and Quzhang Township Government took the lead in establishing a restoration leadership group for the former residence of Chen Mingchu, and on October 29, the foundation-laying ceremony for the restoration project was held. The construction began on March 7, 2001, and the entire restoration project was completed in March 2005. By 2008, the residence had been fully renovated and exhibits installed. On the occasion of the completion ceremony of the Chen Mingchu former residence, Chen family descendants were also planning to build a 300-acre Chen Mingchu Cemetery to showcase Hakka culture and the life story of Chen Mingchu.

Chen Mingchu (1889–1965), courtesy name Zhenru, was a native of Hepu, Guangdong (now Pubei, Guangxi). In the autumn of 1906 (the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign), he entered the Second Class of the Guangdong Huangpu Army Primary School, where he joined the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance) the same year. In 1909 (the first year of the Xuantong reign), he was admitted to the Fourth Army Middle School in Nanjing and once served as a liaison officer for the Tongmenghui organization at the military school. In October 1911, after the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, he went to Wuchang to join the battle, being assigned to the Central Second Dare-to-Die Squad. In early 1912 (the first year of the Republic of China), he went to Shanghai to join the Northern Expeditionary Army, serving as a company commander and a member of the Quartermaster Bureau. In March of the same year, he entered the Baoding Military Academy... More details about Chen Mingchu++

Zhangjia Village: Zhangjia Village... More details about Zhangjia Village++