Baisha Xia Residence

Baisha Xia Residence

The Baisha Xia Residence in Jiangjin, Chongqing, also known as "De Lu," was the former home of Mr. Xia Zhongshi, a renowned anti-Japanese general, one of the founders and outstanding leaders of the Chongqing Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang. Built in 1929, the residence faces north and covers a construction area of 2,814 square meters. It is a two-story building constructed with earth, wood, and stone, featuring a gable and hip roof and round domed fireproof walls. It consists of an upper hall, lower hall, courtyard, and side rooms forming a triple-courtyard quadrangle, and boasts the largest revolving corridor building in Southwest China. The entire residence has a rigorous layout and ingenious design, effectively combining the strengths of both Chinese and Western architectural styles. It extensively employs Western architectural techniques, drawing on the Western style’s practicality, good ventilation, and lighting, while integrating traditional Chinese interior decoration to highlight the refined and simple characteristics of Chinese mountain architecture.

“For literature, rely on Deng Henian; for military affairs, rely on Xia Zhongshi.” Xia Zhongshi, also known as Xia Shouxun, was born in 1889 in Baisha Town and passed away in 1969. He studied successively at the Sichuan Army Primary School, Shaanxi Army Middle School, and Baoding Military Academy. Upon graduation, he stayed on with distinction as a probationary secretary to the school’s principal, Jiang Baili. Less than a year later, Xia Zhongshi resigned and returned to Sichuan, serving successively as a platoon leader, company commander, and battalion commander in Liu Xiang’s forces, and later as a division commander in Liu Wenhui’s forces.

In 1933, during the Second Liu War, after Liu Wenhui’s defeat, Xia Zhongshi retired from military service and settled here. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the highly patriotic Xia Zhongshi donned his military uniform once again, taking up the post of commander of the 78th Army of the 30th Group Army of the Chinese Nationalist Party, leading his fellow hometown soldiers to fight the Japanese outside Sichuan. Before departure, Xia Zhongshi held a mobilization ceremony in Baisha Town, emulating Yue Fei’s act of kneeling before his mother before going to war. On the battlefield, General Xia led the 78th Army bravely against the enemy, achieving repeated meritorious service in the Nanchang Campaign, Wuhan Campaign, Nanchang Campaign, and Changsha Campaign, earning him the Yunhui Medal and the First-Class Land-Sea-Air Medal.

Xia Zhongshi was an upright and incorruptible official. He often admonished his subordinates: “With the nation in peril and the people’s livelihood hard-pressed, we must not waste resources and add to the burden of the populace.” At the same time, General Xia treated his soldiers like his own children. He once wrote letters to his family in Baisha, setting aside a special fund to support the wounded soldiers of the 78th Army and the families of fallen soldiers. As a result, any wounded 78th Army soldiers passing through Baisha were hosted by the Xia family for food and lodging, and given some travel expenses upon departure. For this, Madam Xia even sold property and land to support her husband’s patriotic and soldier-loving endeavors.

In 1944, the Baisha Xia Residence welcomed a distinguished guest—General Feng Yuxiang. That year, General Feng came to Baisha to raise funds for the anti-Japanese war, and Xia Zhongshi hosted a banquet for General Feng, his wife, and their party here. During the banquet, Xia Zhongshi led his entire family in donating 90,000 yuan. Deeply moved, General Feng praised, “It is truly admirable for an entire family to so enthusiastically donate for the war effort. You are a model patriotic family!” In this fundraising campaign, Baisha Town raised over 6.5 million yuan, setting a record high for the entire Sichuan region. For this, Feng Yuxiang specially wrote an article titled “The Most Patriotic Town—Baisha,” vividly recounting the enthusiastic fundraising event. Xia Zhongshi was not only a famous patriotic military leader but also deeply concerned with the livelihood of his hometown. In those years, he established free ferries, funded schools, and built power plants in Baisha, earning praise from the local people.

The Yangtze River flows through Baisha Town, cutting off north-south transportation and making crossings very inconvenient for residents on both sides. Xia Zhongshi donated farmland to purchase over 20 wooden boats and built five ferry crossings, solving the problem of river crossings for local people, who affectionately called them the “Xia Public Free Ferries.” In 1939, Xia Zhongshi initiated the establishment of the Baisha Hydropower Co., Ltd. and served as its chairman. Two years later, the power plant was completed, ending the era of oil lamps in Baisha Town. At the time, the Xinhua Daily reported on this achievement to celebrate it. This power plant was among the earliest independently designed and constructed hydropower stations in China. Its engineering design and construction techniques became a blueprint for modern hydropower projects and were included in the teaching materials of Chinese secondary water conservancy schools. It is also a Baisha wartime industrial heritage site. After 1950, Xia Zhongshi served successively as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang of China, and chairman of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang. As an ever-progressing patriotic democrat and one of the founders and outstanding leaders of the Chongqing Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, Xia Zhongshi has been inscribed in the annals of the patriotic united front. As a native of Baisha, he devoted his life to self-discipline, sincerity, and contributing immensely to his hometown. The local people hold him in deep remembrance, and Xia Zhongshi’s name remains indelible in the hearts of the people of Baisha. To this day, the residents of Baisha still spontaneously engage in voluntary protection and restoration of the Xia Residence. After more than eighty years of vicissitudes, parts of the residence have been damaged and are now included in the 2010 Chongqing Wartime Heritage Protection and Restoration Plan.

Xia Shouxun (1890–1969), styled Zhongshi, was a native of Jiangjin, Sichuan. A lieutenant general in the Army, he graduated from the first class of the Infantry Department at Baoding Military Academy and was a general in the Sichuan Army.

He served successively as a battalion commander and detachment leader in the 6th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the Sichuan Army, a regimental commander in the 19th Brigade and brigade commander in the 20th Brigade of the Provisional 10th Division. In January 1927, he became the commander of the 3rd Route of the 24th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, in October 1928, the commander of the 3rd Division of the 24th Army, and in 1935, the administrative inspector of the 11th District of Sichuan Province. On September 8, 1936, he was promoted to lieutenant general. In October 1938, he became the deputy commander of the 78th Army... More details on Xia Shouxun ++