Niujiaogou Uprising Memorial Site

Niujiaogou Uprising Memorial Site

The Niujiaogou Uprising Memorial Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

Niujiaogou is located in Dashishi Town, Pengxi County. On June 29, 1929, General Kuang Jixun led an uprising here.

In modern history, Pengxi has a proud revolutionary tradition and is recognized as a veteran revolutionary base. Its most emblematic events were the June 29, 1929, uprising led by General Kuang Jixun in Niujiaogou, Dashishi Town, Pengxi, which established the “First Route of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army in Sichuan” and Sichuan’s first county-level red government, the “Pengxi County Soviet Government.”

Historical Facts

1927

In August 1927, Wang Wulin, Liu Kongyong, and Jiang Ruiqi, who had joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at Peking Chaoyang University, returned to Pengxi one after another to spread Marxism-Leninism and democratic revolutionary ideas. That winter, CCP members Liu Hanmin and progressive youth Jiang Shufa (who later defected) came from Chongqing to the eastern part of Pengxi (now the Renlong area), infiltrating the bands of local bandits He Zhengyuan and Feng Yucheng to conduct revolutionary work among the bandits.

1928

In August 1928, CCP member Wu Erdou, introduced by Liu Hanmin, led over 30 fighters who had participated in the Shuangjiang Town uprising in Tongnan to operate in the eastern part of Pengxi. That same year, Li Mingke, Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee and head of its Military Commission, developed the Party organization in Pengxi.

Kuang Jixun, courtesy name Jichen (also integrated as Jicheng), was born in 1895 in Sinan County, Guizhou Province. He joined the Sichuan Army in 1912, became a member of the CCP in 1926, and was appointed acting commander of the Seventh Mixed Brigade of the Nationalist Army's River Defense Forces in 1928. He was secretly executed by Zhang Guotao in Tongjiang County in June 1936 at the age of 38.

Following the failure of the Great Revolution—and especially after Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the revolution on April 12, 1927, as the Nationalists launched a purge campaign, searching far and wide to arrest and eliminate Communists—Kuang Jixun’s Seventh Mixed Brigade of the Sichuan Army continued to uphold the revolutionary struggle. This deeply unsettled the Sichuan warlords, prompting them to plot relentlessly to destroy the brigade.

In the winter of 1928, the Seventh Mixed Brigade under Kuang Jixun’s command was moved to the border area between Suining and Pengxi, within the defense territory of Li Jiayu. The brigade headquarters was stationed in Yongji Town, Suining. Huang Yin, Commander of the River Defense Forces, ordered the brigade to return to Chengdu for “reorganization,” intending to eliminate it—a demand that was refused. Huang then cut off the brigade's supplies. Meanwhile, warlords such as Luo Zezhou also frequently mobilized troops in schemes to eradicate the brigade. Facing this critical situation, Kuang Jixun and the brigade’s Party organization repeatedly reported to the provincial committee, requesting approval to launch an armed uprising. The committee granted permission and dispatched Luo Shiwen and Zou Jinxian to help lead the rebellion. By early June 1929, Luo and Zou had arrived at the brigade’s headquarters, where they worked with Kuang Jixun to develop a detailed uprising plan. Due to heavy flooding of the Fujiang River during summer high waters and considering the difficulty of attacking the entrenched garrison forces in Suining, it was decided to advance through Pengxi, passing through Xichong, Nanbu, Yingshan, Quxian, and Dazhu, heading down to Eastern Sichuan. With the support of the peasant movement in Liangshan, they would cross the Yangtze River and enter Western Hubei. If unable to cross the river, they would head north through Kaijiang to Wanquan to join the Eastern Sichuan guerrilla forces led by Wang Weizhou and Li Jiajun, and then move westward to establish a revolutionary base in Tongjiang, Nanjiang, and Bazhong. The Frontline Committee was subsequently formed, with Zou Jinxian as its secretary, Luo Shiwen as the Party representative, Kuang Jixun as the overall commander, Li Boping as the political commissar, Wang Jinlu as the chief of staff, and preparations for the uprising were carried out. Military flags, armbands, cap insignias, seals, slogans, and banners were produced in a very short time. (According to oral accounts passed down by the 74-year-old Zhang Weilian from Niujiaogou, prior to the uprising, one or two companies of the brigade were stationed at Niujiaogou for nearly a month.)

1929

At around 6 p.m. on June 29, 1929, following instructions from the provincial committee and the uprising plan, Kuang Jixun led over 4,000 soldiers of the entire brigade under the guise of a “field exercise” to Niujiaogou in Dashishi Town, Pengxi County, where he held a grand assembly and solemnly announced the launch of an armed uprising. At the same time, the flag of the “First Route of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants’ Red Army in Sichuan” was raised. The force was reorganized into the First Red Regiment, Second Red Regiment, and Vanguard Regiment, and immediately marched toward Pengxi County seat.

Commanded by Kuang Jixun, the Red Army advanced toward the county seat overnight. By midnight, they arrived at Shuangxing Bridge, five li from the county town, and split into two forces to attack the city: One group took the Sichuan-Hubei Highway (today’s G318 National Road) to assault the south gate directly, while the other followed the ancient Suipeng route, via Huan’aiya and Baitasi (Jiufeng Temple), to capture the west gate. After three to four hours of fierce fighting, the border cavalry regiment under Yin Kecheng (with fewer than 1,000 troops), part of the Li Jiayu forces that had been defending the county, suffered over 20 casualties and fled northward in disarray over Kuixiang Mountain toward Wenjing. In the early morning of June 30, the Red Army successfully liberated Pengxi County seat. They tore down the signboard of the Nationalist Pengxi County Directive Committee, destroyed the official yamen buildings, confiscated the county seal, burned grain registry archives, released imprisoned detainees, and proclaimed the establishment of the “Pengxi County Soviet Government.” In the name of the “Sichuan Provincial Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Committee,” they appointed Liu Hanqiu (formerly the deputy brigade commander of Kuang’s unit) as the chairman of the Pengxi County Soviet Government and posted public notices.

Led by Kuang Jixun and Luo Shiwen, Red Army officers and soldiers conducted revolutionary propaganda activities in streets, teahouses, and schools. Posters from the “Sichuan Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army Revolutionary Committee” were put up at the four city gates, and slogans like “Workers and peasants, organize and revolt,” “Down with the landlords and capitalists,” “Down with the local tyrants and evil gentry,” “Eliminate corrupt officials,” and “Establish the Soviet Government!” were plastered along the streets. The Red Army maintained strict discipline—no soldier caused any disturbances, harassed civilians, or looted property. That day, the Pengxi County seat was filled with jubilation.

To support their military advance, the Red Army and the Soviet Government convened local gentry and collected funds and dozens of bolts of white cloth. On July 1, Kuang Jixun and others followed the original plan, leading the Red Army out of Pengxi County seat, continuing their march toward Nanchong, Xichong, and Nanbu. On July 4, they liberated Xinzhengba, a key town in the south (now part of Yilong County), and declared the establishment of the “Xinzheng County Soviet Government.” On July 6, the Red Army withdrew from Xinzheng and turned eastward, continuing onward to Yingshan, Quxian, Liangping, and Dazhu. However, due to heavy blocking by Sichuan warlords such as Liu Cunshou, they could not proceed as planned to cross the Yangtze River and meet up with He Long in Hubei. Consequently, they turned northward, heading toward Kaijiang, Daxian, and Wanquan. In late July, they were defeated by warlord forces within Daxian territory.

After the Uprising Failed

After the uprising failed, a small number of people endured great hardships to reach Hubei, some Party cadres shifted to local work, and others continued underground activities within warlord forces, becoming key revolutionaries. Kuang Jixun was escorted by the provincial committee to Shanghai.

Impact

The Niujiaogou Uprising led by Kuang Jixun was a shocking revolutionary armed action directly organized under the leadership of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CCP. When Kuang Jixun proclaimed the uprising and raised the Red Army flag at Niujiaogou, the Provincial Committee issued the “Declaration on the Revolutionary Mutiny of the Seventh Mixed Brigade of the River Defense Army” to all Party organizations across the province and the people of Sichuan. Various regions across Sichuan responded in kind. Lasting over a month and traversing 12 counties from central Sichuan to northeastern Sichuan, the uprising covered a journey of more than 1,000 li. During the campaign, it successively established the earliest county-level Soviet governments in Sichuan and even southwestern China—those in Pengxi and Xinzheng. This uprising broke through a perilous impasse, shook the Nationalist warlord rule, ignited the passion of the people across Sichuan, and propelled the development of the revolutionary movement in Sichuan. It also provided support and coordination for the expansion of the Hubei base and sowed the seeds of revolution in Sichuan, exerting far-reaching political influence.

Inscriptions

In April 1990, Marshal Xu Xiangqian and General Zhang Aiping inscribed plaques for Pengxi with the texts: “Kuang Jixun Niujiaogou Uprising Monument,” “Pengxi County Soviet Government Monument,” “Kuang Jixun Memorial Hall,” and “Kuang Jixun Niujiaogou Uprising Monument.”

Protective boundary: The monument base extends 300 meters east, south, and west, and 50 meters north.

Construction control zone: Extends 50 meters beyond the protective boundary.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units