Site of the Tianbaoshan Peasant Uprising — Tianbaoshan

Site of the Tianbaoshan Peasant Uprising — Tianbaoshan

Tianbaoshan is located in Group 1, Longxing Village, Fengcun Township, Muchuan County.

The Tianbaoshan Peasant Uprising took place in February 1935. Tianbaoshan belongs to Xijia, Fengcun Township, Muchuan County, and is the hometown of Communist Party member Liu Benzhao. Hu Liben and Liu Benzhao were cousins and often propagated the ideals of the Communist Party and the Red Army to local residents in the area. In early February 1935, after hearing instructions from Zhao Qimin, a member of the Jiating Central County Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in Zhoubà about organizing a worker-peasant guerrilla force, waging guerrilla warfare, and preparing to welcome the Central Worker-Peasant Red Army, Hu Liben asked Zhang Zhaoyan, Liu Benzhao, and Du Mingde to propagate, mobilize, and organize the masses in Zhoubà, Fengcun, and other areas. On February 23, Liu Zegao, the head of Xijia, gathered peasants at Longxing Temple to urge the collection of donations. Hu Liben and the others took the opportunity to learn about the situation. At that moment, two local militiamen sent by the Lidian District Headquarters arrived to collect payments. The peasants complained about the excessive and unbearable taxes and said they could not afford to pay. Hu Liben and his comrades immediately began to enlighten the crowd, listing the Kuomintang’s exploitation of the peasants, accusing them of disregarding the survival of the rural population, and calling on everyone to resist taxes and levies. Soon, the crowd became enraged and overpowered the two militiamen. Hu Liben, Liu Benzhao, and others then discussed and decided to take this opportunity to raise the banner of the “4th Route Guerrilla Detachment, 5th Squad of the Sichuan–Southern Worker-Peasant Red Army,” declaring an armed uprising. They called on everyone to take up weapons such as blades, spears, homemade guns, and cannons and gather at Z转角庙 (Zhuǎnjiǎo Miào) to prepare to confront attacks from district and township militiamen, and to intercept Xiao Shanzhi, the district commander, who was returning to Lidian via Fengcun. Subsequently, 56 participants in the uprising gathered at Z转角庙, where Hu Liben arranged defenses and sentries. At dawn on the 24th, fighting broke out. The Lidian District Armed Elite Squadron launched a frontal assault on Z转角庙, while the township militiamen provided flanking support. The uprising forces fought back with homemade guns and cannons. Due to their weak strength, inadequate preparation, and hasty engagement, the uprising forces were unable to withstand the enemy attack. They had to fight while retreating and eventually scattered and hid in the mountains and grasslands. The uprising ultimately failed.

Due to the long passage of time, the original appearance of the site no longer exists. Now only the battle site, Z转角庙 (Zhuǎnjiǎo Miào), remains, with no designated protection or utilization level.