Site of General Zuo Quan’s Martyrdom

Site of General Zuo Quan’s Martyrdom

The Site of General Zuo Quan’s Martyrdom is a cultural relic protection unit of Shanxi Province.

Site of General Zuo Quan’s Martyrdom

Site of General Zuo Quan’s Martyrdom (First Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

Era: 1942

Address: Summit of Shizi Ridge, Nanhuizhuang Village, Beiaipu Township, over 60 kilometers south of Zuoquan County

General Zuo (1905–1942), originally named Zuo Jiquan and styled Shuren, was born on March 15, 1905, into a poor farming family in Liling County, Hunan Province. In his youth, with the help of relatives and friends, he attended the county middle school. In 1924, he was admitted to the Guangzhou Army Officer School and joined the Chinese Communist Party the same year. In October, he went to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow. In 1927, he furthered his studies at the Frunze Military Academy in the Soviet Union. In June 1930, he returned to the revolutionary base in western Fujian, where he held key positions such as Educational Director of the Minxi Branch of the Red Army Officer School, Commander of the 12th Red Army, Chief of Staff of the First Front Army Headquarters, and Commander and Political Commissar of the 15th Red Army.

After the July 7th Incident, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated in the all-out War of Resistance. On August 25, 1937, when the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff. He crossed the Yellow River into Shanxi and arrived in Wujunsì, Liaoxian County (now Zuoquan County) in August 1940. On July 1, 1941, he moved with the Eighth Route Army headquarters and - and Peng Dehuai to Mata. During his time in Mata, Zuo Quan commanded dozens of battles of varying scales, especially those against the Japanese “February Large-Scale Sweeping” campaign. The “Huangya Cave” defense battle, personally directed by Zuo Quan, was praised by - as “a model battle of anti-sweeping operations since 1941.” In May 1942, the Japanese army gathered over 30,000 troops to launch an iron-wall encirclement against the “Eighth Route Army Front Headquarters,” attempting to annihilate the headquarters and the Central Committee’s Northern Bureau. The fighting was unprecedentedly fierce. On the 25th, when the headquarters and other agencies moved to Shizi Ridge in Beiaipu, they were encircled by the Japanese. In order to enable the troops to break through safely, Zuo Quan bravely commanded the battle but was unfortunately hit by an enemy artillery shell and died a martyr at the age of 37. To commemorate General Zuo Quan, with the approval of the government of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region, Liaoxian County was renamed Zuoquan County on September 18, 1942.

From 1985 to 1987, a square memorial pavilion with four corners was built at the site of General Zuo’s martyrdom on the summit of Shizi Ridge. The pavilion faces south and covers an area of 243.63 square meters. Eight bluestone tablets are inlaid on the inner pillars at the four corners, inscribed with memorial articles by leaders such as -, -, -, and -. In the center stands a 4-meter-high square white marble memorial tower. The pavilion is hung with a plaque personally inscribed by Marshal - reading “Memorial Pavilion of General Zuo Quan.”

Mata Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Zuoquan County. In 1958, the Mata Commune was established, and in 1984, it was upgraded to a town. Located in the southeastern part of the county, it covers an area of 117 square kilometers with a population of 14,000. The Zuo (quan) She (xian) Highway, Yang (quan) She (xian) Highway, and Yang (quan) She (xian) Railway pass through the town. It administers Shangmata, Xiamata, Yuntoudi, Nanyao, Shuping, Junzhai, Shangkou, Xiakou, Dongping, Shangnanhui, Xiannanhui, Wujunsì, Caiyuan, Daodi, Dao di, Xiaomukou, Sūgōng, Qianzicheng, Houzicheng, Geliaoshan, ?jgou, Laoshimu, Tu ya shang, Dalinkou, Dalin?j, Pingshu, Nanhaogou, Temple… Detailed information about Mata Town++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Shanxi Province