Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall

Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall

The Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall is a classic red tourism destination and a patriotic education base.

The Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall (Taiyuan Revolutionary History Exhibition Hall) is located at No. 245, Wuyi North Road, Xinghualing District, Taiyuan City.

The Shanxi Provincial National Normal School was first established in June 1919, covering a total area of 200,000 square meters. It was a normal school founded by Yan Xishan specifically to train primary school teachers across the province. The goal was to control the education system in Shanxi by influencing the primary school teachers, thereby maintaining long-term rule over the region. However, to his disappointment, shortly after the school opened, it became a stronghold for Chinese Communists and revolutionary activists to spread progressive ideas, promote Marxism-Leninism, and develop party and league organizations. It became one of the important bases for the Chinese Communist Party in Shanxi during the Great Revolution period, the Agrarian Revolutionary War period, and the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. In 1924, students Liang Qichang (Liang Buwu), Wei Sigong, and Ji Xiuchuan (Ji Zizhong) successively joined the Socialist Youth League here, and the Taiyuan Local Committee of the Youth League established the Provincial National Normal School Branch of the Socialist Youth League here. In the spring of 1926, the Taiyuan Local Committee of the Chinese Communist Party founded the Provincial National Normal School Branch of the CCP here, with Bo Yibo serving as the secretary. At the same time, the Northern Committee of the Taiyuan Local Committee of the CCP was established, with Bo Yibo serving as deputy secretary and later as secretary. Xu Xiangqian, Cheng Zihua, Wang Shiying, and Li Xuefeng also studied and worked here. From 1928 to the summer of 1936, although the work of the party organization in the provincial capital had shifted to rural areas, revolutionary activities continued secretly at the National Normal School. They spread the seeds of revolution through external organizations such as the "September 18th Reading Club," "Shanxi Revolutionary Mutual Aid Society," "Shanxi Social Scientists Alliance," and "Friends of the Red Army Society." In 1934, under the direct organization and leadership of Li Xuefeng (Zhang Baifeng), the Communist Party group secretary of the "Mutual Aid Society," and Liu Yaofu, head of the "Shanxi Friends of the Red Army Society," an unprecedented anti-university examination struggle was launched across all secondary and higher schools in the city. The "Taiyuan City Association of Graduating Secondary School Students" was established, mobilizing students across the city to hold demonstrations and protests. Through this struggle, the National Normal School developed a large number of party members and league members, and many progressive youths joined the external academic groups affiliated with the party and league organizations. The Yan Xishan authorities decided that the Provincial National Normal School would no longer admit new students starting from the second half of 1934, and the school was forced to close in 1936. From the winter of 1936 to the autumn of 1937, under the direct leadership of the Shanxi Public Work Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Communists openly engaged in anti-Japanese salvation work. Relying on the Shanxi Salvation Association (abbreviated as the Sacrifice League), a government-sponsored mass organization led by Yan Xishan, they organized numerous anti-Japanese military and political training programs here, including the "Military-Political Training Class," "Civilian Training Cadre Coaching Corps," and "Sacrifice League Special Commissioner Training Class." These programs trained over 4,500 progressive young intellectuals from more than 20 provinces, cities, and overseas Chinese communities, including a female soldier company composed of more than 180 female trainees. After the full outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the "Guerrilla Cadre Training Class" was held under the auspices of the Second War Zone National Revolutionary War Field General Mobilization Committee. Leaders such as Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, Peng Xuefeng, and Tong Xiaozhou also came here to lecture on the policies and principles of resisting Japan and saving the nation. In this great revolutionary crucible, batches of progressive youths secretly joined the Communist Party and were then dispatched across the province to carry out anti-Japanese salvation work. They quickly opened up the situation for anti-Japanese salvation efforts in Shanxi, laying a solid foundation for the Chinese Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army to establish anti-Japanese bases in the region. In August 1937, the Shanxi New Army's Youth Anti-Enemy Decisive Death Corps (originally a regiment-level unit, later expanded into a brigade-level Decisive Death First Column) was established at the former site of the National Normal School, laying the foundation for the creation of the Shanxi New Army. The Shanxi New Army was nominally part of Yan Xishan’s military structure but was actually an anti-Japanese armed force organized and led by the Chinese Communist Party through the united front. The Shanxi New Army grew rapidly, soon expanding into four Decisive Death columns. By 1939, it had developed into nine division/brigade-level units and 50 regiments. After the December 1939 Incident, the Shanxi New Army was incorporated into the combat sequence of the Eighth Route Army. It is estimated that among the Sacrifice League, the Decisive Death Corps, and the Shanxi Workers' Armed Self-Defense Corps (a regiment-level unit, later expanded into the Workers' Armed Self-Defense Brigade, abbreviated as the Workers' Brigade) that originated from the National Normal School, 80 generals of the People's Republic and over 20 provincial/ministerial-level leaders emerged. In 1940, the anti-Japanese salvation song "Sacrifice League Cantata," jointly composed by Fu Dongdai, a member of the Sacrifice League, and the people's musician Xian Xinghai, artistically recreated the glorious history of the Sacrifice League.

In 1984, preparations began for the establishment of the Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall, and it officially opened to the public on September 18, 1991. The main building of the memorial hall is a two-story arcade-style structure with a front porch, cyan walls, and black pillars. The exhibits inside include the "Sacrifice League Exhibition," "Shanxi New Army Exhibition," "National Normal School Student Utensils Exhibition," "Shanxi Revolutionary Tradition Education Exhibition," and "History of the CCP Struggle in the Taiyuan Area Exhibition," showcasing over 10,000 valuable cultural documents, more than 16,000 historical photographs, and over 900 cultural relics. In 1997, the "Shanxi Youth League Establishment Monument," inscribed by Peng Zhen, was unveiled in the hall. In 2000, the nameplate of the Taiyuan Revolutionary History Exhibition Hall was added. In 2009, renovation of the Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall began, expanding the exhibition area from the original 500 square meters to 1,500 square meters.

The Former Site of Shanxi Provincial National Normal School Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall was designated as a Shanxi Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Shanxi Provincial People's Government in January 1996, recognized as a Shanxi Provincial Patriotic Education Base by the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and People's Government in March 1995, announced as a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base by the Central Propaganda Department in June 2001, and proclaimed as a Shanxi Provincial Party History Education Base by the Shanxi Provincial Party History Office of the CPC Shanxi Committee in June 2013. (Source: Shanxi Provincial Party History Office of the CPC Shanxi Committee)

Address: No. 276, Wuyi Road, Taiyuan City

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China