Dequ Book House

Dequ Book House

Dequ Book House is a classic red tourism attraction.

Dequ Book House is a shining pearl on the land of revolution, located in Haicheng County at Qiao-, east of Peng Pai’s former residence. It faces south with a northern orientation, overlooking the beautiful and clear Longjin River. The structure spans three bays, each 12 meters wide, and extends 8 meters deep, featuring traditional fireproof gables. Beside it stands a tall and robust Hongjin tree, adding a majestic and elegant atmosphere to the site.

The reason Dequ Book House became a revolutionary landmark is its close connection to Peng Pai’s revolutionary activities. In the vibrant spring of 1921, Peng Pai returned to China after graduating from the Economics Department of Waseda University in Japan. In the same year, amid the fragrance of osmanthus and chrysanthemums, he took up the post of Director of Education in Haifeng County. However, on May 5 of the following year, he was dismissed on the charge of being a “failure.” This made him realize that mobilizing the masses to rise up in struggle was the correct path for revolution. Consequently, he began promoting and mobilizing the peasant movement and moved into Dequ Study Room with his wife, Su Ping. Peng Pai’s first experimental rural propaganda campaign started right here in the Dequ Study Room. At that time, although Cai Su Ping did not fully understand the revolutionary ideas Peng Pai was explaining, she was moved by his passion for the cause and happily took on the role of propaganda subject. The couple practiced question-and-answer drills until the rooster crowed three times.

During Peng Pai’s first propaganda trip from Dequ Study Room to the countryside, he was mistaken for a rent collector because he wore a white straw hat and sports shoes, causing villagers to avoid and keep their distance. Later, he borrowed a set of coarse traditional Chinese clothes from an elderly farmhand and composed revolutionary ballads such as “The Farmhand Scolds the Landlord,” drawing inspiration from Haifeng’s folk song form known as “Shunkouliu.” These ballads quickly became widely known, sung by both young and old. He also set up a gramophone under the large banyan tree by the river in front of Tianfei Temple on Longshan Mountain, east of Dequ Study Room, to attract crowds and spread revolutionary ideas. Peng Pai’s propaganda efforts proved highly effective, eventually igniting the spark of revolution in Dequ Study Room. Then, on a night in July when cicadas were chirping—July 29—Peng Pai, Zhang Ma’an, Lin Pei, Lin Huan, Li Laosi, and Li Sixian established the country’s first peasant association—the Six-Person Peasant Association—marking the official birth of a new type of farmers’ organization. Within Dequ Study House, Peng Pai wrote a glorious chapter in the history of China’s peasant movement.

Peng Pai also composed some majestic classical poems at Dequ Study House. Among them are two seven-character quatrains. One reads: “A noble and extraordinary talent sings the great wind; / By the shallow Longjin waters, a hidden dragon stirs. / May all the sufferings of the people vanish, / And all enter the days of Yao and Shun’s bright rule.” The other goes: “A bold genius unfolds might over China; / Worldly fame and glory are nothing to boast. / When wild weeds are cleared in years to come, / The land shall bloom with flowers of freedom.”