Former Site of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association in Tan Yong

Former Site of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association in Tan Yong

The Former Site of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association in Tan Yong is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Former Site of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association in Tan Yong is located in Tan Dong Village, Tanxi Town, and is a key cultural relic protection unit of Lufeng City. Qixiang Dian refers to seven natural villages: Xialu, Zhulu, Xinxiang, Ximen, Yueshan, Houshan, and Longweiwei. At that time, these natural villages were called "xiang" (townships), hence the name.

Comrade Peng Pai was one of the early leaders of the Communist Party of China, a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and a leader of the peasant revolutionary movement. He studied in Japan in his early years, where he embraced advanced ideas and joined the Communist Party of China. After returning to his hometown, he led peasants in Haifeng and Lufeng in carrying out land revolution, using revolutionary armed forces to resist the rule of the Kuomintang, and establishing a Soviet regime where working people were in charge, making Haifeng and Lufeng one of the earliest thirteen revolutionary bases in China’s rural areas to establish a Soviet government. In June 1923, Peng Pai, Lin Su, Yu Chuangzhi, and others went to Qixiang in Xialu, Lufeng, to carry out farmers’ association activities. In November, the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association was established in Xialu. This association was the first farmers' association in the rural areas of Lufeng and an important component of the Haifeng-Lufeng Soviet regime and the peasant revolutionary armed forces. Comrade Peng Pai personally visited the association many times to lead the peasant movement.

The vigorous revolutionary struggle of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association against warlords, local tyrants, and landlord classes resonated strongly across the country, echoing the national revolutionary movement. Comrade Zhou Enlai, while giving a situation report based on the farmers' movement at the time, pointed out: “The resistance movement of millions of peasants in Haifeng and Lufeng... has caused panic among the landlords. Peasants are a massive force, and Chinese peasants are the only group that can join the revolutionary front in the near future.” At the time, Comrade Zhou Enlai was engaged in revolutionary activities in Guangdong and had also been to Haifeng and Lufeng, gaining an in-depth understanding of the peasant movement there. During the First Revolutionary Civil War, Comrade Zhou Enlai commanded the National Revolutionary Eastern Expeditionary Army, driving out the warlord armed forces. The armed forces of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association responded actively and cooperated fully. Meanwhile, the association continued to grow, with 90% of the peasants joining, and the armed organization expanded. Lin Fozhu, Lin Yaqing, Lin Jinglu, Lin Yazan, and others were elected as heads of the association, unifying to form the Peasant Self-Defense Army. They put forward the political slogan “All power to the Farmers' Association,” and peasants who had suffered oppression and exploitation by landlord forces for generations finally held their heads high.

In April 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the “April 12 Counterrevolutionary Coup,” and the revolutionary situation became critical. Following instructions from higher authorities, the Lufeng County Committee of the Communist Party of China dispatched Lin Tiehu and others to rally the masses in Qixiang, using the farmers' association as the core to defend the fruits of the revolution with armed struggle, forming a farmers' army squadron. Under the leadership of the Lufeng County Committee, Deputy Squadron Leaders Lin Ruan and Lin Yuqin led the farmers' army squadron in three armed uprisings to defend the revolutionary regime. After the failure of the Great Revolution, the Kuomintang reactionary forces implemented the “Three Alls” policy (kill all, burn all, loot all), and the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association suffered brutal retaliation from the reactionary forces. Many Communists and revolutionary masses either shed blood and sacrificed their lives or were forced to flee their homes. Their houses were burned down, and their belongings were looted. A climate of terror hung over the seven villages, and the struggle was extremely harsh, causing the revolution to enter a low tide, with the farmers' association shifting to underground activities. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the people of Qixiang, under the leadership of the Communist Party, restored and rebuilt the farmers' association. By 1947, during the Liberation War period, the villagers confiscated weapons from landlords and requisitioned their grain to support the People's Liberation Army fighting on the front lines until the liberation of the entire country.

From 1923 to the nationwide liberation in 1949, the people of Qixiang Dian, under the leadership of the Communist Party, engaged in over twenty years of indomitable and heroic struggle. They ignited the spark of armed seizure of power and peasants’ liberation, which eventually merged with the nationwide struggle to achieve victory in establishing proletarian governance. The struggle history of the Qixiang Dian Farmers' Association is a microcosm of the revolutionary battles led by our Party and the Chinese people to overthrow feudal landlords, Kuomintang reactionary forces, and foreign invaders.

Preserved at the site of the former farmers' association are precious revolutionary relics such as sickles and association flags used by its members; inscriptions by Comrades Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, portraits of Peng Pai and martyrs of the Qixiang Dian revolution; as well as souvenir signatures from international students who visited the site in 1989 and 1992.