Former Site of the Communist Party Activities at Zhepi South China Primary School

Former Site of the Communist Party Activities at Zhepi South China Primary School

The former site of the Communist Party activities at Zhepi South China Primary School is a classic red tourism attraction and a patriotic education base.

The former site of the Communist Party activities at Zhepi South China Primary School is located in the ancestral hall of the Fourth Generation Ancestors of the Wu Clan in Zhepi Village, approximately 8 kilometers southeast of Zhongxin Town, Zhenyuan County, Lianping. The ancestral hall was built in 1930, and in 1931, the South China Primary School was established here (the school has since been relocated, but the building remains the Wu Clan ancestral hall).

In the spring of 1941, underground Chinese Communist Party member Zhong Ming (from Wuhua County) came to teach at the school and used it as a base to carry out revolutionary activities. In 1943, Communist Party member Deng Ji (from Wuhua County) arrived at the South China Primary School to take over Zhong Ming’s work. Under the guise of teaching, Deng Ji engaged in underground activities. After establishing contact with the underground party organizations in Zhongxin and Dahu, he focused on two main aspects of anti-Japanese salvation education in Zhepi. First, he organized literacy night schools for farmers and youth salvation reading groups. Through the night schools, Deng Ji identified and approached progressive individuals, used cultural education to promote dialectical materialism and atheism, and also spread anti-Japanese salvation messages. Building on this, Deng Ji identified a group of progressive students and organized them into a Youth Salvation Reading Group, where he shared stories about guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines and educated them about revolution and their future. Second, leveraging good relations with local enlightened landlords, he countered the arrogance of reactionary landlords. Along with other progressive teachers, Deng Ji organized singing troupes and lion dance teams to perform educational shows across Zhongxin, embedding revolutionary messages within the performances to subtly disseminate revolutionary ideas. Through these various progressive activities, he influenced the enlightened landlord Wu Xiuchun, who came to support the revolution ideologically and actively, and helped suppress the arrogance of reactionary landlords such as Wu Qingyun and Wu Xiwen.

Influenced by Communists like Zhong Ming and Deng Ji, the South China Primary School became a stronghold of the revolution. During the Anti-Japanese War and the Liberation War, the underground party organization within the school made significant contributions by transmitting intelligence for the Party, protecting leaders, and sending young people to join the army and revolutionary forces.

Renovations were carried out in the second half of 2010. In May 2011, the Lianping County Committee and County Government erected a memorial stele to protect the site. In June 2011, it was designated as a patriotic education base by the Heyuan Municipal Committee and Municipal Government.

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