Site of the Three Battles of Xiaobian

Site of the Three Battles of Xiaobian

The Site of the Three Battles of Xiaobian is a cultural relic protection unit of Dongguan City.

The Site of the Three Battles of Xiaobian is located at the Fubo General Temple on the mountainside of General Mountain in Xiaobian Community, Chang’an Town. GPS coordinates: 22°48'16.3"N, 113°48'29.3"E, elevation 22 meters.

The site was built during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (around 1680), and was renovated in the 60th year of Qianlong (1795), the 2nd year of Xianfeng (1852), the 5th year of Guangxu (1879), the 35th year of the Republic of China (1946), and 1987. The temple enshrines Lu Bode, a great general of the Western Han Dynasty, and Ma Yuan, a great general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, from which it derives its name.

Xiaobian is located at the border between Dongguan and Bao’an, serving as a key transportation route along the Bao (an)–Tai (ping) Line. With the strategically elevated and precipitous terrain of General Mountain, it became a military stronghold contested by both enemy and friendly forces during the War of Resistance against Japan. The Japanese puppet troops used the Fubo General Temple on the mountainside of General Mountain as a stronghold and constructed solid defensive fortifications. This stronghold not only seriously threatened the security of the Daling Mountain Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Base, but also acted like a wedge on the Bao–Tai Line, severely hindering communication between the Daling Mountain and Yangtai Mountain guerrilla bases. As a result, the Dongjiang Column of the Guangdong People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force was determined to eliminate the Japanese puppet forces stationed at General Mountain.

In February 1944, the main force of the Dongjiang Column—the Fifth Battalion—was ordered to attack General Mountain, with Huang Hui’s squadron carrying out the primary assault. In the early hours of February 13, after 30 minutes of fierce fighting, they completely annihilated one heavy machine-gun company of the 119th Regiment of the 30th Puppet Division, capturing two heavy machine guns, one light machine gun, and over 40 rifles, killing or wounding 10 enemies, and capturing more than 30. For this battle, the local CPC organization in Chang’an mobilized over 150 militiamen to assist in combat. On June 5 of the same year, the Fifth Battalion of the Dongjiang Column and the Bao’an Battalion, together with militiamen, attacked a battalion of the 88th Regiment of the 30th Puppet Division stationed in Xiaobian, killing 8 enemies and wounding 7. The Fifth Battalion lost its squadron leader Huang Hui and 15 other soldiers, with 11 wounded. On October 25 of the same year, the First Detachment of the main force of the Dongjiang Column attacked Xiaobian, capturing 15 puppet troops, recapturing Xiaobian, and repelling attacks by the puppet troops under Mai Hao and part of the 45th Puppet Division. The Dongjiang Column achieved victory in all three assaults on General Mountain.

The core structure of the Site of the Three Battles of Xiaobian, the Fubo General Temple, was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Dongguan City in January 2004.