Site of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang

Site of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang

The Site of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Bell Tower Auditorium is located at No. 215 Wenming Road. Originally the auditorium of the National Guangdong Higher Normal School, it covers an area of over 300 square meters. This was the birthplace of the First United Front between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and also an important site where Lu Xun carried out revolutionary activities while teaching at Sun Yat-sen University in 1927.

The first floor of the Bell Tower has a small auditorium that usually goes unnoticed, covering an area of over 300 square meters. It was in this very auditorium that a significant event in the history of KMT-CPC relations took place. From January 20 to 30, 1924, with the help of the Comintern and the Chinese Communist Party, Sun Yat-sen presided over the First National Congress of the Kuomintang here, reorganizing the party and re-strategizing the national revolution.

In 1988, the site was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

During the First Revolutionary Civil War, because the square in front of the Bell Tower was adjacent to the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Guangdong-Hong Kong Strike Committee, the Guangdong Women’s Liberation Association, and the Peasant Movement Institute, it became an important venue for revolutionary activities. Revolutionary activists such as Liao Zhongkai, He Xiangning, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Lin Boqu, Chen Yannian, Deng Zhongxia, Su Zhaozheng, Peng Pai, Zhang Tailei, Yun Daiying, Liu Ersong, and Deng Yingchao conducted revolutionary work here, making it a site of great historical significance.

The platform of the congress was solemnly arranged, with the flag of the Republic of China and the flag of the Kuomintang hanging above, while the delegates’ tables were covered with white cloth, and the center of the venue displayed a banner of all nations. Attendees included KMT members such as Sun Yat-sen, Liao Zhongkai, Wang Jingwei, Hu Hanmin, Lin Sen, and Xie Chi, as well as cross-party CPC members like Li Dazhao, Lin Boqu, Mao Zedong, and others. At the meeting, Sun Yat-sen reinterpreted the Three Principles of the People, expounding on the idea of cooperation between the two parties. The Declaration of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang, which included the principles of alliance with Russia, alliance with the CPC, and support for peasants and workers, along with other resolutions, was officially passed. The Central Executive Committee and the Central Supervisory Committee of the Kuomintang were elected, both including cross-party CPC members. The convening of this congress marked the realization of the First United Front between the KMT and the CPC and the formation of a revolutionary united front against imperialism and feudalism. The cooperation between the two parties promoted the development of the labor and peasant movements and sparked a wave of anti-imperialist and anti-feudal activism.

Location: Museum, No. 215 Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), also known as Wen, courtesy name Zaizhi, art name Risun, also called Yixian, childhood name Dixiang, alias Zhongshan Qiao, often went by the name Zhongshan. Born into a farming family in Cuiheng Village, Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City), Guangdong Province. Influenced by the tradition of struggle among the people of Guangdong during his youth, he admired the revolutionary cause of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was a pioneer of China’s modern nationalist and democratic revolution, a great forerunner of China’s democratic revolution, the founder of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang, an advocate of the Three Principles of the People, and the creator of the Five-Power Constitution. He was the first to raise the banner of thorough opposition to feudalism... More details about Sun Yat-sen++

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936), originally named Zhou Zhangshou, later changed to Zhou Shuren, courtesy name Yushan, later changed to Yucan. “Lu Xun” was the pen name he used when publishing A Madman’s Diary in 1918, and it became his most widely recognized pen name. A native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. A renowned writer and thinker, an important participant in the May Fourth New Culture Movement, and a foundational figure in modern Chinese literature. Mao Zedong once commented: “The direction taken by Lu Xun is the direction of the new culture of the Chinese nation.” [1-6]

Lu Xun dedicated his life to literary creation, literary criticism, ... More details about Lu Xun++

Liao Zhongkai (1877–1925), originally named Enxu, also known as Yibai, courtesy name Zhongkai, was from Guishan (now Chenjiang Town, Huiyang District), Guangdong. Born into an overseas Chinese family in San Francisco, USA, he was a modern democratic revolutionary. He was a great patriot, a left-wing leader of the Kuomintang, and a pioneer of China’s democratic revolution.

From Ya’zi’bu Township, Yaoqian Village (now Xingfu Village, Chenjiang Subdistrict, Zhongkai High-Tech Zone, Huizhou City), a native of the famous democratic revolutionary activist in modern China, a great patriot, and a left-wing leader of the Kuomintang. His name was Enxu, courtesy name Zhong... More details about Liao Zhongkai++

He Xiangning (1878–1972), originally named Jian, also known as Ruijian, self-styled as the Mistress of Shuangqing Tower, was originally from Shentan Fort, Shen’an Department, Nanhai County (now Miancun, Hainan Village, Dongjiao Town), born in Hong Kong. Her father, He Bingyuan, was a major real estate developer in Hong Kong who supported Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary activities.

In the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign (1897), He Xiangning married Liao Zhongkai in Guangzhou. In the 28th year of Guangxu, she and Liao Zhongkai went to Japan to study. He Xiangning first attended Tokyo Nihon Joshi University, then transferred to the preparatory course of the Women’s Normal School. In the 34th year of Guangxu, she switched to Tohjo Women’s Art School, where... More details about He Xiangning++

Wang Jingwei (1883–1944), courtesy name Zhaoming, art name Jingwei, was from Panyu, Guangdong. Born in Sanshui, Guangdong, with ancestral roots in Wuyuan, Anhui (now part of Jiangxi), he later moved to Shanyin, Zhejiang (now Shaoxing). Chen Bijun, female, originally from Xinhui, Guangdong, was born into a wealthy overseas Chinese family in Malaya.

In the 29th year of the Guangxu reign (1903), Wang passed the imperial examination for a government-funded trip to Japan to study law and politics, enrolling at Tokyo Law School. In the 31st year of Guangxu, he joined the Tongmenghui and served as the head of its Deliberative Council. That November, he became the editor-in-chief of the Min Bao newspaper. In the 32nd year of Guangxu (1906),... More details about Wang Jingwei++

Longteng Community: Longteng Community... More details about Longteng Community++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units