"Tu" Character Tablet

　　The "Tu" Character Tablet is located on the China–Russia border in Fangchuan. It was re-erected in 1886 during the Sino-Russian boundary re-survey of the eastern part of Hunchun. Originally, Hunchun...

　　In 1860, taking advantage of the Opium War launched by the British and French allied forces, Tsarist Russia forced the Qing government to sign the unequal Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty, annexing a vast area east of the Ussuri River. Over two-thirds of the territory under Hunchun's jurisdiction was ceded, causing Hunchun to lose its coastal lands and begin bordering Russia, thus establishing a shared borderline. Hunchun completely lost its seaport and became a "landlocked place overlooking the sea."

　　In 1861, the Qing court dispatched Cheng Qi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Granary, as an imperial envoy, together with Jilin General Jing Chun, to represent the Qing side in boundary negotiations with Russian plenipotentiary Kozakevich and deputy representative Budogoski at Lake Khanka. Both parties signed and exchanged the "Sino-Russian Record of the Boundary from the Ussuri River to the Sea," which was entirely drafted by the Russian side. This Record stipulated the erection of eight boundary tablets—“Ye,” “Yi,” “Ka,” “La,” “Na,” “Wo,” “Pa,” and “Tu”—from the mouth of the Tumen River to the mouth of the Ussuri River. The “Tu” Tablet was originally to be placed 20 li (approximately 10 km) from the mouth of the Tumen River. However, due to the incompetence and irresponsibility of the Qing representatives, the insatiable Russians treacherously moved the "Tu" Tablet to a location 46 li away from the Tumen River mouth.

　　The Russians were not satisfied with their greed and continuously engaged in underhanded tactics such as “secretly shifting the boundary” and “transporting boundary markers by horse.” Later, the Russians openly established outposts and military camps at Heidingzi, occupying a vast riverside area north of Shacaofeng. Faced with Russia’s continuous encroachment on Chinese territory, the Qing court sent Wu Dacheng in 1885... Along with Zhan Shichun, they conducted direct negotiations with the Russians. In July 1886, the Sino-Russian Hunchun Eastern Border Agreement was signed. Thanks to Wu Dacheng's efforts, not only was the second tablet recovered, but the boundary line was also clarified, moving the "Tu" Tablet from its previous location 46 li away to a new position 20 li from the mouth of the Tumen River in Chaoxian Village. This restored China’s access to the Sea of Japan. The "Tu" Character Tablet is 1.44 meters tall, 0.5 meters wide, and 0.22 meters thick, made of granite. The Chinese side bears three large characters reading “Tu Character Tablet,” with eight smaller characters on the left reading “Erected in the 12th Year of Guangxu, 4th Month.” The Russian side features the letter “T.” The tablet is intact, with clear inscriptions.

　　In 1960, to protect this historically significant and intact territorial marker from being washed away by the river, the Chinese government constructed a riverside embankment varying in height from 6 to 8 meters and stretching 1,860 meters in length. Currently, during the Sino-Russian border re-demarcation, new boundary markers were erected. The "Tu" Character Tablet is no longer a border marker between the two countries but is now a national first-class cultural relic, as well as a provincial-level base for patriotic education and national defense education. The newly established boundary marker is No. 423.