In the long history of the Chinese revolution, there was such a revolutionary pioneer, who was born into a landlord family, but resolutely threw himself into the peasant movement and became one of the famous "peasant kings" in the early days of our party. He founded China's first county-level peasant association, led the establishment of the Hailufeng Soviet power, and made great contributions to the cause of the Chinese revolution. However, just when the revolutionary cause was flourishing, a sudden betrayal pushed him to the abyss of sacrifice. The family of this revolutionary martyr is full of heroes and martyrs, who have succeeded one after another for the cause of the Chinese revolution. Who is he? What important moments did he experience in his revolutionary career? And how was he betrayed? What kind of touching revolutionary story does his family have?
Peng Pai's early life and revolutionary path
In 1896, Peng Pai was born in Haifeng County, Guangdong, into a prominent family of large landowners. According to Peng Pai's own account, there were no less than 1,500 men, women, and children under his family's control, and his own family had only about 30 people, with an average of 50 peasants serving him. This huge gap between the rich and the poor has planted a question about social injustice in Peng Pai's heart since he was a child.
Peng Pai's hometown, Haifeng County, was subordinate to Huizhou Prefecture in Guangdong Province at that time, and was one of the areas with sharp social contradictions in modern Guangdong. This is the hometown of the warlord Chen Jiongming, and because of his appointment of private individuals, the local "county magistrates are like dogs, and the commanders are all over the streets". The gentry are rampant and lawless, and the phenomenon of preying on the common people is very common. Growing up in such an environment, Peng Pai witnessed the great polarization of society and felt deeply unfair.
In order to seek the truth of saving the country and the people, Peng Pai went to middle school in Haifeng County and Guangzhou. In the process, he was exposed to more social realities and began to think about how to change the situation. In 1917, Peng Pai went to Japan and entered the Department of Political Science and Economics of Waseda University. During his studies in Japan, Peng Pai was exposed to a wide range of ideological trends, especially Marxist theory, which laid the ideological foundation for his future revolutionary path.
In 1921, Peng Pai returned to China after completing his studies. Soon after returning to China, he joined the Socialist Youth League in Guangzhou and began his revolutionary career. In the same year, Peng Pai returned to his hometown of Haifeng and was appointed by the Kuomintang government as the director of education. However, Peng Pai was not satisfied. As soon as he took office, he organized the students of the county town to hold high the red flag and hold a May Day parade. This move shocked the gentry of SITC, and the county government immediately removed him from his post.
The loss of his official position did not discourage Peng Pai, but strengthened his determination to revolutionize. He found that although the march he had organized was vigorous, the poor peasants did not react much, and they simply regarded it as a lively event for "foreign students". This made Peng Pai realize that in order to truly change society, it was necessary to go deep into the grassroots peasants.
From then on, Peng Pai began his path of peasant movement. He often went to the countryside, went to the fields, and interacted with the farmers face to face. In the process, Peng Pai not only learned about the real living conditions of the farmers, but also gradually won the trust of the farmers. In July 1922, Peng Pai and Zhang Ma'an and other six people established the first peasant association in Hailufeng, which became an important starting point for the Chinese peasant movement.
In 1923, Peng Pai's revolutionary career ushered in an important turning point. At the beginning of this year, he organized the first county general peasant association in the history of the Chinese revolution in Haifeng and served as its president. In the same year, Peng Pai joined the Communist Party of China and began his revolutionary career as a member of the Communist Party. Soon after, he served as the head of the Peasants Department of the Kuomintang Guangdong Provincial Party Department (at that time during the first period of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party), and successively established the Huizhou Peasant Federation and the Guangdong Provincial Peasant Association.
This early experience of Peng Pai fully demonstrates his transformation from a rich boy to a revolutionary pioneer. He gave up his affluent life to devote himself to the revolutionary cause, a choice that undoubtedly required great courage and determination. Peng Pai's experience also proves that the key to true revolutionaries regardless of class origin lies in whether they can recognize social reality and fight for it.
Peng Pai's contribution to the peasant movement
Peng Pai's contribution to the peasant movement was enormous and far-reaching. In July 1922, Peng Pai, Zhang Ma'an and six others established the first peasant association in Hailufeng, which was his first important milestone in the peasant movement. Although this peasant association was small in size, it ignited the fire of the peasant movement in China and laid the foundation for a larger peasant organization that would follow.
With the establishment of the peasant association, Peng Pai began to go deep into the countryside to propagate revolutionary ideas to the peasants. He used an easy-to-understand method to explain to the peasants the land issue, the tenant-tenant relationship, and other issues of vital interests. Peng Pai's propaganda work has achieved remarkable results, and more and more farmers have begun to wake up to the importance of uniting to fight for their rights.
At the beginning of 1923, Peng Pai organized the first county general peasant association in the history of the Chinese revolution in Haifeng and served as its president. The establishment of this county general peasant association marked the beginning of the development of the peasant movement from scattered village-level organizations to higher-level and larger-scale county-level organizations. The establishment of the county general peasant associations has greatly strengthened the organizational strength of the peasants and enabled the peasant movement to be carried out more effectively.
Under the leadership of the county general peasant association, the peasant movement in SITC flourished. The peasant associations organized the peasants to resist rent and taxes, and to oppose the oppression of the landlords and the government. These struggles not only improved the living conditions of the peasants, but also raised their political consciousness. Peng Pai personally participated in and directed these struggles, and his name soon became a household name in rural Haifeng.
In April 1924, Peng Pai went to Guangzhou to lead the peasant movement and founded the Peasant Movement Training Institute. This training center is an important base for the Communist Party of China to train the backbone of the peasant movement. Peng Pai served as the director of the first and fifth agricultural lecture institutes, and was also the backbone teacher of the agricultural lecture institute. In the training center, Peng Pai systematized his practical experience in Hailufeng, compiled it into teaching materials, and trained a large number of backbone members of the peasant movement.
After completing their studies, the students of the agricultural lecture center returned to various places and became leaders of the local peasant movement. These students spread Peng Pai's ideas and experiences throughout the country, greatly promoting the development of the peasant movement across the country. It can be said that the peasant lecture center has become the "Whampoa Military Academy" of the Chinese peasant movement.
In 1925, Peng Pai launched the first peasant uprising in Hailufeng against the rule of the warlord Chen Jiongming. Although the scale of this uprising was small, it was the first organized armed peasant uprising under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and it was of great historical significance. Although the uprising ultimately failed, Peng Pai and the peasants were not defeated. They established a peasant self-defense army in the area, which accumulated experience for later armed struggles on a larger scale.
Peng Pai's contribution to the peasant movement was not only reflected in practice, but also in theory. In 1926, Peng Pai's Report on the Haifeng Peasant Movement was published. This was the first monograph on the peasant movement in the history of the Communist Party of China, and it had a wide impact at the time. This book systematically summarizes the experience of the SITC peasant movement and provides a valuable reference for the peasant movement in other regions.
In the Report on the Haifeng Peasant Movement, Peng Pai described in detail the living conditions of the Haifeng farmers, the organizational methods of the peasant associations, and the tactics of the peasants' struggle. In particular, he stressed that the peasant movement must be integrated with the workers' movement and must be carried out under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. These ideas had a profound impact on the development of the Chinese revolution later.
Peng Pai's contribution to the peasant movement was not limited to the Hailufeng area. During his tenure as the head of the Guangdong Provincial Party Department of the Kuomintang, he successively established the Huizhou Peasant Federation and the Guangdong Provincial Peasant Association to spread the flame of the peasant movement to a wider area. The establishment of these organizations laid the foundation for the development of the peasant movement in Guangdong and even in the whole country.
Peng Pai's practice of the peasant movement provided an important reference for the Communist Party of China to understand and solve the peasant problem. His experience was highly valued by the CPC Central Committee and became an important basis for formulating rural policies. It can be said that Peng Pai was the pioneer and leader of the peasant movement in the early days of the Communist Party of China, and his contribution played an irreplaceable role in the victory of the Chinese revolution.
Peng Pai's important position in the party
Peng Pai's gradual rise in status within the Chinese Communist Party was inseparable from his outstanding contributions to the peasant movement. In January 1925, at the Fourth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Peng Pai was elected as a member of the Central Committee. This marked the Party Central Committee's affirmation of Peng Pai's work, and also meant that he began to exert greater influence throughout the country.
In August 1927, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened the "87 Conference". The meeting elected the Provisional Political Bureau of the Central Committee headed by Qu Qiubai, and Peng Pai was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. This was an important turning point in Peng's political career. As a member of the Politburo, Peng Pai participated in the party's major decision-making and had a direct impact on the formulation of the party's line, principles and policies.
During his tenure as a member of the Politburo, Peng Pai actively participated in the planning and organization of the Nanchang Uprising. On August 1, 1927, the Nanchang Uprising broke out. This uprising was the beginning of the armed struggle independently led by the Communist Party of China and opened the prelude to the armed resistance of the Communist Party of China against the Kuomintang reactionaries. As an important participant in the uprising, Peng Pai made an important contribution to the success of the uprising.
After the Nanchang Uprising, Peng Pai was ordered to return to Guangdong and continue to lead the peasant movement. In September 1927, Peng Pai launched the famous "Hailufeng Uprising" in his hometown of Hailufeng. This uprising succeeded in establishing the Hailufeng Soviet Government, the first county-level Soviet power in China. Peng Pai became chairman of the Hailufeng Soviet Government and began his leadership in the Red Regime.
The establishment of the Hailufeng Soviet Government was the culmination of Peng Pai's practice in the peasant movement over the years. In this red regime, Peng Pai led a series of revolutionary measures: confiscation of landlords' land and distribution to the peasants, abolition of exorbitant taxes, establishment of workers' and peasants' armies, and development of educational and cultural undertakings. These measures greatly improved the livelihood of the local peasants and provided valuable experience for the later construction of the Central Soviet District.
From June to July 1928, the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Moscow. Peng Pai attended the meeting as a member of the Guangdong delegation. At the meeting, Peng Pai was re-elected as a member of the Central Committee and a member of the Politburo. The congress established the general line of agrarian revolution and armed struggle, and Peng Pai's practical experience in Hailufeng provided an important reference for the formulation of this line.
After returning to China, Peng Pai was appointed secretary of the Central Agricultural Committee of the Communist Party of China. This appointment fully reflects the Party Central Committee's affirmation of Peng Pai's experience and contributions to the peasant movement. As secretary of the Agricultural Committee, Peng Pai was responsible for guiding the work of the peasant movement throughout the country, and he extended his experience in Hailufeng to the whole country, promoting the in-depth development of the agrarian revolution.
During his tenure as secretary of the Agricultural Committee, Peng Pai wrote extensively about the peasant movement and the agrarian revolution. These articles systematically summarized the experience of the peasant movement, analyzed the class relations in the countryside, and put forward specific strategies for carrying out the agrarian revolution. These articles not only guided the practice at that time, but also became an important theoretical resource for the rural work of the Communist Party of China.
In November 1928, Peng Pai participated in leading the Canton Uprising. Although the uprising failed, it had a major political impact, shocked the Kuomintang reactionaries, and boosted the revolutionary fighting spirit of the people throughout the country. After the failure of the uprising, Peng Pai moved to Shanghai and continued to engage in underground revolutionary work.
While in Shanghai, Peng Pai continued to guide the peasant movement. He went deep into the rural areas on many occasions to conduct investigations and studies, and provided first-hand information for the party Central Committee in formulating rural policies. At the same time, he also took an active part in other party work, such as guiding the workers' movement and the youth student movement, showing all-round leadership.
Peng Pai's important position in the party is not only reflected in his position, but also in his influence on the party's line, principles and policies. His practical experience and theoretical thinking have provided an important reference for the formulation of the party's rural policy. It can be said that Peng Pai was one of the early leaders of the Communist Party of China who had the most research and the most right to speak on rural issues.
Peng Pai's sacrifice
Peng Pai's sacrifice is a great loss in the history of the Communist Party of China and a tragic moment in the process of the Chinese revolution. On August 24, 1929, Peng Pai was unfortunately arrested while working underground in Shanghai. This arrest stemmed from an unexpected coincidence.
At that time, Peng Pai was discussing work with his comrades in a teahouse in Shanghai. It so happened that Kuomintang agents conducted routine inspections in the vicinity. A spy accidentally recognized Peng Pai's face. Although Peng Pai was disguised, his unique facial features were still recognized by the spies. The agent immediately reported to his superiors, and a large-scale arrest operation ensued.
Realizing that the situation was not good, Peng Pai immediately dispersed with his comrades and fled. He runs through the streets of Shanghai, trying to shake off the pursuing agents. In the process of escaping, Peng Pai managed to destroy the important documents on his body to prevent the secrets from falling into the hands of the enemy. However, due to his unfamiliarity with the streets of Shanghai, Peng Pai was eventually surrounded and captured.
After his arrest, Peng Pai was escorted to Longhua Prison. While in prison, the enemy tortured Peng Pai in an attempt to obtain information about the party organization from him. However, in the face of torture, Peng Pai remained silent and did not reveal any information about the organization. His unyielding steadfastness both annoyed and surprised his enemies.
During his time in prison, Peng Pai did not give up the revolution. He took advantage of every possible opportunity to make secret contacts with other Communist Party members in prison to discuss the revolutionary situation and exchange ideas. He also managed to pass on some of his thoughts and suggestions and continue to contribute to the party's work.
News of Peng's arrest soon reached the Party Central Committee. The central government immediately took action to try to rescue Peng Pai. They used all sorts of connections and even tried to bribe prison officials, but to no avail. The Kuomintang authorities were well aware of Peng Pai's importance and kept an extremely close watch over him.
While in prison, Peng Pai met many former comrades and comrades-in-arms. They encouraged each other, supported each other, and maintained their revolutionary beliefs in difficult circumstances. Peng Pai also took care of and helped other imprisoned comrades as much as possible, showing the noble character of a Communist Party member.
On August 30, 1929, six days after his arrest, the Kuomintang authorities made the decision to execute Peng Pai. Fearing that Peng Pai would escape or be rescued, they decided to execute him quickly. In the afternoon of the same day, Peng Pai was escorted to the Longhua Execution Ground in Shanghai.
On the way to the execution ground, Peng Pai remained calm. He knew he was about to die, but his faith did not waver in the slightest. According to eyewitness accounts, Peng Pai walked to the execution ground with firm steps and a calm expression, showing the courage of a revolutionary in the face of death.
On the execution ground, Peng Pai shouted "Long live the Communist Party of China!" "The Chinese Revolution Will Win!" and other slogans. His shouts shook everyone present, including the soldiers who carried out the execution. Peng Pai's last moments became the last witness of his revolutionary career.
Peng Pai was only 33 years old when he died. His sacrifice was not only the end of his personal life, but also the loss of an outstanding leader and an important organizer of the peasant movement for the Chinese Communist Party. Peng Pai's sacrifice caused strong repercussions inside and outside the party. Many comrades have expressed their desire to carry forward Peng Pai's legacy and carry out the revolutionary cause to the end.
After Peng Pai's death, the Party Central Committee published a memorial article and spoke highly of his revolutionary contributions. The article pointed out that Peng Pai was a pioneer of the Chinese peasant movement and an outstanding leader of the Communist Party of China, and his sacrifice was a great loss to the party and the revolution.
Peng Pai's sacrifice also inspired more people to join the revolution. In Hailufeng, after learning the news of Peng Pai's death, local farmers spontaneously organized mourning activities. Many young people were inspired by Peng Pai's deeds and joined the revolutionary ranks. Peng Pai's name became a spiritual force that inspired people to continue the revolutionary struggle.
Peng Pai's Historical Contributions and Influence
Peng Pai's historical contributions and influence are far-reaching and extensive, not only reflected in the revolutionary practice during his lifetime, but also continued to ferment in the decades after his death, becoming an indelible mark in the history of the Chinese revolution.
First of all, Peng Pai's contribution to the peasant movement was the most prominent. The SITC Farmers' Association, which he founded, was the first county-level farmers' association in China and set an example for the national peasant movement. In 1922, Peng Pai returned to his hometown of Haifeng and began to organize farmers. He adopted a series of innovative methods, such as holding peasant night schools, organizing peasant rally, and publishing peasant newspapers, which effectively raised the consciousness of the peasants and aroused their enthusiasm for participating in the revolution.
Peng Pai's practice in Haifeng provided valuable experience for the peasant movement across the country. In 1926, Mao Zedong repeatedly mentioned Peng Pai's work in the "Report on the Investigation of the Hunan Peasant Movement" and praised the Haifeng Peasant Movement as "the forerunner of the national peasant movement". This fully illustrates the exemplary significance of Peng Pai's work.
Secondly, Peng Pai also made important contributions to theory. The Haifeng Peasant Movement is one of the earliest theoretical works of the peasant movement of the Communist Party of China, which systematically summarizes the experience of the peasant movement, analyzes the class relations in the countryside, and puts forward specific strategies for carrying out the agrarian revolution. This work not only guided the practice at that time, but also became an important theoretical resource for the rural work of the Communist Party of China.
Peng Pai also put forward the revolutionary idea of "the countryside surrounding the city". Although this idea was later systematized by Mao Zedong and became the guiding principle of the Chinese revolution, Peng Pai's initial conception undoubtedly laid the foundation for it. This shows that Peng Pai is not only a practitioner, but also a forward-thinking theorist.
In terms of organizational construction, Peng Pai's contribution is also worth paying attention to. The establishment of the Hailufeng Soviet Government was the first county-level Soviet power in China, and provided valuable experience for the later construction of the Central Soviet District. A series of revolutionary measures implemented by Peng Pai in this red regime, such as confiscating landlords' land and distributing it to peasants, abolishing exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and building up workers' and peasants' armed forces, all became important references for the later construction of revolutionary base areas.
Peng's sacrifice itself had far-reaching consequences. His steadfastness in prison and on the execution ground inspired countless revolutionaries. Many people were inspired by Peng Pai's deeds and joined the revolutionary ranks. Peng Pai's name became a spiritual force that inspired people to continue the revolutionary struggle.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Peng Pai's deeds were widely publicized. In 1950, the Guangdong Provincial People's Government renamed Haifeng County Lufeng City to commemorate Peng Pai. In 1979, Peng Pai's hometown of Haifeng County established the Peng Pai Memorial Hall, which became a patriotic education base. These measures enabled Peng Pai's revolutionary spirit to be inherited.
Peng Pai also had an important influence on the organizational construction of the Communist Party of China. The party organization he established in Hailufeng became one of the earliest county-level party organizations in Guangdong and even in the whole country. His experience in organizational development and cadre training provided an important reference for the party's early organizational construction.
In the international communist movement, Peng Pai also had a certain influence. The Hailufeng Uprising, which he participated in organizing, was one of the few armed peasant uprisings in the world led by the Communist Party, which attracted the attention of the international communist movement. Peng's experience has been translated into other countries, providing reference for the world peasant movement.
Peng Pai's thought and practice had a profound impact on the exploration of China's revolutionary road. He emphasized the importance of the rural revolution and advocated relying on the power of the peasants, and these ideas provided important inspiration for the formation of Mao Zedong's strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside. It can be said that Peng Pai's practice was an important turning point for the Communist Party of China (CPC) from the cities to the countryside.
In the field of culture, Peng Pai's influence cannot be ignored. His revolutionary deeds have become the basis for many literary and artistic works. For example, the famous writer Ouyang Shan's novel "Three Family Alleys" is based on Peng Pai and depicts the revolutionary struggle in rural Guangdong in the 20s of the 20th century. These works further amplified Peng's influence and allowed his spirit to be disseminated more widely.