Xu Baoye, the "revolutionary flame leader" who walked out of Chenghai, fought bravely for the communist cause, and his family did not know his identity until 50 years after his sacrifice
Dr. Liuyang devoted himself to the revolution and sacrificed his life for the country, and his soul will live forever
Xu Baoye Martyrs Cemetery is verdant with pine and cypress, green grass
Statue of the martyr Xu Baoye
Comrades from the Nanjing Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery Administration and the Party History Research Office of the Shantou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China found the letter in the former residence of the martyr Xu Baoye
Xu Baoye's letter to his parents
Martyr Xu Baoye
A reply from Wuping County, Fujian Province to Ye Yanping
Xu Baoye's poem "I Want" (excerpt) (file photo)
Reporter Chen Wenlan and Su Shuoyuan took a photo report
Editor's note
A series of special reports jointly launched by the Party History Research Office of the Shantou Municipal CPC Committee and Shantou Media Group -- "Memories that cannot be forgotten · for the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China" will be published in Shantou Daily today. This feature will revisit the story of the Chaoshan martyrs, continue the red gene, let the spirit of the revolutionary martyrs be passed on from generation to generation, and present the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Thank you for your attention.
The sky is high and the clouds are light, and the autumn breeze is cool. Located in the north of Guanshan Community, Chenghai District, Xu Baoye Martyrs Cemetery is verdant with pine and cypress and green grass.
"Every holiday, parents bring their children here to listen to heroic stories." The community workers said emotionally that although so much time has passed, everyone has not forgotten the martyr Xu Baoye who sacrificed for the revolutionary cause, and the red cultural gene has been passed down from generation to generation.
Recently, with the help of relevant comrades of the Party History Research Office of the Municipal Party Committee, the reporter learned in detail about the story behind this revolutionary martyr and felt his ordinary and great life.
Go to the ocean in search of new knowledge
In the list of many martyrs in Yuhuatai, Xu Baoye's name is prominent, and he is known as the "revolutionary flame leader". Xu Baoye's original name was Xu Hongzao, his milk name was Xu Jinhai, and he used to be known as Xu Baoru, Bole, Bao, Baoxia, Baoer, Lao Liu, and was a native of Guanlong Township, Chenghai, Guangdong Province (now Guanshan Community).
In May 1900, Xu Baoye was born in Thailand into a family of overseas Chinese businessmen and returned to his homeland at the age of 7. He successively studied in his hometown private school, Chenghai County Fengshan Primary School, and Chenghai County Middle School. He usually loves to read ancient books, has a wide range of knowledge, is familiar with the works of Confucius, Laozi, Mozi, and devoted himself to the study of "Water Margin", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Journey to the West" and other famous works.
When Xu Baoye was 17 years old, his mother-in-law died, and his father found a rural girl named Ye Qiaozhen as his wife according to the custom of "marrying a filial woman" in his hometown. After getting married, he renamed his wife Ye Yanping, which means "accompanied by wild geese and dependent on apples and algae".
At the time of the rise of the May Fourth Movement, Xu Baoye, who graduated from middle school, resolutely applied for a work-study program in France organized by the "Huafa Education Association" of which Cai Yuanpei was the president, and was admitted with an excellent score of third place. In April 1920, he said goodbye to his parents and wife, and embarked on a journey of overseas study and exploration full of enthusiasm.
In 1923, under the guidance of Zhu De, Xu Baoye joined the Communist Party of China and became a pioneer soldier of the European branch of the Communist Party of China. During his stay in Europe, Xu Baoye actively engaged in the study of Marxist theory and participated in practical struggles, which laid a solid foundation for his later revolutionary practice. Academically, Xu Baoye has achieved excellent results, obtaining doctorates in both Germany and Austria.
Xu Baoye once taught his illiterate wife Ye Yanping to write and read with one stroke. During his study abroad, he often passed on books to his wife Hongyan, who was thousands of miles away, telling about his love and longing. In the letters, he repeatedly asked his father to sponsor his uneducated wife to study in the city; In the letter, he did not forget to tell his wife: "What I hope for you now, as long as you can understand Chinese literature and write Chinese characters elegantly and correctly, and I have nothing extravagant to ...... in addition", it is full of the thoughts and entrustment of a young seeker and revolutionary to his relatives.
In 1926, Xu Baoye was sent to teach at the Eastern Workers' Communist University in Moscow, where he spared no effort to work hard for the international communist movement. Although he had a stable job, a good income and a high social status in Moscow, he always had his homeland in mind.
Resolutely return to China to spread the truth
In 1931, after the September 18 Incident, Xu Baoye was sent by the Comintern to secretly return to China from the Soviet Union via Heilongjiang. At that time, China was under the shroud of white terror. After Xu Baoye entered the country, he was targeted by spies, and returned to his hometown at the end of the year after several twists and turns. Xu Baoye, who has studied and worked abroad for 11 years, returned to the land he knew and never forgot. Ye Yanping finally looked forward to Xu Baoye, who had been separated for 11 years, but after a short reunion of 10 days, she once again bid farewell to her husband who was determined to join the revolution.
In March 1932, Xu Baoye arrived in Xiamen to find the party organization and continue to embark on the road of revolution. After returning to China, he did a great deal of work, and his tact, calmness, and composure enabled him to avoid many reefs in the turbulent revolutionary struggle and make great contributions to the revolutionary cause.
In October 1932, Xu Baoye served as the secretary of the Xiamen Central Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. Since then, he has effectively led revolutionary activities in Xiamen and more than a dozen counties in southern Fujian. He focused on rectifying party organizations at all levels, and reorganized the leading organs of the party in Hui'an, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou; He launched a movement to aid the Northeast Volunteers and exposed the despicable acts of the Kuomintang reactionaries who took the opportunity to extort money from the masses.
In addition to leading the revolutionary struggle, Xu Baoye attached great importance to the party's propaganda work and theoretical construction, personally led the Xiamen Cultural Association, secretly published such periodicals as "Engine," "Ship," "Battle," "Rudder," "Truth Daily," "Qinggong Pictorial," "Street Horn," and "Luhua," restored the "Mass Daily," compiled the central documents into the "Revolutionary Series," and guided the party members and the masses to study Marxist-Leninist theory. In his work, he often shares knowledge with his comrades and spreads the truth in simple terms.
In May 1934, the traitor Zhou Jianxin (also known as Zhou Jianjin) (former head of the Propaganda Department of the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China) fled from Fuzhou to Xiamen. At that time, the party organization in Fuzhou was damaged, and Zhou Jianxin claimed to have come to Xiamen to find organizational relations and asked to meet with Xu Baoye. Xu Baoye felt that Zhou Jianxin had come to Xiamen at this time, and instructed the comrades who came into contact with Zhou Jianxin to report in detail on the destruction of the underground party in Fuzhou and how they escaped, and then meet with him. After 3 days, Zhou Jianxin saw that Xu Baoye could not be trapped, so he couldn't wait to lead the enemy to destroy the underground regiment secretariat and the printing office of the party group, and finally exposed his traitorous face. Xu Baoye's vigilance enabled the party organization to avoid suffering a major damage.
During Xu Baoye's tenure as secretary of the Xiamen Central CPC Committee, the revolutionary movement flourished in more than 10 counties and cities in southern Fujian under the central city party committee, with nearly 1,000 party members, mass organizations such as the "Anti-Imperialist League," the "Revolutionary Mutual Masonic Association," and the "Red Trade Union" were established one after another in Xiamen, and the guerrilla units in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Anxi made great progress.
Resourceful to respond to the enemy and sacrifice his life for the country
In July 1934, after the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China was sabotaged by the enemy one after another, the Party Central Committee transferred Bao Ye to Shanghai to serve as the secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, under the pseudonym Baoer. The Party Central Committee also sent Yang Guanghua (pseudonym Zicai), former member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and former secretary general of the Provincial Party Committee, to help Xu Baoye establish a new provincial party committee.
Soon after the establishment of the new provincial party committee, the enemy attempted to trap Yang Guanghua and Xu Baoye through the traitor Gong as a breakthrough to sabotage the new provincial party committee. Xu Baoye and Yang Guanghua, who had rich experience in underground struggles, took care of each other, redoubled their vigilance, and wittily led the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee to wage a struggle against the enemy from both internal and external aspects, and promptly cooperated with the Party Central Committee in executing the traitor Gong, so that the enemy's conspiracy could not succeed. The enemy has never been able to find Xu Baoye, and can only sigh that "Baoer is too clever".
In October, due to the destruction of the Henan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee transferred Bao Ye to Henan to serve as the secretary of the provincial party committee, under the pseudonym Lao Liu. He went from Shanghai to Kaifeng, accompanied by Xiao Wang (Chen Luyi, female) and Xiao Ye (who went to Henan to serve as the secretary of the Provincial Youth League Committee). When he went to work in Henan, it coincided with the beginning of the Long March of the Central Red Army, and the work of the underground party in the white areas encountered greater difficulties. Under extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances, Xu Baoye disregarded his personal safety, went out early and returned late every day, and rushed to restore and develop the party's strength, develop the armed contingent, and establish a revolutionary mass organization.
Just when the work had achieved certain results and preparations were being made for an armed insurrection, something unfortunate happened. On the afternoon of February 19, 1935, Xu Baoye went to the residence of Zhang Guocheng (pseudonym Lao Wang, living with Xiao Ye and Xiao Wang), head of the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee, and waited for the traffic officer sent by the Party Central Committee to connect him. At that time, Zhang Guocheng found that there was a stranger at the joint location, and knowing that the situation had changed, he informed Xu Baoye to leave the backyard quickly. Xu Baoye and Xiao Wang escaped from the backyard, and Zhang Guocheng and Xiao Ye were captured by Kuomintang agents when they left the front door. Xu Baoye did not return to his original residence, and immediately separated from Xiao Wang to inform the comrades concerned to transfer. Due to the traitor's betrayal, the next night, Xu Baoye was arrested at the hotel.
After Xu Baoye was arrested, the enemy adopted various soft and hard methods against him, but he was always loyal and unyielding. Later, the enemy took the most brutal and cruel punishment, piercing his fingers with bamboo needles, pouring pepper water into his nose and eyes, cutting his ears with knives, piercing his thighs and calves, until his skin was broken, his head was broken, and his legs were broken. Xu Baoye, on the other hand, fought the enemy to the last breath with the most heroic and strong revolutionary spirit, and finally died in Nanjing Prison in the spring of 1935 due to his injuries.
Ye Yanping, who was far away from her hometown, didn't know it, and stayed at home waiting for her husband to return. When her 7-year-old child unfortunately died, Ye Yanping spent spring and autumn in her hometown, waiting for her husband for more than half a century!
On-site visits——
Protect the martyrs
Let the red torch be passed on forever
The statue of Xu Baoye Martyrs stands in the middle of the Xu Baoye Martyrs Cemetery, giving people a sense of gentleness, elegance and righteousness. The reporter saw that on the stele pavilion behind the statue, the inscription of Comrade Xie Fei, a centenarian female Red Army soldier who participated in the Long March and former vice president of the Central People's Public Security College, was engraved: "Strong communist fighters, heroic revolutionary activists, outstanding communists, and glorious revolutionary martyrs: Comrade Xu Baoye is immortal."
Chenghai Guanshan has a long history and many talents. In 1999, with the support of the Shantou and Chenghai Revolutionary Base Area Promotion Association, the Xu Baoye Martyrs Cemetery was built in the Guanshan community. The cemetery covers an area of about 3,000 square meters, and the project was completed in 2000 and rebuilt in 2003.
In June 2009, Xu Baoye Martyrs Cemetery was designated as a county-level patriotic education base. In recent years, teachers and students from schools and citizens from all over the country have visited the Xu Baoye Martyrs Cemetery many times to remember the martyrs and receive patriotic education. Everyone said that they should always cherish the memory of the martyrs, keep in mind the martyrs, consciously inherit the red gene, internalize the spirit of the heroes in their hearts, practice the original mission with courageous actions, and move forward bravely towards the glorious shore of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
There are many other revolutionaries like Xu Baoye who have dedicated their lives to the revolution, and their lofty revolutionary integrity and revolutionary spirit of defying violence have inspired generation after generation of communists to continue to fight and march forward bravely for the cause of the liberation of the Chinese nation. They are like majestic monuments, standing in the depths of people's souls, never disappearing, forever shining.
Touching Stories –
Wait affectionately
Spanning half a century of tears
One day in 1982, an old man named Ye Yanping wrote a letter to the relevant party history department, asking for help in finding her husband Xu Baoye, who had been missing for 50 years. The old man in the letter said that they got married in 1917, and three years later, Xu Baoye went to France and Germany to study under the recommendation of Cai Yuanpei and obtained a doctorate. In 1931, Xu Baoye returned to his motherland. However, he stayed at home for only 10 days before rushing to Xiamen, and has not been heard from since.
In the 20s of the 20th century, in a collection of poems handwritten by Xu Baoye when he was studying in Europe, he called for "Yan'er"; After more than half a century, Ye Yanping, who didn't know that her husband had already died, still insisted on writing letters to her husband, looking forward to the echo of "Xu Hongzao Bao".
Among the various correspondence between Xu Baoye and his relatives and friends and Ye Yanping that have been discovered, one is written in 1955, Xu Baoye's third brother Xu Yingzao wrote a letter inviting his sister-in-law Ye Yanping to live with him in Singapore, and the letter also mentioned that the eldest brother has not been heard from. However, Ye Yanping refused, and she has been waiting in the old mansion, waiting for her husband's return.
More than half a century has passed, Ye Yanping has waited from a young girl to a gray-haired old man, but she has never waited for any news from Xu Baoye. She had a premonition that she would die soon, so she wrote to the party history department to find out her husband's whereabouts.
After three years, in 1985, researchers in Fujian, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Henan and other places finally confirmed that the martyr "Lao Liu" who died in Yuhuatai in Nanjing was Xu Baoye. When she learned the news, Ye Yanping was seriously ill in bed. She sighed for herself and was also quite gratified, lamenting that her half-century wait was ultimately in vain, and she was pleased that the husband she had been waiting for all her life was an iron-clad man, and she had been thinking about her whole life in vain.
Ye Yanping donated the relics that Xu Baoye brought back from the Soviet Union for half a century, and passed away soon after. On the tombstone in her hometown, her name and her husband's name are written together, and the couple, who have been separated for more than half a century, can finally "be together and rely on each other" again.