Nangong, the Red Capital—A quiz on the former sites of the four prefectural committees in southern Hebei

Zhang Fanjin

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The former site of the four prefectural committees in southern Hebei was originally the Catholic Church of Nangong. It is located at the intersection of Canghou Street and Cang Hutong in Nangong City. The southeast corner of the intersection is the most well-preserved, largest and longest-used red site in Nangong City. The Fourth Prefectural Committee of Southern Hebei was the predecessor of the Xingtai Prefectural Committee, so this old site was also the last office of the party's top leadership body in Xingtai before the founding of the People's Republic of China. She not only witnessed the history of the Xingtai people's heroic struggle to win national victory under the leadership of the party, but also recorded the development of Catholicism in Nangong and even Hebei.

In May 1944, in accordance with the needs of the development of the strategic situation, in order to facilitate unified leadership and further expand the base area, the Northern Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Branch of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to unify the leadership of Hebei. The party committees of the Southern and Hebei-Shandong-Henan districts were later merged into the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border District. In August 1945, when the military and civilians in southern Hebei launched a strategic counterattack, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China once again adjusted the regional layout and established the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Central Bureau, with Deng Xiaoping as secretary. On August 20, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Central Bureau and the Border Region Government were established It was decided to restore the organizational structure of the Jinan Administrative Region. In November, the Jinan Administrative Office and the Jinan Military Region were also restored and the original administrative divisions were adjusted. The original 6 prefectural committees and special agencies were changed to 5. The original two and The four prefectural committees and agencies were merged into four prefectural committees and agencies, with jurisdiction over 12 counties including Nangong, Baixiang, Longping, Yaoshan, Ningnan, Xinhe, Wei County, Guangzong, Pingxiang, Nanhe, Renxian and Julu County Party Committee and County Government, Jiang Ming serves as secretary of the prefectural committee, Xiao Yizhou serves as commissioner, and Wang Yunrui serves as division commander. Under the leadership of the new secretary Jiang Ming, the prefectural party committee stationed in Nangong County to carry out work. It was first stationed at the Huaxing Gong Tobacco Distribution Office on North Street in the county (now the former site of the Eastward Column Headquarters of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army), then moved to the Catholic Church on Canghou Street, and then moved to Xingtai in August 1949. Because the prefectural committee has been stationed in Nangong for a long time, it is commonly known as the Nangong Prefectural Committee.

As the last office space of the four prefecture committees, the real estate of Nangong Catholic Church was first owned by Li Shoopeng, a native of Yueyue Village, Nangong County (now Shilipu, Fenggang Office).

In the last years of Guangxu, the Boxer Rebellion, which originated in the Wei County area, spent a short period of intimacy with the Qing court, and then vented its anger against foreigners and foreign religions more deeply. In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (AD 1900), there was a drought in Zhili and the people were hungry. Under the banner of "resisting grain requisition" and "rejecting foreign missions", the Boxers burned Wucun in Nangong County, Guan County, Qiu County, and Wei County. Nine Catholic churches in the territory have triggered church property compensation cases. Under the persecution and threat of the church, in November of that year, the Qing government ordered all states and counties to compensate for the losses of churches. Nangong was asked to pay 20,000 taels of silver and 230,000 taels of Beijing money, which should be shared by the county according to acres of land. Faced with the huge amount of compensation, public dissatisfaction boiled over. In order to collect it as soon as possible, the county government stipulated that anyone who failed to pay after the due date would be punished as a tax liability. Li Shoupeng was very anxious after hearing the news, and generously compensated the church for more than 100 properties in Canghutong in the city, so that the people could be saved. After that, the church assigned Austrian Wei Ruduo and three other people and two Chinese to build a church here. According to the "case" submitted to the Jinan Administrative Office by Fan Zhiguo, the mayor of Nangong City on December 17, the 37th year of the Republic of China (1948 AD), this church "has been open since the 27th year of Guangxu (1901 AD)" , there are 15 chanting halls. In the 13th year of the Republic of China (1924 AD), 16 south towers were built, and in the 15th year of the Republic of China (1926 AD), 30 north towers were built. Later, 47 bungalows and tile-roofed houses were built. "The church then grew in size.

Although churches are religious places, they cannot escape the disaster of war. On September 16, 1938, the Japanese air raided Nangong City. While bombing the county government office, they dropped a bomb into the church courtyard. Fortunately, the church building was not seriously damaged because it was not very powerful. In response to the hatred of "ruining the family", the head of the hall not only did not want to take revenge, but colluded with the traitors and enemies. This act was exposed by the masses during the anti-traitor liquidation movement in 1947. According to the "Nangong County Government Deportation Certificate" issued by Yang Ziyun, the then head of Nangong County, it stated: "We hereby represent the Austrian Wei Ruduo and Long, who are in charge of the Catholic Church in this county. Zizhen, Lin Shusheng and Chinese national Ma Changwu, etc., have always been unable to maintain cleanliness and propriety and carry out religious affairs. They used the name of the church to indulge the malicious behavior of believers, insulted and oppressed the masses, protected traitors, harbored traitors and materials, and allowed believer Li Li to participate An enemy organization that harms the interests of our nation.

Therefore, on July 16, the 36th year of the Republic of China (AD 1947), the Nangong County Government deported Wei Ruduo and four other people. After that, "the church building belonged to the prefectural committee and the special agency for living, and the land belonged to the masses for farming." ( On December 17, 1948, "Nangong Municipal Government submitted a report on the situation of churches held by foreigners in this city"). From then until August 1949, the four prefecture committees and special agencies continued to work here.

During the nearly four years in Nangong, the four prefectural committees and other leading organs led the people of the region to carry out a series of tasks such as eradicating rebels, fighting against hegemony, agrarian revolution, front support, and production and construction, especially from 1947 to 1948. The vigorous work of cadres going south at the end of the year was even more significant. In more than a year, the district's Communist Party mobilized more than 2,000 cadres to go south in three batches. In October 1948 alone, more than 800 people were transferred. 1 prefecture-level, 5 county-level and 6 district-level leadership groups were formed, which effectively supported the work of national liberation and liberated areas. Like his hometown, Nangong has therefore become the hometown of the cadres of the four prefectural committees who went south.

With the smooth development of the Liberation War, Hebei Province was completely liberated, and the liberated areas were completely connected. In July 1949. On August 12, the Hebei Provincial Party Committee was formally established. On August 1, the provincial government was announced. Subsequently, the administrative regions such as Jinan and Taihang were abolished at the same time. The province established 10 prefectures and 4 provincial municipalities. The original Xingtai Prefecture The four counties of Xingtai, Shahe, Neiqiu, and Lincheng (the first Taihang District was renamed the Xingtai District in March 1949) and Xingtai City and Nangong and Zhenzhou in the original Nangong District (the fourth special district of southern Hebei was renamed the Nangong District in March 1949). The 11 counties of Tang, Ningnan, Baixiang, Longyao, Renxian, Nanhe, Julu, Pingxiang, Guangzong and Weixian formed the Xingtai Prefecture of Hebei Province. The four prefectural committees and the fourth agency in southern Hebei were abolished, and the agency staff were replaced by Nangong moved its office to Xingtai, and Cheng Yulin, Secretary of the Fourth Prefectural Committee, was transferred to Secretary of Xingtai Prefectural Committee.

After that, the church successively served as Nangong Middle School (four first-grade classes in the junior high school), Commerce Bureau, Wuqi School, and It was used by teachers’ training schools, school-run industrial companies, normal schools and other units. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in order to implement the party’s religious policy, it was gradually returned to the Catholic Church in 1989 (Xingtai Daily, December 2008). 9th)