Yu Yunting (1905-2003)
The Wendeng Qixiang Division was located in Yangjiatuan, southeast of Wendeng City at that time, surrounded by rural areas. Principal Yu Yunting hired many party members to teach during the preparations for its establishment and established a temporary branch of the Qixiang Division of the Communist Party of China in March 1932. Yu Yunting served as secretary, and Tang Chengjiu and Jiang Xianzheng served as organization and publicity committee members.
During the summer vacation of the same year, the township teacher recruited the first batch of students and selected 80 students among more than 1,300 applicants. Party members such as Gu Mu, Cong Lieguang, and Xing Liwen arranged by the Rongcheng party organization, and Wang Benxian, Zhang Tonghua and other party members arranged by the Wendeng party organization were successfully admitted to the township teachers.
In August 1932, the township teacher officially started school, with a total of 11 party members. In addition to the above five student party members, there were also 6 teacher party members including Yu Yunting. In September, while the temporary branch was cancelled, the Wendeng Qixiang Division branch of the Communist Party of China was formally established. Party members attending the meeting recommended Gu Mu as secretary, and Cong Lieguang and Xing Liwen as organization and publicity committee members respectively. In order to facilitate the activities of the branch, Yu Yunting also used the excuse of Gu Mu's serious arthritis to set up a single room for him as a secret activity place for the party branch.
Original article: Once the
branch of Qixiang Normal University was established, it put forward the slogan "Go to the countryside" to guide teachers and students, workers and peasants to become one, to save the nation and survive together, and to achieve gratifying results.
First, organize a farmers’ association. The branch put forward the call to "go among the workers and peasants and make friends with them." The school stipulates that every student must make several peasant friends, propagate revolutionary principles to them, inspire class consciousness, and guide the revolutionary path. They run more than 10 night schools for farmers in surrounding rural areas. Farmers flock to the night schools one after another, and even elderly people in their 60s and 70s come to attend classes.
Second, second, establish a farmers club. As more and more people became awakened, the branch decided to establish a farmers' club within and outside the school. Students and the masses performed dramas such as "The Little Match Girl" and "Fishing Lights" on the same stage, which were well received by the farmers.
Third, establish small farms and small factories. They built a small farm with 6 acres of land. Teachers and students took turns managing it under the guidance of vegetable farmers. They were able to provide for themselves all year round. The school set up a small factory and hired carpenters, blacksmiths, and tailors. The teachers and students chose the masters according to their hobbies, and a busy scene immediately appeared. Not only did everyone learn professional skills, but it also enhanced the labor concepts of teachers and students.
Fourth, arrange military training sessions. In addition to offering physical education classes and spring sports games, the school also contacted the local Kuomintang militia to arrange three military training classes every week to enhance students' military knowledge and skills.
Fifth, create progressive publications. On the student side, Gu Mu edited the literary tabloid "Under the Line of Fire"; on the teacher side, the "Teachers' Friends" publication was launched. The main content of the two publications was to accuse Japanese imperialism of its crimes of aggression against China and to expose the Kuomintang's traitorous behavior. On the eve of May Day in 1933, the branch printed the "Message to the Workers and Peasants of Jiaodong" and sent people overnight along the villages on both sides of the Yanshi Highway to distribute and post it widely, which had a positive impact on the masses.
By the autumn of 1933, the branch had developed more than 30 CCP members. Wang Yiping and Liu Qiren, who later became the backbone of the local revolution, were party members who joined the party during this period. As the work progressed, the township division branch gradually replaced the Wendeng Special Branch of the Communist Party of China and was responsible for the leadership of the local party in Wen, Rong, and Wei. After the establishment of the Jiaodong Special Committee of the Communist Party of China, the "Qixiang Division" was regarded as an important position for carrying out revolutionary activities, and it was once known as the "Red Seventh Division".
① Bibliography for this issue: Party History Research Office of the Yantai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China: Yantai History Special Series of the Communist Party of China (5) "History of the Jiaodong Special Committee of the Communist Party of China", Shandong People's Publishing House , December 2018; Gu Mu: "Memoirs of Gu Mu", Central Literature Publishing House , January 2009.
