The story of the red spy hidden deep in Ji Xiaolan's former residence

Ji Xiaolan's former residence is located at No. 241, Zhushikou West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, which is a well-preserved courtyard in the downtown area and the location of the famous Yuewei Caotang. Ji Xiaolan, the chief compiler of the large-scale series "Four Libraries and Complete Books" and a famous scholar of the Qing Dynasty, lived here for more than 60 years and died of illness. Now this courtyard is named after Ji Xiaolan, which is my original intention to come here, and I did not think that this visit would be an unexpected gain.

At the entrance of the courtyard stands a marble stone stele engraved with the words "Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit - Ji Xiaolan's Former Residence". On the right side of the stele there is a bronze-colored statue of an old man, sitting on his legs but with a solemn look, holding a large cigarette bag, and it is Ji Xiaolan without asking much. In its right rear, a stone stele with yellow characters on a red background is particularly eye-catching, with the words "Beijing Patriotic Education Memorial Site -- Site of the Secret Liaison Station of the Underground Communist Party of China" written on it. How did Ji Xiaolan's former residence become a secret liaison station for the CCP's underground party? With this mystery in mind, I couldn't help but speed up the pace of the visit.

Strolling into the courtyard, on a white jade stele on the west side, I quickly found the mystery. The stele reads "The former site of the secret contact point of the underground party organization of the Communist Party of China, 'Liu Mansion'". The text reads: Liu Shaobai (1883-1968), a native of Xingxian County, Shanxi, participated in the Xinhai Revolution and was a member of the Shanxi Provincial Parliament. From 1929 to 1931, he lived here during his tenure as the director of the Tianjin Commodity Inspection Bureau, so the hospital was called "Liu Mansion". Liu Shaobai pursued truth and ideological progress, and used his social position at that time to repeatedly fund the ccp's underground party organizations and rescue revolutionaries. With his support and cover, the "Liu Mansion" became a secret contact point between the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Reading the inscription, I became more and more curious and wanted to find out. Happily, the west side of the exhibition hall of Yuewei Caotang shows in detail the story of the hidden front that took place in Liu Mansion that year and the life deeds of Liu Shaobai in his life of pursuing progress and supporting revolution. What thrilling spy stories have happened in this compound? Everything has to start with Liu Shaobai, a new tenant in the courtyard more than 90 years ago.

In 1928, Liu Shaobai went to the Hebei Provincial Construction Department to work for the convenience of his family from his hometown in Shanxi to No. 60 Hufang Bridge in Beiping, which is now the former residence of Ji Xiaolan. In 1929, he became the director of the Tianjin Commodity Inspection Bureau. No. 60 Hufang Bridge, where Liu Shaobai lived, was also revered as "Liu Mansion" at that time.

Liu Shaobai's eldest daughter, Liu Yaxiong, a member of the Communist Party, played a key role in making the "Liu Mansion" a secret contact point for the CCP's underground party organizations. Liu Yaxiong joined the Communist Party of China in 1926 and threw himself into the revolutionary cause in Shanghai after returning from Moscow in 1928. Liu Yaxiong, who is in his 20s, and his comrades-in-arms in the Communist Party did not hesitate to throw their heads and spill their blood in pursuit of national independence, national liberation and people's happiness, which deeply touched Liu Shaobai, who was already pursuing progress. Under the increasing influence of Liu Yaxiong and other Communists, Liu Shaobai was more understanding and supportive of the revolutionary cause. In February 1931, the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China was rebuilt in Tianjin, with Liu Yaxiong as secretary general and her husband Chen Yuandao as the head of the organization department. In order to facilitate underground work, Liu Yaxiong suggested that Peiping's own residence be used as a secret contact point. With the consent and support of Liu Shaobai, the Hebei Provincial CPC Committee approved the use of the Liu Mansion as a secret contact point, responsible for receiving the responsible persons of the Hebei Provincial CPC Committee and the Beiping Municipal CPC Committee, preserving the funds allocated by the CPC Central Committee to the Hebei Provincial CPC Committee, and transferring secret letters between the Hebei Provincial CPC Committee and the CPC Central Committee. Since then, the Liu Mansion has added a beautiful red color to the white terror of the Kuomintang reactionaries in Beiping and has become a "transportation" hub between the CPC Central Committee and the Hebei Provincial Party Committee. A large number of Communists began to operate secretly under the eyes of the agents of the Peiping Detective Brigade, extending the party's underground work to the big cities under the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang.

In April 1931, when the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China held a secret meeting in Tianjin, Chen Yuandao, Liu Yaxiong and other responsible comrades of the provincial party committee were arrested for betrayal by traitors, and the newly established Hebei Provincial Party Committee was once again severely damaged. In the face of the sudden crisis, the CPC Central Committee decided to reorganize the Hebei Provincial Party Committee in Beiping, continue to use Liu Mansion as a secret contact point, and ask Liu Shaobai to help rescue him. After learning that Chen Yuandao, Liu Yaxiong, and other Communist Party members had been arrested, Liu Shaobai immediately raised funds to go to Tianjin and tried to get in touch with Hu Egong, Yang Xianzhen, and others assigned by the CPC Central Committee to carry out intelligence work in the north to jointly carry out rescues.

Unfortunately, in June 1931, the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, which had recently been established in Peiping, was once again severely damaged, and a number of responsible comrades of the provincial party committee were arrested, and the traitors quickly confessed to the secret contact point of Liu Gongguan. In the end, the rescue operation failed, and Chen Yuandao, Liu Yaxiong and others were not rescued. Yang Xianzhen was also arrested by secret agents because she did not know that the secret contact point had been exposed, and when she rushed to liu mansion to look for Liu Shaobai. Liu Shaobai was spared from arrest because he received news from his second daughter Liu Jingxiong in advance and was forced to leave Beiping for Dalian. Since then, the mission of Liu Gongguan as a secret contact point for the underground party organization of the Communist Party of China in Beiping has come to an end.

The enlightened gentleman Liu Shaobai's relationship with the Chinese Communist Party did not end because liu mansions were no longer secret points of contact. Later, under the active rescue of the party organization, Chen Yuandao, Liu Yaxiong and others were rescued from prison in 1932, and Yang Xianzhen was also released in 1936. After the introduction of Wang Ruofei and An Ziwen, the Northern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee approved Liu Shaobai as a secret member of the CPC in August 1937, and he could finally work for the party as worthy of his daughter Liu Yaxiong. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Shaobai made positive contributions to the Eighth Route Army in opening up the anti-Japanese base area in northwestern Jin. After the founding of New China, Liu Shaobai served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 1951, when Mao Zedong learned of Liu Shaobai's work arrangement, he said with satisfaction: "Well, he is a good man, loyal to the party, very upright, and he can say whatever he wants." Throughout Liu Shaobai's legendary life of pursuing progress, he can afford this evaluation.

Unconsciously, it has been more than 1 hour before stopping in Front of Liu Shaobai's exhibition area. The rain outside the house was getting heavier and heavier, and the afternoon closing time was approaching, but I had no intention of leaving as soon as possible. I picked up my mobile phone to browse the web and found that the "Gyeonggi Red Traces - Lighting Up 100 Red Landmarks in Beijing" column planned by the Beijing Evening News in 2021 was specially included in the "Liu Mansion (Ji Xiaolan's Former Residence)" to highlight the name of liu mansion, listed in the "Spy War Raiders" series, and published articles to promote this unknown story of the party's hidden front to the public, and the Beijing Xicheng District Committee also focused on publicizing it... The red mark of the Liu Mansion on the courtyard is becoming well known to the public.

I believe that in the future, more tourists will enter this exquisite courtyard, not only because of Ji Xiaolan but also because of Liu Shaobai, not only to see Ji Xiaolan's former residence but also to see Liu Mansion, not only to trace the ancient traditional culture but also to reminisce about the red glory years.