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In the quiet place at the foot of Jinbang Mountain in Wucun, Xiamen, a turtle-shaped mound with a plane in the shape of the word "wind" is hidden among the green pines and cypresses, which looks solemn and solemn.
Tomb of Chen Huacheng (Photography丨Zhang Min)
The one who rests here is Chen Huacheng, a famous patriotic general and national hero of the late Qing Dynasty.
In 1776, Chen Huacheng was born in a small island fishing village in Tong'an Bay, Xiamen. Due to his good water nature and excellent martial arts, 22-year-old Chen Huacheng enlisted in the Qing Army's naval division, followed the famous Qing Dynasty naval generals Li Changgeng and Wang Delu to fight in the north and south, bravely and resolutely, and repeatedly made military exploits. In the tenth year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1830), Chen Huacheng was promoted to the commander of the Fujian Navy and stationed in Xiamen. In 1840, when the Opium War broke out, Chen Huacheng, who was 65 years old at this time, was appointed as the governor of Jiangnan by the Qing government, and led the troops and horses to Wusongkou in Shanghai to deploy a plan to resist the British army.
In the early morning of June 16, 1842, the British invading army dispatched all its ships and launched a frenzied artillery bombardment on Wusongkou. The war was imminent, Chen Huacheng said to the officers and soldiers: "I will try my best to use my troops today to repay the country's kindness with death, and you will be fortunate to help me to be loyal and frugal!"
Chen Huacheng led dozens of his own soldiers, held the fort position, set off thousands of artillery fire, and severely damaged the invaders. However, due to the lack of ammunition supply, the Qing army suffered heavy casualties, Chen Huacheng was shot in many places all over his body, and finally led the soldiers to start a white-knuckle battle with the British army, fighting to the last breath, and died heroically.
Chen Huacheng's Former Residence (Photography丨He Zhifang)
Our history textbooks record Chen Huacheng's heroic deeds, in fact, Chen Huacheng not only fought bravely, but also was an upright official.
According to the "Qing Historical Manuscript", Chen Huacheng "worked hard with the soldiers, and did not avoid the wind and rain, cold and heat". After Chen Huacheng took over as the commander of the Fujian Navy Division, he began to rectify and strengthen, repaired the camp fence, and paid the soldiers' salaries in full. The officers and men were provided with normal supplies, the morale of the army was stable, discipline improved, and the Fujian Navy Division took on a completely new look. When he was transferred to the governor of Jiangnan, he did not live in the comfortable governor's mansion, but lived in an old tent like the soldiers of the Wusongkou defense. When Liang Zhangju, the governor of Jiangsu, learned of this, he sent someone to make a new tent for Chen Huacheng, but he was politely refused. Chen Huacheng said: "The soldiers all live in broken tents, and they can't bear to live alone in new tents. Liang Zhangju was deeply moved and changed all the tents for Sergeant Wu Songkou.
Strict with himself, sympathetic to officers and soldiers, honest and honest, and cherishing the people, Chen Huacheng has won the love and support of the majority of officers and soldiers and the people, and everyone is called "honest general". Even after he was promoted to admiral, he only moved his family to No. 9 Caopu Cheng (now Caopu Lane) near Zhongshan Road in Xiamen. This brick and wood bungalow, with plain doors and windows, has no carved ornaments, and is almost indistinguishable from ordinary houses.
"Xiamen Chronicles" (Photography丨Zhang Min)
However, Chen Huacheng will use the money saved to donate to social charities such as colleges, charity schools, and nursery halls. Zhou Kai, a magistrate, once proposed to Chen Huacheng to revise the "Xiamen Chronicles", and Chen Huacheng immediately expressed his support. However, the "Xiamen Chronicles" was not published after compilation, and Zhou Kai had died in a foreign country, so Chen Huacheng used his own silver to fund the engraving of the "Xiamen Chronicles". Xiamen Yuping Academy and Wenchang Temple and other buildings fell into disrepair, dilapidated and abandoned, and Chen Huacheng also took the lead in donating money to rebuild.
Heaven and earth are heroic, and the autumn is still awe-inspiring. General Chen Huacheng's patriotic sentiments of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and noble character of serving the people diligently, honesty, and heroic achievements that can be sung and wept and reflected for thousands of years have left a clean and healthy atmosphere for the hero's homeland and a spiritual treasure for the Chinese nation.
Contributed by丨Xiamen Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Siming District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision