Liu Tai (1903-1928), also known as Kangmin, was born in February 1903 in Chengguan Town, Chengcheng County, Leiyang County. In 1919, he was admitted to Hengyang Chengzhang Middle School, joined the Shonan Students' Federation and became one of the responsible persons. In March 1921, the Leiyang Branch of the Socialist Youth League was established, and Liu Tai served as the secretary of the branch. In the winter of the same year, he was introduced by Mao Zedong to join the Communist Party of China. At the end of 1922, he and Wu Wensheng established the local executive committee of the Socialist Youth League, and he served as secretary (later represented by Wu Wensheng). In April 1924, under the guidance of He Shu, he and more than 10 party members, including Wu Zhonghao, Wu Wensheng and Chen Fen, founded the Executive Committee of the Leiyang County Branch of the Communist Party of China. Liu Tai served as the secretary of the branch. In June of the same year, he was elected as a member of the Propaganda Committee of the Xiangnan District Committee of the Communist Party of China.
In February 1925, with the assistance of He Shu, a member of the Xiang District Committee, the first CPC county committee in Hunan Province, the local executive committee of leiyang County of the CPC, was formally established, and Liu Tai was elected as the first secretary of the county executive committee. In 1926, he became the minister of labor movement of the county executive committee and the first chairman of the county federation of trade unions. After the Ma-Ri Incident, he went to Wuhan to join He Long's 20th Army and served as a representative of the Regiment Party. On August 1, 1927, he participated in the Nanchang Uprising and served as a liaison officer for the troops. After the defeat of the uprising, Liu Tai returned to Leiyang to assist Deng Zonghai in rebuilding the CPC Leiyang County Committee in Nanling Beiwenjia Village in September, with Liu Tai as a member of the Workers' Movement and organizing guerrillas to carry out underground armed struggle.
At the beginning of 1928, Liu Tai participated in the Shonan Rebellion and served as the director of the labor movement of the CPC Leiyang County Committee. On February 19, the Soviet government of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Soviets of Leiyang County was established, and Liu Tai was elected as the chairman of the government. On 21 March, he presided over the Second County Congress of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Soviets. He studied the three major issues of the agrarian revolution, the suppression of counter-revolution, and the consolidation of political power, and made relevant resolutions. After the meeting, a land revolution climax was set off in the whole county, such as cracking down on local tycoons, inserting standards and dividing up fields, and purging counter-revolutionaries. In order to defend the newborn Red regime, he and Li Tianzhu led the peasant army to cooperate with Zhu De's troops to attack Anren in the east and Hengyang in the north. At the end of March, after Liu Tai led the peasant army to complete the task of covering the transfer, he followed Zhu De's troops to Jinggangshan. On May 4, the Leiyang Peasant Army was reorganized into the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Liu Tai served as a representative of the Tuan party. In late May, Liu Tai and Kuang Wei led the reorganization from the 34th Regiment into the 1st Guerrilla Group of the Red Army to kill Leiyang. A military conference was held at the Niangniang Temple of Shangjiaqiao and the famous "Four-Eight Chong Regiment" battle was organized. Liu Tai and his wife Xu Rong led the Nanxiang detachment to attack the southwest township area via the Feijiang River, and along the way they overwhelmed more than 10 door-to-door regiments, including Gongping, Xiaoshui, and Yuqing, and rescued hundreds of cadres and masses who were being detained and waiting to die. He led his troops to move to the bituminous coal mountain base area, and when he passed through Yuqing's chicken nest, he was surrounded by a 10-fold strong enemy. He ordered his wife Xu Rong to lead the main force to break through, and he led a squad to block the enemy, and after the whole class was killed in battle, he was also shot in the abdomen and fell in a pool of blood. Finally, he suddenly got up and grabbed the neck of the bandit company commander with both hands and rolled down the cliff together, and died heroically, only 25 years old. Soon, his wife Xu Rong was also arrested and killed, and his brother Liu Ying and sister Liu Dongcai also sacrificed their lives for the revolution.
The martyrs' tombs of Liu Tai and Xu Rong are located in the Orange Garden of the Xiguan Neighborhood Committee on Shennong Road in Leiyang City.
Liu Tai's cemetery was a barren mountain cemetery with an archway. The brutal enemy cut off Liu Tai's head and hung it on the archway to show the public. Later, Liu Tai's relatives and revolutionary masses risked their lives to bury the bodies of Liu Qin and Xu Rong here.
Huang Kecheng and other veteran revolutionary elders said: "Liu Tai is the most authoritative organizer and leader of the Workers' and Peasants' Movement in Leiyang." "The Shonan rebellion was in Leiyang, and he was the protagonist." He not only sacrificed his young life for the revolution, but also his whole family.
After the founding of New China, the people's government of Leiyang County built tombs and erected monuments for Liu Tai and Xu Rong martyrs. The Tomb of the Martyrs sits north and faces south, covering an area of 13.8 square meters, and is a circular tomb covered with cement. No parapet walls. In front of the tomb is a white hemp stone tombstone erected by the People's Committee of Leiyang County in 1955.
The martyrs' tombs of Liu Tai and Xu Rong were announced as cultural relics protection units of Leiyang County by the Leiyang County People's Committee in October 1966, as cultural relics protection units in Leiyang County by the Revolutionary Committee of Leiyang County in December 1979, and again as cultural relics protection units in Leiyang City by the Leiyang Municipal People's Government in April 2003. (Contributed by the Municipal Party Committee History Office)
[Editor-in-charge: Liang Xin]
[Source: New Hunan Client]