Original: Liu Hanqiao
Yue Fei Street in Jiang'an District, Wuhan City, Xiafei Street or Xiafei General Street, known to the old Hankou people. It was built in 1902 during the original French Concession period, initially named Antananarivo Street, Antananarivo was originally the capital of the French African colony of Madagascar; after the First World War in 1919, it was changed to Xiafei General Street, and Joseph Jacques Cézier Xiafei was the Marshal of France; in 1943, the puppet municipal government took back the French Concession and renamed it Shengde Street; after the victory of the War of Resistance, it was changed to Yue Fei Street; in 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, it was changed to Defense Street; in 1982, the name of Yue Fei Street was restored.
In 1896, the Chinese and French governments signed the Hankou Concession. At the beginning of 1898, the French consul in Hankou, De Toomey, decided to compile municipal regulations and design the layout of the streets. Municipal construction, planning first. In 1902, Xiafei Street was one of the seven wide avenues with a network distribution similar to a chess board, with sidewalks, sewage facilities, and a wide area.
In 1901, the French Concession completed 10 European-style buildings within the planning and layout range, known as the Oriental Huili Bank, Lixing Foreign Bank, the Ministry of Works Bureau, the Patrol House, the Barracks, etc., I wonder if Yue Fei Street No. 1 and No. 3 are also in these 10 buildings? Previously, there was only one French consulate in the French Concession, built in 1895 and rebuilt in 1892 after being washed away by floods, located in present-day Dongting Street, a lonely European-style building, and the consulate was surrounded by the runway of the first racecourse in Hankou.
In 1913, the French Concession of Antananarivo Street tannarive Tian Lian Shen drew a map
Hankou Yue Fei Street is a very famous street in the Republic of China, and on the bustling commercial street, there are still many dignitaries and nobles of the Republic of China. No. 3 Yue Fei Street, the residence of Xu Yuanquan, a famous soldier and industrialist during the Republic of China period.
Xu Yuanquan (1885~1960) was a native of Cangzibu, Huanggang, Hubei (now part of Xinzhou District, Wuhan), who secretly joined the League and participated in the Xinhai Revolution. In 1912, he was appointed as a staff officer of the War Department of the Provisional Government of Nanjing. He participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and was awarded the rank of second-class general in the Army in 1935. After retiring from the army in 1946, he devoted himself to the cause of industry and commerce, culture and education, served as a director of the Xinhai Shouyi Comrades Association, was a member of the Fifth and Sixth Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, came to Hong Kong in 1949, then transferred to Taiwan, served as the chairman of the Hubei Hometown Association, and founded the Taipei Jin Ou Girls' Commercial School, and died of illness in Taipei on November 11, 1960.
Behind the soldiers are No. 1 and No. 3 Yue Fei Street
In 2012, Hou Hongzhi, No. 1 Yue Fei Street, photographed
In June 2019, the author once went to Hankou Yue Fei Street to sweep the street for a week, and was more impressed by Yue Fei Street No. 3, its front was transformed, through an alley to its back, the decorations of the old house were all in view, seeing these, I felt that this historical building had a background. Back at home, I looked at the information on the computer, and I couldn't find the architectural information and character background of the historical building at No. 3 Yue Fei Street. Occasionally, I saw on the Internet that it was the Xu Yuanquan Mansion in the memoirs, and it was said that across the street was the residence of Provincial Chairman Wan Yaohuang, and so on, because there was no evidence.
With doubts in this way, I repeatedly went to Yue Fei Street several times. So much so that when I had dinner with Liu Qun, manager of Boyi Also Piano Shop, he said that I had seen you turn around yue fei street these days, and I smiled and said: In sweeping the street, look at the old house. For the historical buildings in Hankou, there is more feelings after seeing more, especially for the historical buildings that have not yet been listed, but now there is very little information about the historical buildings that have not been listed in Wuhan, and I can only be a person with a heart in my own time, and pay more attention to collecting information in this regard.
There is no place to step on the iron shoes, and it takes no effort at all. Recently, when I was flipping through the collection, a book and an old envelope made me see the hope of cracking No. 3 Yue Fei Street in Hankou, which can prove that No. 3 Yue Fei Street in Hankou is the residence of the celebrity Xu Yuanquan. The book is a Wuhan survey compiled and printed by the Social Department of the Central Plains Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on March 25, 1949, and on page 85 there is a brief description of Xu Yuanquan's address, indicating that Xu Yuanquan lived at No. 3 Yue Fei Street in Hankou in 1948.
This envelope is a letter sent by Xu Yuanquan from No. 3 Yue Fei Street in Hankou on May 8, 1946, the letter was gone at that time, only the envelope remained, and now the following information can be seen from the literal face of the envelope, this is a letter sent by Xu Yuanquan from No. 3 Yue Fei Street in Hankou, the postmark time is May 8, 1946, sent to Wang Zhenhuan (Tiesheng), president of Zhonghua University in Wuchang, Chongqing, and the front of the envelope has pen characters: Xu Yuanquan's letter to Wang Zhi, about the issue of school funding. Because Xu Yuanquan is the trustee of Wuchang Zhonghua University, and he is very enthusiastic about education, he has a lot of financial support for Wuchang Zhonghua University.
It is the appearance of these two collections that can directly prove that Xu Yuanquan lived in the mansion at No. 3 Yue Fei Street in Hankou from 1946 to 1948. A book and an old envelope prove that the humanistic history of the historical buildings that have not been listed, seemingly accidental, the answer is inevitable, it is a long-term pursuit of people who love Wuhan historical buildings, it is a reward for fate, and it is also an expectation for the protection of Wuhan historical buildings.
The façade of No. 3 Yue Fei Street after the transformation is photographed by Liu Hanqiao
The side is the original appearance of the building
Architectural decoration and vents
In the French Concession, according to research, there is also a property belonging to Xu Yuanquan. To find out what happens next, listen to the next breakdown.
Salvage the memories of Jiangcheng Hook sink the past of the three towns
The intersection of Yue Fei Street and Zhongshan Avenue