Shi Yang, formerly known as Ji Chao, Wanli, later renamed Yang, Zi Bogao, a native of Yangjiahe Village, Majiadu Town, Zhushan County, Hubei Province, was born on June 13, 1889. When he was a child, his family was poor, and at the age of 9, he studied with his father, and in 1907, he was admitted to the Yunyang Provincial Agricultural School to study sericulture, and in 1910 he was transferred to Yunyang Agricultural Middle School. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, due to the closure of schools, he returned to his hometown to establish a national school, teach students the knowledge of planting mulberry silkworms, and plant large areas of mulberry forest. He also founded the Agricultural Council and was elected president. In 1914, he was admitted to the Hubei Police Academy, the following year he was admitted to the Hubei Law and Politics School to study law; after graduating in 1917, he engaged in the legal profession in Wuchang, and was soon elected as the vice president of the Bar Association.
After the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement, Wuchang students supported the anti-imperialist patriotic movement of Beijing students, held demonstrations and boycotts, and were bloodily suppressed by reactionary military and police. As a lawyer, he went all out to carry out rescue activities, drafted leaflets overnight, and advocated a strike. On June 12, 1919, all the merchants of Wuchang responded to a meeting at Jishan Hall. Shi Yang gave a speech at the meeting, and then initiated the organization of the Hubei Federation of all walks of life, and served as the vice president. In August of the same year, he led a delegation to Beijing to petition, and later consulted with representatives from all over Beijing to initiate the organization of the National Federation of All Walks of Life, and served as a preparatory committee member. On November 10 of the same year, the All-China Federation of All Walks of Life was proclaimed in Shanghai, and Shi Yang was elected as the director of the Joint Public Review Department. In the spring of 1920, he returned to Han from Shanghai, initiated the organization of the "Civilian Education Society", was elected as the director of general affairs, and founded the "Wuhan Weekly Review" with Huang Baosheng, Liu Zitong and others, and in the autumn of the same year, participated in the Wuhan Marx Theory Research Society; in the winter, he organized the Sino-Korean Mutual Aid Society with Li Yumin and Cho Chung-jeou, who came to Han to publicize the independence movement in Korea, and ran to support Korean independence. In May 1921, he instructed the Hankou rickshaw workers in their struggle against the strike of car dealerships and rent increases, and won the victory. In June, he also launched the "Drive Out the King's Autonomy" campaign, telegraphing the whole country, counting the crimes of The Hubei Overseer Wang Zhanyuan; he personally went to Hunan to ask for help from the Xiang Army, and contacted the Hubei Autonomous Army to defeat Wang Zhanyuan at Yanglousi on July 29. In October, Shi Yang joined the Wuhan Branch of the Secretariat of the China Labor Union. In December, the Hankou rickshaw workers once again launched an anti-rent strike, and Shi Yang and Lin Yunan went to direct leadership; after the victory of the strike, they directed the establishment of the Hankou Concession Rickshaw Drivers' Union, and were hired as the supreme adviser and plenipotentiary representative of the union. In January 1922, he assisted Xiang Ying in establishing the Beijing-Hankou Railway Jiang'an Workers' Club; subsequently, the Xujiapeng Workers' Club of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway and a number of other workers' clubs in Wuhan were also established, all of which hired Shi Yang as legal adviser. Because he was "extremely capable of serving the interests of the labor profession, the labor profession regarded him as a 'star' and affectionately called him a 'labor lawyer'". In June 1922, Shi Yang was introduced by Xu Baihao and Xiang Ying and joined the Communist Party of China. At the end of July, he and Lin Yunan and others formed the Wuhan Federation of Trade Unions (renamed hubei provincial federation of trade unions on October 10), and served as the legal adviser of the association. Soon after, he participated in leading the workers' strike in the Wuchang section of Yuehan Road; on September 23, he was elected by the Hankou Lawyers Association to attend the Shanghai National Judicial Conference, at which he put forward several important proposals for the people's freedom, which were approved by the conference. During his stay in Shanghai, he met with Sun Yat-sen and Kuomintang dignitaries several times to exchange views on Chinese political issues: winning the praise and praise of progressive figures in the Kuomintang. After October 17, Shi Yanghui han instructed the workers of the Hankou Tobacco Factory to strike twice, and he charged ahead, leading the way, setting an example for the striking workers and winning the support and love of the workers.
On February 1, 1923, the inaugural meeting of the Beijing-Hankou Railway Federation of Trade Unions was solemnly held in Zhengzhou. Shi Yang participated in the guidance work of the conference as a legal adviser to the Hubei Federation of Trade Unions and the Beijing-Hankou Railway Federation of Trade Unions. On the day of the establishment of the Federation of Trade Unions, a huge demonstration was held. Huang Dianchen, chief of the Zhengzhou police, was ordered by Wu Peifu and Xiao Yaonan to declare: "I Huang Dianchen are not allowed to hold meetings in Zhengzhou for one day, that is, one day. "They regarded the workers' march as if they were facing a great enemy, imposed emergency martial law throughout the city, and sent a large number of military policemen, loaded with live ammunition, to surround the workers' venues. However, thousands of workers and attendees were not afraid and marched towards the Puyuan Theater, the venue of the congress. When the reactionary military and police forcibly and unreasonably obstructed and beat the workers with batons, the deputies, led by Lin Xiangqian, Xiang Ying, Shi Yang, and others, bravely broke through the enemy's defensive line and rushed into the venue. Shi Yang rushed to the rostrum of the venue and gave a loud speech: "Fellow workers, the law of the Republic of China clearly stipulates that the people have freedom of assembly and association. We workers have done a great deal of merit in their creation and occupy an important position among the people, so why can't we enjoy the freedom of the covenant law? How unreasonable is it that the warlords Wu Peifu, Xiao Yaonan, Huang Dianchen, and others are ambitious, encircling and suppressing us, destroying us, oppressing us, and depriving us of our due rights in the covenant law? When we are in front of this great enemy, of course, we will not retreat, be good at self-defense, and strive hard!"
Encouraged by this righteous and stern words, the workers' representatives attending the meeting were indignant and fought with the military and police with their bare hands for several hours before they broke out of the siege. Not content with their defeat, the reactionary military and police smashed the plaques and condolences presented to the Federation of Trade Unions by various units on the afternoon of the same day, sent military and police officers to occupy the posts of the Federation of Trade Unions, expelled the staff of the Federation of Trade Unions, confiscated the documents of the Federation of Trade Unions, and monitored the actions of the staff of the Federation of Trade Unions. In view of the situation at that time, the Federation of Trade Unions held a secret meeting of the heads of the branches in a different place that night. It was unanimously decided to propose to the reactionary authorities the dismissal of Huang Dianchen, the reactionary police chief, and others, to compensate the reactionary military and police for their unreasonable damage to various materials and other demands, and to give a reply within two days of the reactionary authorities; otherwise, a strike by the General Alliance of the Whole Line of Beijing and Hankou would be carried out; at the same time, it was decided that the Federation of Trade Unions would be moved from Zhengzhou to the hankou riverbank; at the meeting, a general strike committee was formed, responsible persons of each branch were designated, and Shi Yang and Lin Xiangqian were designated as the general responsible persons for the strike in Jiang'an District.
After attending the secret meeting of the Federation of Trade Unions, Shi Yang rushed back to the Hankou River bank by train with Lin Xiangqian and others that night. On February 2, the Hankou Jiang'an Branch Trade Union held a mobilization meeting, at which Shi Yang, Lin Xiangqian, and others exposed the various crimes of reactionary warlords in persecuting workers' representatives and undermining the establishment of the Federation of Trade Unions, announced that the Beijing-Hankou Railway Federation of Trade Unions had been born in a stormy class struggle, and conveyed the decision of the Federation of Trade Unions on launching a strike of the Beijing-Hankou Railway General Alliance on all lines. Shi Yang delivered a speech at the meeting, calling on the workers' representatives to bravely throw themselves into the struggle against the reactionary warlords and fight for freedom and human rights. After the meeting, Shi Yang, Lin Xiangqian, and others organized a workers' propaganda team, expanded the workers' picket group, and rushed to make iron rods, large knives, spears, and so on, in preparation for self-defense.
On the morning of February 4, after Shi Yang and Lin Xiangqian received the instructions of the Federation of Trade Unions to start a strike, they immediately issued an order for the Jiang'an Branch Trade Union to strike. Huang Zhengxing, a boiler worker at the Jiang'an Machine Factory who had been prepared, sounded the whistle of the workers for freedom and justice, and then the whistles of other units also roared angrily, resounding throughout the three towns of Wuhan, shaking in all directions. Under the command of Shi Yang, Lin Xiangqian, and others, the railway workers on the banks of the river, who have been oppressed for generations, raised spears, iron rods, and large knives, and poured out of various sections to run toward the central street. A political strike under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, starting on the banks of the Hankou River, going north along the Beijing-Hankou Railway, and then north, to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin...
Shi Yang worked nervously with Xiang Ying and others on the train to draft strike documents, and every time the train arrived at a stop, Shi Yang used the stop time to give a speech to the masses who came to bid farewell, calling on the workers to unite and fight for freedom and fight for human rights; the only way out was to struggle, struggle, and fight again. During the strike, someone asked Shi Yang: "You are a lawyer, have a stable job, and have a good salary, why should you strike with the workers?" Shi Yang replied firmly: "It is my duty to run for the interests of the working class. ”
On the afternoon of February 5, british and American consuls general and warlord Wu Peifu met at the British consulate to plot the massacre of workers' representatives and leaders of the labor movement. In accordance with Wu Peifu's secret order to eliminate the strike leadership forces as soon as possible, Xiao Yaonan, the overseer of Hubei Province, sent Zhang Housheng, chief of staff of the Supervision Bureau, to the riverbank with a large number of military and policemen, besieged the striking workers, occupied the factory, and successively arrested two train drivers and three picketers to force them to return to work. Shi Yang, Lin Xiangqian, and others immediately made a decision, sent more than 2,000 picket members and workers' representatives to the rescue, and argued on the basis of reason, forcing the enemy to unconditionally release three picketers and two drivers, smashing the enemy's plot and inspiring the fighting spirit of the strike.
The strike struggle is continuing, and all the workers on the river bank are determined to consolidate the fruits of victory and fight the reactionary military and police to the end; the workers in Wuhan and the mass organizations of various organs have vigorously supported the strike struggle of the workers on the river bank. On the morning of February 6, the Hubei Federation of Trade Unions organized more than 2,000 representatives to come to Jiang'an to cordially comfort the striking workers, and tens of thousands of people on Jiang'an consciously participated in the condolence meeting. At the meeting, Shi Yang and Lin Xiangqian thanked the masses of all walks of life for their solidarity, expressed that they would never fail to live up to the high expectations of all sectors of society, resolutely expose the sabotage plots of imperialism and feudal warlords, and call on the workers to strengthen unity, persist in the struggle, and never collect troops unless they won a complete victory. After the meeting, Shi Yang and Lin Xiangqian led the striking workers and the masses who volunteered along the way to continue the demonstration. As the procession passed through the American and British concessions along the river, the angry masses raised their arms and shouted revolutionary slogans such as "Down with imperialism," "Down with the feudal warlords," and "Strive for freedom and human rights." The crowd was full of emotion, and the demonstrations persisted until the end of victory on the late 6th.
On the morning of February 7, the strike demonstration continued. In the afternoon, Zhang Housheng, chief of staff of the Overseer's Bureau, sent police officers to the Jiang'an Branch Trade Union, and on the one hand pretended that the representatives of the sub-union were waiting for negotiations at the trade union site at 17:30, and on the other hand, he led two battalions of heavily armed troops to the Jiang'an Branch Trade Union in three ways from Jiang'an Station, and cooperated closely with the imperialist organs in Hankou to declare temporary martial law in the concession, in a vain attempt to suppress the striking workers unexpectedly. At 17:20 p.m., the reactionary military and police surrounded the branch office layer by layer, and more than 30 representatives of striking workers who came to negotiate the agreement were also trapped inside, and the situation was extremely critical. Lin Xiangqian, a communist party member, was not afraid of danger and was calm and self-assured, while asking Shi Yang and other responsible persons of the federation of trade unions to avoid them for the time being, on the other hand, he and Zeng Yuliang, deputy head of the picket regiment, came forward to deal with the enemy and ordered the picket regiment to prepare for battle. At this time, reinforcements arrived and once again surrounded the branch office. The horrific massacre began. On the spot, Zeng Yuliang and more than 30 other railway workers died heroically; Lin Xiangqian and more than 60 workers were unfortunately arrested.
At 7 p.m. on the same day, the north wind whistled, the snow flew, the sky was dark, and the entire riverbank was shrouded in a white terror. The enemy tied Lin Xiangqian, president of the Jiang'an Branch Trade Union, to a lamppost on a platform and forced the striking workers to return to work. Lin Xiangqian was righteous and stern, mighty and unyielding, and said in a thousand words: "My head can be broken, blood can flow, and work cannot be recovered!" Zhang Housheng was scolded with a pale face, trembling, and angrily ordered the executioner to brutally kill Lin Xiangqian.
On the evening of February 7, Shi Yang was ordered to avoid the search and arrest of the reactionary military and police, returned home from the Local Court hall in Hankou, and after dinner, he told his wife Guo Xiulan: "As a revolutionary, if you do not fight a few rounds with the reactionary ruling class, they will not automatically collapse, and the revolutionary cause will not succeed." There is nothing to be feared about fighting that always bleeds. But why do these people bleed? It is necessary to continue to talk about it from generation to generation, so that the next generation can inherit the legacy of the martyrs and strive for the final victory of the revolution. ”
Just after Shi Yang and his wife had finished speaking, more than a dozen plainclothes policemen suddenly broke through the door, forcibly arrested Shi Yang, and sent him to the Hankou Police Department that night. At the Police Department, Shi Yang asked in a sharp voice: "I have not broken the law, why did you bring me here?" Ask the enemy speechless.
On February 8, the enemy escorted Shi Yang to the Wuchang Hubei Army Trial Office. When the enemy escorted Shi Yang across the river by boat, Shi Yang did not forget to preach revolutionary principles to the policemen: "In today's China, the poor are miserable, the workers are pitiful, and all the people are under imperialist oppression... We must unite in unison to overthrow imperialism, and we must not kill each other, so that the foreigners will take advantage of the fishermen..."
At the Wuchang Army Trial, Shi Yang was handcuffed with special leg shackles. On the afternoon of February 8, the Army Trial Division held a hearing. When the judge asked Shi Yang why he wanted to join the May Fourth Patriotic Movement and the Federation of All Walks of Life, Shi Yang replied boldly: "I am a member of the nationals, and patriotism is the natural duty of the people, so why shouldn't I participate?" The National Salvation Movement is an extraordinary action, and all walks of life in agriculture, industry, commerce and science have participated in the movement one after another, so why shouldn't lawyers participate?" When the judge accused Shi Yang of writing pleadings for the trade unions and workers as an act of stirring up the trend, Shi Yang refuted on the grounds that "for poor workers and trade union workers who have litigation or non-litigation events to entrust me, what crime can I commit in exercising the duties and powers of a lawyer within the scope of the law?" You secretly arrested me and violated my freedom, this is an illegal act, you are breaking the law... Legally responsible!" The judge was stunned and overwhelmed.
Immediately afterward, Shi Yang put forward two defenses to the judge: "First, Shi Yang did not break the law, and all his actions in his life were within the scope of the law. Even if you break the law, but you are not a soldier, not a thief, it should be handled by the local courtroom, the army trial department has no power to ask questions, this is the first time you have messed with the law, you should bear considerable responsibility in law; second, Shi Yang is a weak scholar, such a major leg shackles and handcuffs have long been abandoned in the civilized countries of the world, and moreover, here, there are stone walls and iron nets on the outside, and there are many armies inside, and there is absolutely no possibility of escape. You have put a weak scholar in such a prison, which is already majestic enough, and nailed such a heavy shackle, is it not in accordance with heavenly reason, the law of the land, and human feelings?" The judge was speechless and had to hastily withdraw from the courtroom.
From February 9 to 12, Shi Yang wrote a daily diary in prison with high morale and perseverance, detailing the arrest and interrogation, drafting appeals and writing a total of 7 letters to his family and friends in order to win the annual welfare of his fellow prisoners.
On February 14, the Beiyang warlord Wu Peifu sent an urgent telegram to Xiao Yaonan, the governor of Hubei, to secretly kill Shi Yang. In the early morning of February 15, 1923 (the 30th day of the lunar month), Shi Yang, dressed in a gray long cotton robe and a pair of black cloth cotton shoes on his feet, walked out of the prison door with his head held high, and was escorted by the executioner to the execution ground at the foot of Hongshan Mountain in Wuchang. The magistrate asked Shi Yang in a pretentious manner, "Do you want to write a letter from home?" Is there a will?" Shi Yang replied sharply: "The Republic of China is my home, I don't have any letters to write?" I only hope that the Chinese laborers will rise up sooner and eat their flesh and bury their skins together with the warlords, bureaucrats, capitalists, and your lackeys. He said passionately: "I am not afraid of people, I am not afraid of things, I am not afraid of death, I am a dignified person, I oppose rape, you have killed one Shi Yang, and there are thousands of Shi Yang!" The executioner was horrified, ashamed and angry, and ordered the shooting to be fired. Shi Yang was awe-struck, and shouted with his arms raised: "Long live the laborers!" When the second shot rang out, Shi Yang was still standing, and shouted again: "Long live the laborer!" Heroic sacrifice. Shi Yang shed the last drop of blood for the cause of liberation and communism of the working class.
In 1963, on the occasion of commemorating the 40th anniversary of the February 7 strike, Dong Biwu inscribed a poem in honor of the martyr Shi Yang:
Erqi Gong Vengeance Blood History,
Wu Xiao's legacy stinks for thousands of years.
Lawyers should serve the righteousness of the world,
Martyrs are martyrs.
In this year, the Shi Yang Martyrs Monument stands majestically at the foot of Wuchang Hongshan Mountain in Wuhan City, Hubei Province.
In August 1993, the people of Zhushan, the hometown of martyr Shi Yang, built a five-meter-high bronze statue of the spirited earth at the western end of the river-blocking bridge in the county town for posterity to see.
Source: China Heroic Martyrs Network
Web Editor: Goofy
Tips: For more related content, please pay attention to the WeChat public account: Zhonghua Yingliewang (id: zhonghuayingliewang)
Submission Instructions: Please send the work in the form of an attachment (it is recommended to name the email subject as "work form + title + contributor name / unit / address / contact information (mobile phone / qq / WeChat)") to the mailbox [email protected], for details, please click "China Heroic Martyrs Network" official WeChat platform Submission Instructions to view.
![Wuchang Shiyang Martyrs Cemetery commemorates revolutionary martyrs[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)