Xibaipo, a village in Pingshan County, is located at the foot of Baipo Ridge, which sits astride the eastern foot of Mountain Taihang and on the northern bank of the Hutuo River. From May 1948 to March 1949, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese People's Liberation Army set up their headquarters in Xibaipo. Premier Chou En-lai once observed: “The command post set up in Xibaipo was the last command post in rural area in the later stage of the War of Liberation when Chairman Mao and the Party's Central Committee entered Beiping and liberated the whole country. It was from Xibaipo where the Party's Central Committee commanded the Three Major Campaigns, and convened the Second Plenary Session of the 7th Central Committee of the CPC.” Premier Chou's words may be considered a fair evaluation of Xibaipo's historical significance.
At that time, China's New Democratic Revolution was at a major turning point, and the People's Liberation War was at the stage just prior to the decisive campaigns. To win the final victory, the Party's Working Committee convened the National Land Conference in Xibaipo. Comrade Liu Shao-chi chaired the conference and delivered a report. The conference approved the outline of the Chinese Land Law, which was made public by the Party's Central Committee on October 10, 1947. The adoption of this outline greatly facilitated the land reform undertaken in various liberated areas. Within a year, more than 100 million peasants obtained ownership of their land, which fed their enthusiasm for joining the army and in return hastened the course of victory in the National Liberation War.
In early May 1948, the Party's Central Committee decided to merge two liberated areas, Jinchaji and Jinjiluyu, into one and named it North China Liberated Area. To strengthen the leadership, Comrade Liu Shao-chi was appointed the Secretary-General of the North China Bureau and Nie Rongzhen was appointed the commander of the North China Military Command. Meanwhile, North China United Administrative Committee was established.
On August 7, 1948, the North China Temporary People's Representative Conference was convened in Shijiazhuang. On August 19, the conference came to a close and elected members of the North China People's Administration. The integration of the North China Liberated Area and the establishment of the North China People's Administration had strengthened the rear areas prior to the decisive campaigns.
Given the favorable situation nationwide, the Party's Central Committee convened an enlarged meeting of the political bureau from 8 to 13 September 1948 (called the September Meeting). The meeting drew up a comprehensive plan for the next stage in the struggle and set up the goal of overthrowing the Kuomintang (KMT, also known as the Nationalist Party) government within 5 years and to expand the People's Liberation Army to 5 million troops. The meeting reviewed the past, designed future tasks and battle plans of the army, which prepared the army for the decisive campaigns mentally, organizationally and materially. After the meeting, Chairman Mao called on the army to “advance further, increase production and strengthen self-discipline, so that victory will surely be in our hands.”
After the September Meeting, the Liberation War had arrived at a strategic turning point prior to some very decisive campaigns. The Party's Central Committee took hold of the favorable opportunity, and organized as well as commanded the Three Major Campaigns of Liaoshen, Huaihai and Pingjin. These three major battles span a time frame from September 12, 1948 to January 30, 1949. The actual battle took 4 months and 19 days. More than 1.54 million KMT troops were either routed or reorganized. These battles laid a firm foundation of permanently burying the Chiang Kai-shek regime and liberating China.
From 5 to 13 March 1949, the Chinese Communist Party convened the second session of the 7th Central Committee of CPC. Mao Tse-tung chaired the meeting and delivered a very significant report. Some other leaders also delivered important speeches at the meeting, including Chu Teh, Liu Shao-chi, Chou En-lai and Ren Bishi.
In his report, Mao Tse-tung put forward strategies on how to win a national victory, and their implementation. He explained that under the prevailing victorious circumstances, the Party should shift the focus of its work from the rural areas to the cities. He designed basic policies regarding politics, economy and diplomacy, which the Party would adopt after a national victory. He also pointed out the major tasks and the approaches to their implementation in order to transform China from an agricultural country to an industrial country, and from new democracy to socialism. Furthermore, he advised the participants about the dangers of overweening self-pride, and warned everybody toguard against assaults by sugar-coated bullets.
After the meeting, the headquarters of the Party's Central Committee and the Liberation Army were moved from Xibaipo to Beiping on March 23, 1949.
Though the Party's Central Committee only resided in Xibaipo for 10 months, it represents a remarkable chapter in China's revolutionary history and saw the rise of New China. In this connection, Xibaipo remains a revered locale in the memory of the Chinese revolution, much like Mountain Jinggang, Ruijin and Yan'an.
The Xibaipo period was the turning point in the Chinese revolution, and is seen as the most successful and glorious phase of the Party during the course of the democratic revolution. It was in Xibaipo that the Party's Central Committee led the struggle of the new democratic revolution to national victory, and opened up channels for shifting the Party's focus from the rural areas to the cities, from war to construction, and transforming itself from new democracy to socialism.
During this phase, Mao Tse-tung's thoughts on military strategy and battle tactics were enriched and developed. In particular, he further enhanced his thoughts on the establishment of a People's Democratic Dictatorship, the policy of the People's Representative Conference and the cooperation of multiple parties, as well as how to take a path with Chinese characteristics and complete the transition from new democracy to socialism.
The glory and successful experience of the Xibaipo phase engendered the great spirit of Xibaipo. This spirit demonstrates revolutionary determination at a historical turning point, represents a new stage in the spiritual development of the Chinese Proletarian Revolution, and reflects the continuity and progress of the spirit of Mountain Jinggang and the spirit of Yan'an. The spirit of Xibaipo is a spiritual treasure for our party as well as for the Chinese nation. It is worthy of our study and development during the course of reform and opening-up and socialist modernization. |
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