Dear tourists, welcome to Datong School.
Datong School, whose full name is Datong Normal School, was founded by democratic revolutionists Xu Xilin and Tao Chengzhang in September 1905. It is the activity center of Guangfu Association, an anti-Qing revolutionary group in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and an important activity stronghold of armed uprising in Anhui and Zhejiang on the eve of the Revolution of 1911. It is also the earliest military school specializing in cultivating and training revolutionary volunteers in modern China.
With blue tiles and black walls, Datong School is a Qing Dynasty bungalow complex facing south, which was originally the reserve granary of Shaoxing Prefectural City. There are three axes in the middle, east and west on the plan view, with three entrances in the central axis and four entrances in the east and west axes.
Now we are coming to the first entrance door of the central axis. The plaque of "Datong School" hanging directly above is inscribed by Mr. Zhao Puchu, a famous contemporary calligrapher. Tao Junxuan, the uncle of Tao Chengzhang, wrote a couplet on both sides: "There are three people who died a hero’s death in Yue district, it’s no need to regret about getting the desired object; Everyone has a death but theirs are worthwhile, death for freedom will be honored for a long while". He expressed the revolutionary spirit of Xu Xilin, Qiu Jin and Tao Chengzhang, the three Shaoxing leaders of the Guangfu Association, who faced death unflinchingly.
"A Brief History Exhibition of Datong School" and "Historical Site Exhibition of Guangfu Association" are arranged in the first building on the west axis. The former site of Datong School is Yucang granary in Shanyin and Huiji County in Qing Dynasty. In 1897, Xu Shulan, a reformer from Shaoxing, founded Shaojun Chinese and Western School. Later, it was renamed as The School of Shaoxing Prefectural City, where Cai Yuanpei and Xu Xilin held teaching posts successively. Datong School was founded on the original site during the Revolution of 1911, but was closed down by the Qing government after the Anqing Uprising failed. After the Revolution of 1911, Datong Women's Technical School was founded here. In July, 1927, the Board of Supervisors of Shaoxing Xushe decided to set up Xilin Public School here to train revolutionary youth to inherit the legacy of martyrs. After that, Shaoxing Middle School and Shaoxing No.1 Middle School Branch have been set up here. In memory of the martyrs, the central axis of Datong School was repaired in the early 1980s and opened to the public. Since 1999, it has been renovated on a large scale, and now it has been restored to its original appearance basically.
This is the historical exhibition room of Guangfu Association, which is one of the most famous revolutionary groups in modern China. It was founded in November 1904 and disintegrated in 1912. Cai Yuanpei and Zhang Taiyan served as presidents successively, and Tao Chengzhang as vice presidents. The leaders were basically Shaoxing people, and most of the members were Zhejiang nationals. The slogan is "Rejuvenate the Han nationality, take our homeland back, devote lives to the country, retire after winning merit". At the beginning of 1905, a branch of Guangfu Association was established in Tokyo, echoing with Shanghai’s. The activities of Guangfu Association are mainly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and it has focal points in Wenzhou and Hangzhou in Zhejiang. They contacted local associations, scholars and the new army to develop organizations actively after the establishment. Datong School was founded in September 1905 to train revolutionary forces to organize Anhui-Zhejiang uprising and promote the revolutionary process, laying a republican foundation for the recovery of Zhejiang, Shanghai and Nanjing.
The dormitory is located in the second entrance of the west axis. The school is a military school for training revolutionary talents with strict rules and regulations. Students slept on the floor with all their shoes outside the door, living a militarized life.
The second room to the east of the dormitory is a showroom in memory of the martyrs. Through a large number of pictures and exhibits, it expresses people's lofty respect and reminiscences to the martyrs.
The auditorium is located in the second entrance of the central axis. It used to be the place where the opening and graduation ceremonies were held, and it was also the place where Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin delivered speeches for patriotic education. Now it is the preface hall of Datong School.
The third entrance of the central axis is a bungalow, which is divided into five rooms. After the Revolution of 1911, it was established as Xushe in memory of revolutionary volunteer Xu Xilin. The plaque of "Xushe" was hung on the door, which was inscribed by Tian Huan, the secretary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. This room is now arranged as "Xu Xilin's Life Story Exhibition", which introduces this patriot's short and glorious life through objects and pictures. Xu Xilin (1873-1907), who styled himself as “Bo Sun” and took “Guang Hanzi” as his pseudonym, is a native of Shanyin, Zhejiang Province. He was a famous democratic revolutionist in modern times. In 1903, he opened a special bookstore in Shaoxing to disseminate newly translated books and newspapers, publicizing the revolution. In the same year, he traveled to Japan, making extensive contacts with overseas students and revolutionary volunteers, as well as participated in many activities actively, such as the struggle against Russia and the rescue of Zhang Binglin. In 1904, he founded Enthusiasm Primary School in his hometown. In 1905, he met Cai Yuanpei and Tao Chengzhang in Shanghai. After being introduced by Cai Yuanpei, he joined the Guangfu Association and became one of the leaders later. In September of the same year, Datong School was founded in Shaoxing, advocating sports and stressing martial arts to accumulate revolutionary forces. In 1906, he donated money to be a local official and went to Anqing to serve as the patrol commissioner and the supervisor of the patrol school, seeking to hold the military power. At the beginning of 1907, he agreed with Qiu Jin and others to revolt in Anhui and Zhejiang at the same time. On July 6th, he organized a hasty uprising in Anqing and assassinated Enming, the governor of Anhui Province. However, the uprising failed and he was arrested. Neither threats nor force can make him surrender, he died bravely. After Shaoxing's recovery, Xugong Memorial Temple was built in memory of Xu Xilin on Xiada Road in the city. Cai Yuanpei wrote an inscription for its establishment.
The first two entrances in the east are displayed as they were. They are classrooms, teachers' offices, students' training equipment display, Xu Xilin and Tao Chengzhang's offices, conference rooms and Qiu Jin's office. Everything is displayed as it was. At the sight of the scene, the heroic deeds of the martyrs are still vivid in our mind.
Dear tourists, this is the end of the visit to Datong School. Thank you!
