Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery is Beijing's main resting place for revolutionary heroes, high government officials and in recent years, any individual deemed important due to their contributions to society. In Chinese, Babaoshan literally means "The Eight-Treasure Mountains". The cemetery is located in the Shijingshan District
, a municipality located in western Beijing
.
, a Ming Dynasty
soldier who castrated himself as an act of obedience for Emperor Yongle. The emperor designated the area surrounding the temple as the final resting place of concubines and eunuchs. Over time, the Taoist temple became a place for retired eunuchs only, which it remained for five centuries of imperial rule until it was converted to honor the elite of the Chinese Communist Party five decades ago. The official name of the temple was , roughly translating into Temple of Loyalty and Defender of the Nation.
The last abbot of the temple was Xin Xiuming (信修明), who was married and had two children. Due to the harsh living conditions of rural China, Xin Xiuming, when he was 19 and against the strong oppositions of his family members, castrated himself and became a eunuch for Puyi
. After the establishment of Republic of China
, Xin Xiuming left the Forbidden City
and went to live in the Temple of Loyalty to the Nation, and by 1930, he had risen to the top as the abbot of the Taoist temple. Under Abbot Xin's management, the Taoist temple prospered as an agricultural business establishment: 52 Chinese acres of land that the temple owned were farmed by the eunuchs themselves, another 157 Chinese acres of land the temple owned were farmed jointly by eunuchs and tenant farmers, and the remaining 269 Chinese acres of land the temple owned were rented out to be farmed by tenant farmers. When the communists decided to turn the temple into a cemetery, Abbot Xin Xiuming was able to negotiate with the then deputy mayor of Beijing
, Mr. Wu Han
a good deal for the eunuchs: the government would pay the full price for all of the asset of the temple, and pay the each eunuch a monthly pension until his death. The abbot also convinced the government to arrange vehicles for the free transportation to help relocate eunuchs to two new locations. Those older eunuchs were relocated to a Taoist temple for eunuchs at Colored Glazed River (Liulihe), and the rest were located to another Taoist temple for eunuchs at Westward Tilted Street (Xixiejie).
Israel Epstein
, a Communist Jew who immigrated to China, was honored and cremated at Babaoshan in 2005.
In January 2010, eight individuals (four UN peacekeepers and four Chinese delegates) who were killed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake
, were also laid to rest at Babaoshan as martyrs.
Municipal Government in August 1951. After numerous reviews, the modified version was renamed to Temporary Legislation on Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery (革命公墓暂行规定) and made into law on Executive order #270 on December 20, 1951. Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery was built according to the regulations described in this law.
One of the most important piece of legislation is the third section, where it dictates the different level of treatment of late cadres at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, which has since become the standard for the rest of cemeteries in China for decades.
There are three levels for the area and the location of the graves depending on the ranks of the late cadres:
One of the two portions of the 1st District is the region in front of the temple. This is the region for cadres at county level and regimental officers. The area of individual grave can not exceed 12 ft (4 m) by 6 ft (2 m).
The other portion of the 1st District is the region to the east of the temple. This is the region for cadres at prefecture level and divisional officers. The area of individual grave can not exceed 12 ft (4 m) by 12 ft (4 m).
The 2nd District is located to the west of the temple. This is the region for cadres at provincial level and army/corps level officers. Since this category includes several level of ranks, the area of individual grave is also divided into two: those held lower rank can not exceed 18 ft (5 m) by 18 ft (5 m), and those held higher higher rank can not exceed 24 ft (7 m) by 24 ft (7 m).
The 3rd District is located to the north of the temple, and it is designated those had special place in the revolution, and those served in the central government. The area of the grave would be determined individually by the government.
The mourning hall with several rooms where cinerary caskets are placed follows a similar rule: room number one has all of the cinerary caskets of deceased cadres / officers qualified to be buried in the graves in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Districts, and cinery caskets of all other deceased would be placed in other rooms. Arrangement of the cinerary caskets also follows the similar rule: the front wall of room number one is reserved for the cinerary caskets of deceased cadres of central government, while side walls of room number one are reserved for the deceased cadres who had no positions in the central government, but held ranks enough to have their cinerary caskets to be placed in room number one. Even for the same wall, there are similar rules for the levels at which the cinerary caskets are placed: the higher the ranks the deceased held, the higher the cinerary caskets is placed.
In 1962, more than a dozen GAZ-63
trucks were reassigned to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery at once, from the 13th Plant of Passenger Coaches (客车十三厂), but the original three vehicles did not completely retire until Cultural Revolution
had started. When the Field Marshal
Chen Yi
died in February 1972, the Chinese government finally realized that trucks acting as hearses was not adequate for special occasions such as funerals of important governmental figures. An emergency order was given to the 4th Plant of Passenger Coaches (客车四厂) to produce a true hearse, and after consulting with workers at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, a purpose built hearse was pressed into service just a few months after the order was given. The hearse was based on the chassis of Liberation Truck, and thus also used the same Liberation brand.
To solve the problem, in 1984, China imported two new crematorium from a Japanese firm in Tokyo
(日本东京博善株式会社), one went to Shenyang
, and the other went to Babaoshan. The Japanese crematorium was highly automatic but also could be operated manually when wanted, and in addition, the pollution generated during the cremation was near next to nothing. However, such environmental friendly process comes at a price: the cremation process itself takes much longer and consumed more fuel. Nonetheless, due to other advantages such as the easy of cleaning and automation, all activities other than the cremation were greatly reduced, resulting in much higher efficiency. The higher efficiency in turn, helped to solve the schedule conflicts and reduced complaints. After two months of installation and testing, the Japanese crematorium formally went into service and replaced the obsolete Type 82B crematorium, and it remained in service until this day, specifically used to cremate high ranking governmental officials' cadavers.
Although the Japanese crematorium is adequate, the ever increasing need required new crematorium, and a new domestic crematorium that was fully computerized was added to the inventory. The new crematorium further improved environmental standards and efficiency, and consume less fuel in comparison to the Japanese crematorium while the cremation process was shorter. This newest addition was produced by Shougang
, and are mainly used for common citizens.
In April 1996 the ashes of Emperor Puyi were buried in Eastern Qing Mausoleum near Beijing (清东陵,Qingdongling).
Nowadays, only the emperor's brother Prince Pujie (溥杰) lies in Babaoshan Cemetery.
Shijingshan District
Shijingshan District is an urban district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area...
, a municipality located in western Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
History
The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, with an area of 0.10 square kilometres and located in the western frontiers of Beijing's massive urban sprawl, was first built as a temple in honor of General Gang BingGang Bing
Gang Bing was a Chinese general and eunuch who served under Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty.-Self-castration:General Gang Bing is most notable for his act of self-castration as a display of loyalty to his emperor. He served under Emperor Yongle, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty who ruled...
, a Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
soldier who castrated himself as an act of obedience for Emperor Yongle. The emperor designated the area surrounding the temple as the final resting place of concubines and eunuchs. Over time, the Taoist temple became a place for retired eunuchs only, which it remained for five centuries of imperial rule until it was converted to honor the elite of the Chinese Communist Party five decades ago. The official name of the temple was , roughly translating into Temple of Loyalty and Defender of the Nation.
The last abbot of the temple was Xin Xiuming (信修明), who was married and had two children. Due to the harsh living conditions of rural China, Xin Xiuming, when he was 19 and against the strong oppositions of his family members, castrated himself and became a eunuch for Puyi
Puyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
. After the establishment of Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, Xin Xiuming left the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
and went to live in the Temple of Loyalty to the Nation, and by 1930, he had risen to the top as the abbot of the Taoist temple. Under Abbot Xin's management, the Taoist temple prospered as an agricultural business establishment: 52 Chinese acres of land that the temple owned were farmed by the eunuchs themselves, another 157 Chinese acres of land the temple owned were farmed jointly by eunuchs and tenant farmers, and the remaining 269 Chinese acres of land the temple owned were rented out to be farmed by tenant farmers. When the communists decided to turn the temple into a cemetery, Abbot Xin Xiuming was able to negotiate with the then deputy mayor of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Mr. Wu Han
Wu Han (PRC)
Wu Han was one of the most important historians in the development of modern historical scholarship in China with his work in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1940s he was a leading member of the Democratic League, a non-aligned Third Force. After 1949, he was Deputy-Mayor of Peking...
a good deal for the eunuchs: the government would pay the full price for all of the asset of the temple, and pay the each eunuch a monthly pension until his death. The abbot also convinced the government to arrange vehicles for the free transportation to help relocate eunuchs to two new locations. Those older eunuchs were relocated to a Taoist temple for eunuchs at Colored Glazed River (Liulihe), and the rest were located to another Taoist temple for eunuchs at Westward Tilted Street (Xixiejie).
Israel Epstein
Israel Epstein
Israel Epstein was a naturalized Chinese journalist and author...
, a Communist Jew who immigrated to China, was honored and cremated at Babaoshan in 2005.
In January 2010, eight individuals (four UN peacekeepers and four Chinese delegates) who were killed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
, were also laid to rest at Babaoshan as martyrs.
Establishment
After the land was purchased, the legal proceeding followed: Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery traces its legal/judicial root to the Temporary Legislation on the Burial at Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery (革命烈士公墓安葬暂行规定) issued by BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
Municipal Government in August 1951. After numerous reviews, the modified version was renamed to Temporary Legislation on Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery (革命公墓暂行规定) and made into law on Executive order #270 on December 20, 1951. Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery was built according to the regulations described in this law.
One of the most important piece of legislation is the third section, where it dictates the different level of treatment of late cadres at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, which has since become the standard for the rest of cemeteries in China for decades.
There are three levels for the area and the location of the graves depending on the ranks of the late cadres:
One of the two portions of the 1st District is the region in front of the temple. This is the region for cadres at county level and regimental officers. The area of individual grave can not exceed 12 ft (4 m) by 6 ft (2 m).
The other portion of the 1st District is the region to the east of the temple. This is the region for cadres at prefecture level and divisional officers. The area of individual grave can not exceed 12 ft (4 m) by 12 ft (4 m).
The 2nd District is located to the west of the temple. This is the region for cadres at provincial level and army/corps level officers. Since this category includes several level of ranks, the area of individual grave is also divided into two: those held lower rank can not exceed 18 ft (5 m) by 18 ft (5 m), and those held higher higher rank can not exceed 24 ft (7 m) by 24 ft (7 m).
The 3rd District is located to the north of the temple, and it is designated those had special place in the revolution, and those served in the central government. The area of the grave would be determined individually by the government.
The mourning hall with several rooms where cinerary caskets are placed follows a similar rule: room number one has all of the cinerary caskets of deceased cadres / officers qualified to be buried in the graves in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Districts, and cinery caskets of all other deceased would be placed in other rooms. Arrangement of the cinerary caskets also follows the similar rule: the front wall of room number one is reserved for the cinerary caskets of deceased cadres of central government, while side walls of room number one are reserved for the deceased cadres who had no positions in the central government, but held ranks enough to have their cinerary caskets to be placed in room number one. Even for the same wall, there are similar rules for the levels at which the cinerary caskets are placed: the higher the ranks the deceased held, the higher the cinerary caskets is placed.
Hearse
For the first few years, there was no hearse for Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, vehicles were temporarily drafted from other governmental establishments or hired from private businesses when needed. In 1956, three vehicles were assigned to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery: a Polish truck, a World War II Japanese Toyota truck nicknamed "Potato vehicle" by the workers due to its round nose, and an American Jeep towing a trailer where the cadaver was placed.In 1962, more than a dozen GAZ-63
GAZ-63
The GAZ-63 is a Russian 4x4 2 ton truck produced from 1948 to 1968 at the Gorky Automobile Plant. It was a development of the earlier GAZ-51 truck and is very similar in appearance....
trucks were reassigned to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery at once, from the 13th Plant of Passenger Coaches (客车十三厂), but the original three vehicles did not completely retire until Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
had started. When the Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Chen Yi
Chen Yi (communist)
Chen Yi was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as the 2nd Mayor of Shanghai and the 2nd Foreign Minister of China.-Biography:Chen was born in Lezhi, near Chengdu, Sichuan, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family....
died in February 1972, the Chinese government finally realized that trucks acting as hearses was not adequate for special occasions such as funerals of important governmental figures. An emergency order was given to the 4th Plant of Passenger Coaches (客车四厂) to produce a true hearse, and after consulting with workers at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, a purpose built hearse was pressed into service just a few months after the order was given. The hearse was based on the chassis of Liberation Truck, and thus also used the same Liberation brand.
Crematorium
From the start, the crematorium used at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery was Type 82B, the Chinese copy of a 1940's era Czech crematorium, which could only be operated manually, resulting in very slow preparation time. Furthermore, it took huge effort to clean the crematorium. Whenever a high ranking official's funeral took place, ordinary citizens must wait and their original schedules were disrupted, and this caused many complaints from the public.To solve the problem, in 1984, China imported two new crematorium from a Japanese firm in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(日本东京博善株式会社), one went to Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
, and the other went to Babaoshan. The Japanese crematorium was highly automatic but also could be operated manually when wanted, and in addition, the pollution generated during the cremation was near next to nothing. However, such environmental friendly process comes at a price: the cremation process itself takes much longer and consumed more fuel. Nonetheless, due to other advantages such as the easy of cleaning and automation, all activities other than the cremation were greatly reduced, resulting in much higher efficiency. The higher efficiency in turn, helped to solve the schedule conflicts and reduced complaints. After two months of installation and testing, the Japanese crematorium formally went into service and replaced the obsolete Type 82B crematorium, and it remained in service until this day, specifically used to cremate high ranking governmental officials' cadavers.
Although the Japanese crematorium is adequate, the ever increasing need required new crematorium, and a new domestic crematorium that was fully computerized was added to the inventory. The new crematorium further improved environmental standards and efficiency, and consume less fuel in comparison to the Japanese crematorium while the cremation process was shorter. This newest addition was produced by Shougang
Shougang
Shougang is one of the Chinese largest steel company. Based in Beijing municipality, its operations are being moved out of the city prior to the Olympics due to major pollution concerns....
, and are mainly used for common citizens.
Famous people buried at Babaoshan
- Zhu DeZhu DeZhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...
- Peng DehuaiPeng DehuaiPeng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
- Ren BishiRen BishiRen Bishi was a rising figure in the Chinese Communist Party until his death at the age of 46. He was born in Hunan and was ranked 5th in the 7th Politburo of the Communist Party of China.-References:...
- Israel EpsteinIsrael EpsteinIsrael Epstein was a naturalized Chinese journalist and author...
- George Hatem
- Agnes SmedleyAgnes SmedleyAgnes Smedley was an American journalist and writer best known for her semi-autobiographical novelDaughter of Earth. She was also known for her sympathetic chronicling of the Chinese revolution...
- Anna Louise StrongAnna Louise StrongAnna Louise Strong was a twentieth-century American journalist and activist, best known for her reporting on and support for communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.-Early years:...
- Wang GuangmeiWang GuangmeiWang Guangmei was a respected Chinese politician, philanthropist, and First Lady, the wife of Liu Shaoqi, who served as the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1959-1968.-Earlier Years:...
- Qian Xuesen
- Emperor Puyi
- Douglas Springhall
In April 1996 the ashes of Emperor Puyi were buried in Eastern Qing Mausoleum near Beijing (清东陵,Qingdongling).
Nowadays, only the emperor's brother Prince Pujie (溥杰) lies in Babaoshan Cemetery.
External links
- Pictures of Babaoshan during Qingming Festival with short biographies of several of the people interred there.