The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery (Chinese: 八宝山革命公墓) is Beijing's main resting place for the highest-ranking revolutionary heroes, high-ranking government officials and, in recent years, individuals deemed of major importance due to their contributions to society. In Chinese, Babaoshan literally means "The Eight-Treasure Mountains". The cemetery is located in Babaoshan Subdistrict, Shijingshan District, in western Beijing Municipality.
| Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery | |||||||||||
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 Main entrance | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 八寶山革命公墓 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 八宝山革命公墓 | ||||||||||
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History
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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 Bing, a Ming dynasty soldier who castrated himself as an act of obedience for the Yongle Emperor. The emperor designated the area surrounding the temple as the final resting place of concubines and eunuchs. Over time, the Taoist temple became a senior's home for retired eunuchs. The official name of the temple was (Chinese: 褒忠护国祠; pinyin: bāo zhōng hù guó cí), roughly translating into Temple of Loyalty and Defender of the Nation.[citation needed]
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 assets of the temple, and pay each eunuch a monthly pension until his death. The abbot also convinced the government to arrange vehicles 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).[citation needed]
In the 1950s, the cemetery was established as a burial place for those deemed the political and military martyrs of China.[1]: 118
Israel Epstein, a Communist Jew who immigrated to China, was honored and cremated at Babaoshan in 2005.[2][3]
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.[4]
On December 5, 2022, former Chinese president and Paramount Leader from 1989 to 2002 Jiang Zemin was cremated at the crematorium in preparation for his state funeral.[5]
Notable people buried at Babaoshan
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- Bo Yibo (1908–2007)
- Cao Diqiu (1909-1976)
- Eugene Chen (1878–1944)
- Chen Yun (1905–1995)
- Dong Biwu (1886–1975)
- Israel Epstein (1915–2005)
- Geng Biao (1909–2000)
- George Hatem (aka Ma Haide) (1910–1988)
- Shirley Graham Du Bois (1897-1977)
- Hua Luogeng (1910–1985)
- Lao She (1899–1966)
- Li Fuchun (1900–1975)
- Li Keqiang (1955–2023)
- Li Keran (1907–1989)
- Li Peng (1928–2019)
- Li Rui (1917–2019)
- Li Siguang (1889–1971)
- Li Xiannian (1909–1992)
- Liao Chengzhi (1908–1983)
- Lin Boqu (1886–1960)
- Liu Fuzhi (1917–2013)
- Liu Yazi (1887–1958)
- Long Yun (1884-1962)
- Lü Zhengcao (1904–2009)
- Luo Ronghuan (1902–1963)
- Luo Ruiqing (1906–1978)
- Hans Müller (1915–1994)
- Ngapoi Cedain Zhoigar (1915–2012)
- Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme (1910–2009)
- Nie Rongzhen (1899–1992)
- Peng Dehuai (1898–1974)
- Peng Zhen (1902–1997)
- Puren (1918–2015)
- Qi Gong (1912–2005)
- Qian Xuesen (1911–2009)
- Qiao Shi (1924–2015)
- Qu Qiubai (1899–1935)
- Manya Reiss (1900–1962)
- Ren Bishi (1904–1950)
- Agnes Smedley (1892–1950)
- Douglas Springhall (1901–1953)
- Anna Louise Strong (1885–1970)
- Tao Zhu (1908–1969)
- Tan Zhenlin (1902–1983)
- Wan Li (1916–2015)
- Wang Dongxing (1916–2015)
- Wang Guangmei (1921–2006)
- Wang Yaowu (1904–1968)
- Wei Wenbo (1905-1987)
- Wen Yiduo (1899–1946)
- Yao Yilin (1917–1994)
- Yu Qiuli (1914–1999)
- Zaitao (1887–1970)
- Zeng Shan (1899–1972)
- Zhang Aiping (1910–2003)
- Zhang Lan (1872–1955)
- Zhang Wannian (1928–2015)
- Zhou Chunquan (1905–1985)
- Zhu De (1886–1976)
- Hoàng Văn Hoan (1905–1991)
- Chen Shunyao - the wife of former state Councillor Song Ping - buried 2019
The ashes of Emperor Puyi, initially deposited at Babaoshan upon his death in 1967, were transferred in April 1996 to the Hualong Imperial Cemetery (华龙皇家陵园) near the Western Qing tombs outside Beijing, at the initiative of Puyi's widow Li Shuxian.[6] The remains of Puyi's brother Prince Pujie (溥杰), however, still rest at Babaoshan Cemetery. [citation needed]
See also
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edit- ^ Chatwin, Jonathan (2024). The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 111. ISBN 9781350435711.
- ^ "View from the Eunuch's Temple". Powerhouse Museum. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ^ Pattanaik, Devdutt (2001). The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales of Hindu Lore. Haworth Press. p. 13. ISBN 1-56023-181-5.
- ^ http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100120/world/haiti_quake_china_funeral [dead link]
- ^ "Jiang Zemin cremated in Beijing, top leaders pay their respects". South China Morning Post. 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ "28 years after Puyi's death, his ashes were forcibly moved out of Babaoshan by his wife. You may not think of the reason!". 7 November 2020.
External links
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- Pictures of Babaoshan Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine during Qingming Festival with short biographies of several of the people interred there.