memorial hall of the anti-british war and
memorial to the anti-british martyrs

the memorial hall of the anti-british war is located in sanyuan ancient temple，which was once a taoist temple enshrining beidi. to the north of guangyuan road in the downtown，the temple was located in sanyuanli village in the outskirts，which is now a downtown area full of overpasses and high-rises. but just one and a half centuries ago， it was still a suburb for planting vegetables. sanyuanli was named after sanyuan city in the ming dynast.

it is said that on the morning of may 30, the day after wei shaoguang and his fellows killed some english invaders beyond endurance, the infuriating sanyuanli villagers, expecting retaliation from the enemies, gathered in front of the sanyuan ancient temple with a determination to launch an armed resistance. he yucheng wrote letters to contact other villages, inviting the villages in the northeast outskirts of guangzhou, nanhai, panyu, and zengcheng to join them. then under the leadership of wei shaoguang, representatives from all villages, with a united will, rallied before the temple to pledge resolution before going to war. they took out the three-star flag from the temple as their commanding flag and promised that they would advance and retreat following the flag and they would have no complaint if killed in the battle. after that, they separately contacted about 15,000 farmers in and around sanyuanli, 103 in all, and formed pingyingtuang (a corps to defeat english invaders). gathering on the niulan hillock in the northeast of sanyuanli village, they agreed on a strategy to lure and destroy the enemies by taking advantage of the varied topography. once the english forces were found in any village, gong should be beaten as a signal and all other villages should rise in response.    

just as had been expected, after fleeing back to the sifang battery, the english forces, led by viscount hugh gough, the commander, intruded into this area but they were tempted to niulan hillock. all of a sudden and all over the hills, there appeared volunteers pursuing and killing enemies, holding up their banner of justice, carrying their broadswords, lances, hooks, guns and primitive weapons such as hoes. even women and children were there shouting encouragement. besides the local farmers, people such as weavers and workers chopping stones joined in the battle.

at noon, an unexpected heavy rain with lightning and thunder came, which failed the guns of the british forces who had no choice but to retreat in phalanx. the farmers dragged the enemies out from the team with their hooks and chopped them to death. some hoed to death the enemies trapped in mud.

in this battle, sanyuanli people won a sweeping victory, resulting in more than 100 casualties and injuries in british army, which had some survivors still failing to get back to their encampment till night.

led by viscount hugh gough, the remnants of british forces fled in panic back to their headquarters in the sifang battery on yuexiu mountain. even yilü,charles elliot, the instigator of the opium war and plenipotentiary of the british forces, was hemmed in it.

the next day, farmers from the 103 villages and people from other places such as zengcheng county and huaxian county joined in and laid a heavy siege to the headquarters. plunged into a panic, the british army urgently called for help from the guangdong authorities. then the governor-general of guangdong and guangxi ordered yu baochun, the magistrate of guangzhou prefecture to led the county magistrates of nanhai and panyu to the spot for rescue. by cheating and threatening, they managed to force the villagers to dismiss. on that same day, viscount hugh gough, under the escort of yu baolun, led the remnants of his forces back to their warships on the white goose pool and retreated to fumen.

this victory was a prelude to chinese people’s struggle against aggression and left an imperishable chapter in the history of chinese revolution. after the founding of new china, in november 1958, in order to commemorate this great struggle against imperialism, the sanyuan ancient temple was turned into sanyuanli memorial hall of the anti-british war. it is a historical monuments & cultural relics under state protection as well as a patriotic education base for the students in guangzhou city.

built in the qing dynasty, the sanyuan ancient temple was like siheyuan (a traditional, residential compound with houses around a courtyard). it got its name from taoism, which deems the sky, the earth and water as “three basic elements” (pronounced as sanyuan in chinese). beidi was once enshrined in this temple but it was burned down by french and british invaders during the second opium war. the present temple was built with the funds raised from the local people. this 11.38m-wide, 20.88m-deep temple, covering an area of 237 square meters, was made from bricks and wood. in the temple lay rectangular stone slabs. at the bottom of the wall pile stones, on which lie green bricks. the stone posts at front eaves and the stone walls are connected with stone memorial archway, on top of which bears the characters “sanyan ancient temple”. with glazed pearls and cloud-shape decorations on the roof and frescos and various patterns on the walls, this temple features the extravagant architecture in the late qing dynasty and it is characteristic of temples in the qing dynasty.

in the memorial hall, the main articles put on display are a sand table, a seven-star flag, weapons and trophies. the sand table is a model showing the anti-british war waged by farmers from the 103 villages. while watching it, you can feel as if you were on the battlefield and hearing their deafening shouting. the three-star flag with black underpainting and tooth-like lace was once the commanding flag of sanyuanli people’s anti-british struggle. having scruples about black flag, the moment the british forces saw it, they turned pale and scared, shouting: “ dare-to-die corps have come!” the three-star flag in the historic museum of the chinese people’s revolution in beijing is a replica. along with it, what has been passed down from one generation to another are the broadswords, lances, captured uniforms of british forces and the four old cannons set on both sides of the gate of the memorial hall. serving as vivid teaching materials for patriotic education, these articles can help people remember this brilliant history for ever.

[memorial to the anti-british martyrs]

sanyuanli people staged epic struggle against foreign invaders more than one century ago and many pioneers had shed their blood on this red cotton land and laid down their lives. there was a poet for them:

carrying hoes and lances, holding the three-star flag,

a hundred villages, but one united will.

once our national heroism is displayed,

the spirits on niulan hillock would be shocked.

after the founding of new china, in october 1950, the guangdong municipal government set up a sanyuanli memorial to the anti-british martyrs on ximenlou hillock in sanyuanli village with a view to cherishing the memory of heroic deeds of these martyrs. around the memorial, there came into being a commemoration park with a floor area of 7920 square meters and a solemn layout. in the center of the park, there towered a 10-meter memorial, on which engraved two lines of striking inscription: the martyrs in the anti-british war in guangzhou in 1841 will live for ever! in 1985, the memorial was put down on the list of the important historical sites to be given special protection at municipal level.

guangzhounese have left many brilliant achievements and moving stories in their struggle against imperialism and feudalism.15 minutes’ drive from here, in shijin town, baiyun borough, there stands a building like an ancestral hall, which was called taipingshexue. located in guangzhou, taipingshexue was an armed mass organization against foreign aggression. in june of the year after sanyuanli anti-british war, with the initiation of li fang, 80-odd farmers, intellectuals, shopmen and craftsmen from 13 communes participated in the organization, whose purpose is to resist british invaders. taipingshexue also recruited volunteers and local militia to resist foreign aggression. “none invading, they do their farmwork with their farming tools; warning alarming, they rise to counterattack with their arms”. shengpingxueshe organized and led a series of struggles, including burning down foreign saloons in 1846, opposing the forced renting of guangzhou and henan areas by british in 1844, ousting liu xun, the magistrate of guangzhou in 1846 and, between 1846 and 1849, keeping invaders outside of guangzhou for years after the signing of the nanking treaty.

now, on the former site of shengpingxueshe, there still keep some stone plaques on which engraved words showing their determination to fight against aggression and protect the motherland. these stones also keep a genuine record of the brilliant history created by guangzhounese in their struggle against aggression.