Changshan County Archives in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province holds a pen wrapped in clay, which was used by martyr Xu Shiyun during his lifetime.
In 1989, due to the construction needs of Changshan County, Xu Shiyun’s cemetery was requisitioned. In the process of moving the grave, Xu Shiyun’s nephew Xu Qiliang accidentally found a black pen, the pen was covered with yellow soil, the cap can still be unscrewed, the ink gall has rotted. Because the pen is stained with uncle Xu Shiyun’s blood and breath, Xu Qiliang has been unable to wash, he knows that this is a pen full of memory, witness the revolutionary spirit of the martyrs, is a pen of educational significance to future generations.
Xu Shiyun, born in February 1905 in Tianma Town, Changshan County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, went to Shanghai in 1925 after the “May 30th Tragedy”, when he was only 20 years old and full of enthusiasm. In Shanghai, he not only accepted the baptism of the revolution, but also imbibed a new style: a straight Zhongshan suit, wearing a black bowler hat, and a fountain pen in his jacket pocket, from then on, the pen was always with him.
In February 1926, the political department of the 22nd Division of the Eastern Army of the Northern Expeditionary Force stationed in Changshan, Xu Shiyun actively participated in supporting the activities of the front. In 1927, after the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, Xu Shiyun returned to his hometown. After that, he used the pen to prepare lessons for the children and run public …… for the national government, but he always felt that this was not the life he wanted.
In 1931, after the September 18 Incident, Changshan County set up the Anti-Japanese Salvation Congress, Xu Shiyun was elected as an inspector of the Inspection Unit, where found trafficking in Japanese goods and smugglers were severely punished, the masses praised him as an iron-faced inspector. in July 1932, the Communist Party member Jiang Renguang went to Changshan to develop local armed forces, Xu Shiyun was absorbed as the backbone, serving as the liaison secretary of the command of the guerrilla forces of the three provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Gan. Through the relationship of his cousin who was a major officer in the police command in Quzhou and Dizhou, he got a position as a section officer in Changshan County Police Department. During this period, he wrote many revolutionary words and secret letters with this pen.
On October 11, 1932, Jiang Renguang hosted a meeting of the backbone in Yanshan to study and determine the time of the riot and the deployment of action. Unfortunately, the riot plan was learned by the authorities. When Xu Shiyun, who was lurking in the police station, learned that the Kuomintang army was going to “besiege” Yanshan in four directions, he immediately went to the guerrilla headquarters to notify the evacuation of the rioters, regardless of his personal safety. The Kuomintang army pounced on the situation and imprisoned Xu Shiyun, who was copying documents with a pen at the police station. In the interrogation room, Xu Shiyun was tortured, but never said a word. 13 days later, Xu Shiyun wrote a letter with the only pen he had, and was escorted to the border guard headquarters in Quzhou, where he died at the age of 27.
In 1950, the people’s government of Changshan County erected the stone tablet of “Revolutionary Martyr Xu Shiyun” in front of Xu Shiyun’s tomb, identifying Xu Shiyun as the first martyr who died for the revolutionary cause in the history of Changshan County.