In order to rescue the revolution and retaliate against the frenzied suppression and slaughter carried out by the Kuomintang reactionary clique that took place after the failure of the First Civil Revolutionary War, the Guangdong Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to launch an uprising in Guangzhou on November 26, 1927 in accordance with spirit of the August 7th Conference and directive of the Party Central Committee. A Revolutionary Military Committee was founded to act as headquarters, with Zhang Tailei, Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Committee, CPC, appointed commander-in-chief.

  In the early morning of December 11, 1927, Zhang Tailei, Guangdong Communist Party secretary, together with other leaders, Ye Ting, Ye Jianying, Zhou Wenyong, Yun Daiying and Chen Yu, initiated an uprising in Guangzhou. (More than 150 Korean comrades including Choe Yong Gon and Soviet Consulate officials in Guangzhou also took part). The insurgent forces boldly attacked key strongholds of the enemy, and rapidly took over most of city area lying on the northern side of the Pearl River. A Guangzhou Soviet Government – also known as Guangzhou Commune, was established on the site of the former Guangzhou police station, with Su Zhaozheng, Zhang Tailei, Yun Daiying, Ye Ting, Yang Yin, Peng Pai, Zhou Wenyong and Chen Yu as government officials, and issued the <Guangzhou Soviet Declaration> to proclaim that all political power was vested in the Workers, Peasants and Red Army soldiers, and set up a headquarter with Ye Ting as commander-in-chief and Ye Jianying as vice commander-in-chief. People in Guangzhou heartily supported the soviet government, actively joining the struggle. On the 12th, with the support of the imperialists, the Kuomintang reactionaries attacked back with an overwhelmingly large force. The situation deteriorated rapidly with the sacrifice of Zhang Tailei in the afternoon, leaving the uprising without a core of command. In order to conserve revolutionary force, the insurgent army withdrew from Guangzhou, the main body of the troops that was reorganized into the Fourth Division of the Workers and Peasants Red Army, thrust towards Hai Lu Feng area, while another part pushed northerly to join the army headquarter led by Chu De. The rest stayed in Guangzhou and bravely clashed in bloody fights with the enemy, most of them dying a heroic martyr’s death. On the afternoon of the 13th, the Kuomintang reactionary forces retook Guangzhou and carried out atrocious massacre of revolutionaries, with numerous corpses occurring and blood flowing all over the Guanyin Mountain and along the banks of the Pearl River. The uprising ended in unfortunate failure, resulting in the gruesome slaughter of over 5700 communists and revolutionaries, including international comrades-in-arms from the Soviet Union and Korea.
  The Guangzhou Uprising lasted for only three short days, but its significance is far reaching. It was a magnificent attempt to found a people’s government. Together with the Nanchang Uprising and Autumn Harvest Uprising, it was the great beginning for the Communist Party of China to independently lead war and build a people’s army.