Above: the official history of the CCP dates its origin to 1 July 1921, but there was no meeting on that day
The early history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is shrouded in myths. The Maoists have sought to elevate the role of Mao Zedong, at the expense of Chen Duxiu. They have also downgraded the importance of Russian and Japanese influences. Ishikawa Yoshihiro’s book, The Formation of the Chinese Communist Party (2012) exhaustively documents the real early history.
Marxism arrived in China along with other foreign influences. A summary of the Communist Manifesto was published at the end of the Qing period. Probably the greatest influence was the 1917 Russian revolution, which brought both literature and active revolutionaries in search of allies.
The pioneer Marxist in China was Li Dazhao, a librarian at Beijing University, who became a central figure in the formation of the CCP. In 1918, Li Dazhao published well-known essays, such as ‘A Comparative View of the French and Russian Revolutions’, ‘The Victory of the Masses’ and ‘The Victory of Bolshevism’. During the summer of 1919, Li wrote ‘My Marxist Views’, providing a summary of Marxism, clarifying various views of Marxism, including those critical of it.1
In ‘The Victory of Bolshevism’, Li made frequent references to Trotsky’s The Bolsheviki and World Peace and it is from this work that he drew his understanding of the Russian Revolution. He wrote:
“Trotsky’s argument is that the Russian Revolution can be understood as a fuse for world revolution. The Russian Revolution is only one of the world’s revolutions, and countless national revolutions will continue to erupt. Because he sees the governments in Europe as the enemy, Trotsky will remain sceptical for a while about friendship with Germany. In fact, he is not friendly with the allies, nor does he even love Russia, much less is he pro-German. He loves the proletarian masses of the world and the society of workers in the world.”2
Japanese socialist literature was translated by Chinese intellectuals, notably by “Yuanquan” (Chen Puxian) published in Chenbao fukan magazine. In the latter half of 1919, the people most active in Shanghai in introducing socialist theory were intellectuals associated with the Guomindang, including Dai Jitao.3
In October 1917, the Bolshevik party led the Russian working class to power. The new workers’ state, fighting for its survival, made alliances and agreements with other states and forces, in part to divide its enemies but also to promote working class internationalism as the First World War continued to rage. On 2-6 March 1919, the Bolsheviks convened the first congress of the Communist International, known as the Comintern, as a general staff of world revolution.
It is now known that the Bolsheviks sent a representative, M. Popov to Shanghai four times. The first time was in May 1918. The next time he came to Shanghai around the time of the May Fourth Movement in 1919, then in early 1920 and again in July 1920. Other representatives, such as N. G. Burtman and A. A. Myuller made contact with progressive Chinese intellectuals, some of whom became communists. Two Chinese representatives, Liu Zerong and Zhang Yongku, attended the founding congress of the Comintern in March 1919. They were addressed as members of the Chinese Socialist Labour Party and were already resident in Russia.4
Another Russian representative, A. S. Potapov, was in Shanghai between 17 December 1919 and 22 April 1920, when he with important anarchists, Communists and nationalists. This laid the groundwork for the delegation from the Far Eastern Bureau of the Russian Communist Party, which sent Grigorii Voitinsky to China in April 1920. Voitinsky met Li Dazhao in Beijing and then Chen Duxiu in Shanghai.5
In June 1920, Chinese communists in Russia formed their own bureau within the Russian Communist Party. They sent to delegates, Liu Zerong (1892-1970) and An Longhe, to the second congress of the Comintern, held between 19 July and 7 August 1920. The newly-elected Executive Committee of the Comintern appointed Henk Sneevliet (Maring) as its agent in Shanghai and to establish a Comintern Secretariat in the Far East.6
Chen Duxiu and the founding of the CCP
The founders of the Chinese Communist Party were a group of intellectuals around Chen Duxiu at the journal New Youth, including Li Hanjun, Shi Cuntong, Yu Xiusong and Chen Gongpei, who, from about May 1920 after Voitinsky came to Shanghai, began their activities as the Socialist Study Society. They adopted the name Socialist-Communist Party in June 1920 (sometimes called the Revolutionary Bureau). They established the Socialist Youth Corps in August 1920. They intervened in the labour movement, particularly through the establishment of the Shanghai Mechanics’ Union.
Chen Duxiu’s announced his conversion to Marxism in an essay, ‘Discussing Politics’, published in New Youth in September 1920. In subsequent issues, a special column ‘Studies of Russia’ carried Bolshevik documents in translation. On 7 November 1920, the third anniversary of the Russian Revolution, they launched the magazine Gongchandang (Communist Party), a monthly journal aimed at members of “our Chinese Communist Party”. In December 1920, they published the ‘Chinese Communist Party Manifesto’, the earliest public document of the CCP.7
If the Shanghai communists were the pioneers establishing the CCP in 1920, other branches were formed shortly afterwards, notably in Beijing led by Li Dazhao and in Guangzhou led by Tan Pingshan. In the party’s formative era, the expression “Tan in the south, Li in the north, Chen in between” indicated the principal bases of operations for communist groups.
The Beijing group was formed in October 1920. There were initially eight members of the organisation, including Li Dazhao and Zhang Guotao, Deng Zhongxia, Liu Renjing and Luo Zhanglong. The Guangzhou group was formed after Chen Duxiu travelled there in late 1920. Other communist groups were founded in Wuhan, Jinan and Changsha. The Changsha organisation was founded by Mao Zedong following his visit to meet Chen Duxiu.8
Between 22 June and 12 July 1921, the Third Congress of the Comintern took place in Moscow. The Chinese delegates were Zhang Tailei and Yu Xiusong, with Chen Weiren and Qu Qiubai attending as observers, sent not at the request of the CCP but of the Far Eastern Secretariat. Zhang Tailei wrote a report for the congress, which referred to a meeting held in March 1921 of delegates from various Communist organisations in China.9
Around 3 June 1921, Sneevliet and Nikolsky, who arrived in Shanghai at roughly the same time, contacted Li Da, Li Hanjun, and others and requested the convening of a party congress. In mid-June, Li Da and others communicated with the various local organisations to assemble on 20 July in Shanghai for the start of the congress. Various local representatives received these notifications in late June and began traveling to Shanghai at the end of June. One group of delegates was unable to make it by the commencement date, so the meeting was held several days late.10
The First Congress met 23-31 July 1921. It was attended by Li Da, Li Hanjun, Zhang Guotao (who acted as chair), Liu Renjing. Mao Zedong, He Shuheng, Dong Biwu, Chen Tanqiu, Wang Jinmei, Deng Enming, Zhou Fuhai. Chen Gongbo, and Bao Huiseng. They represented 53 members. With the exception of the last session, which was held on a boat at South Lake, Jiaxing, for security reasons, Maring (Sneevliet) attended on behalf of the Comintern and Nikolsky on behalf of the Comintern's Far Eastern Secretariat. It is important to note that neither of the two key figures in the communist movement, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. attended the Congress.11
This history is particularly important, because it has been subject to huge revision by the Maoists. The current CCP dates its founding to 1 July 1921. No meeting took place on this date. The Maoist leadership in 1938 decided on the date, since they had not kept the documentation from the early years and could only remember that the First National Congress had taken place in July. Once in power, they made 1 July the official anniversary. Even after the return of founding documents from Russia in the 1957, the Maoist CCP stuck with the myth. Politically, it suited them to downgrade the role of Chen Duxiu. Later, it was convenient to downplay the role of foreign influences, such as the Comintern and the Japanese.
1 Ishikawa Yoshihiro, The Formation of the Chinese Communist Party. 2012: 23, 76-77
2 Ishikawa, 2012: 77-78
3 Ishikawa, 2012: 26
4 Ishikawa, 2012: 86, 88, 81-82
5 Ishikawa, 2012: 90, 95, 98
6 Ishikawa, 2012: 83, 93-94
7 Ishikawa, 2012: 167-68, 194-95, 201-02, 205
8 Ishikawa, 2012: 172, 174, 178, 183-84, 187, 190-92
9 Ishikawa, 2012: 207, 220
10 Ishikawa, 2012: 237
11 Saich, Rise. 1996: 13, 93
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