Chen Duxiu

Chen Duxiu

Chen Duxiu ( Chinese  陳獨秀  /  陈独秀 , Pinyin Chén Dúxiù , maiden name: 慶 同  /  庆 同 , Qìng Tóng , legal age: 仲甫 , Zhòngfǔ ; * October 8, 1879 in Anqing , Anhui Province , Chinese Empire ; † May 27, 1942 in of Sichuan Province , China ) was a journalist , political activist and founding member and first secretary general of the Communist party of China . As a Trotskyist , he was expelled from the party in 1929, imprisoned from 1932 to 1937, and later worked on his reputation in vain .

Childhood and youth

Chen Duxiu was born in Anqing, Anhui Province in 1879 . Because his father died shortly after he was born, he was raised by his grandfather and brother. At the age of 15 he began a classical Chinese training. The young Chen rejected this traditional and classical teaching, but he was supposed to become a civil servant because of his grandfather.

The strictness of his grandfather and the care of his mother had a strong character influence on Chen: he was not afraid of rebellion or discussion. As a child he observed the oppression of common people by local officials and the political, social and economic privileges of the oppressors. These experiences should have a significant impact on Chen's future life.

Activities and positions until 1919

Chen failed the second exam in civil servant training (at the provincial level) at the age of 21 and then began studying English, French, and shipbuilding in Hangzhou . In 1900 the Boxer Rebellion spread in China, as a result of which eight world powers besieged the imperial capital Beijing . Chen gave radical, revolutionary speeches against the Japanese regime in Manchuria and fled police persecution for the first time. In 1913 he and three Kuomintang officers prepared a military campaign against Yuan Shikai in what is known as the "Second Revolution" in Guomindang history. When this failed, Chen fled to Japan, where he studied.

In 1915, Chen Duxiu became a professor of human sciences. In that year he founded the influential magazine "Jugend" in Shanghai, which was renamed " Neue Jugend " a year later , with which he exerted influence on large parts of the intellectuals. His publications are seen as the beginning of the new cultural movement. Chen was a lecturer in Chinese literature and became dean of Peking University in 1917. In 1918 he began to publish the magazine Meizhou pinglun (Chinese 每周 評論 'Weekly Review') together with Li Dazhao.

A very influential writer from Peking University , Chen Duxiu sought radical solutions to China's national problems. He dealt with the cultural backwardness and the danger of a monarchical restoration of the country. He wanted to oppose the old system with a nation state with individual freedoms. Chen was the editor-in-chief of New Youth magazine. He was among the first to present their ideas free of traditional, philosophical concepts. Through his advocacy of science and democracy, he made himself heard among intellectuals. Together with his co-authors, he radicalized large sections of the population through his suggestions.

Chen called for full adoption of Western ideas. For him, the concept of national sovereignty, supplemented by the participation of the population, was an ideal that should be adopted holistically for China, since the Chinese would no longer be contemporary and inconsistent. His concept of democracy emphasized social and economic aspects as a prerequisite for overcoming political problems. He proposed that the constitution be passed through a referendum. The social philosophy called for by Chen emphasized revolutionary struggles to achieve social justice and a model of society that includes individual self-development. The Confucian philosophy of standstill was opposed to a science-based philosophy of progress.

Values ​​like human rights and freedom were a priority for Chen. To this end, in the 3rd edition of the magazine Wirtschaft und Demokratie, he personalized “Gentlemen” who “could save China from political, moral, academic and intellectual darkness”: Mr. Science (sai xiansheng) and Mr. Democracy (de xiansheng ) should help to lead China into the modern age so that the country can regain the place it deserves in the world after a phase of isolation. His concept of democracy included the demand to capture all parts of life democratically. This would also have a positive impact on social areas such as morality and ethics. In his “Manifesto” in 1915 he formulated an “appeal to the youth” “be progressive, not conservative” - “be energetic, not reflective” - “be open to the world, not lonely” - “be independent, not submissive”

“Our interpretation of political democracy is that the constitution must be drawn up directly by the people, the rights [of the people] are guaranteed by the constitution, and the will of the people must be carried out by representatives according to the constitution. In other words: the division between the ruling class and the ruled class, which people themselves rule, must be abolished. (...) Frankly, we do not want passive government, but the active participation of the people's autonomy. Only in this way can we claim that genuine political democracy has been achieved. "

Chen Duxiu was interested in the achievements of Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov , who had received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1908 for the discovery of the immune defense by the white blood cells . He metaphorically transferred the theory of the body's defense against pathogens to Chinese society. He described the intrusion of foreign military powers and how they disrupt "the organism" of well-functioning Chinese society. It is about fending off the "pathogen".

In the New Youth, the concept of evolution was discussed as an important distinction between traditional Chinese and Western thinking, regardless of Confucian morality. The social currents articulating in the magazine determined youth as the subject of social change and discovered a new kind of moral optimism that was no longer based on Confucianism but on vital biology (“survival of the fittest”). The outcome of the Versailles peace negotiations disaffected Chen with his ideas about the democratic countries of the West. He slowly turned away from Western ideas and increasingly oriented himself towards the Bolshevik tendencies in Russia in order to achieve international justice. The effects of the Russian Revolution in 1917 were also an important impetus with regard to national issues .

According to the reception of this time, Marx was a pathologist for Chinese thinkers and thus also for Chen. H. an analyst who explores the causes of existing grievances. Marx's theory of surplus value , which explained the exploitation of Chinese workers by imperialist powers, was particularly attractive to China . In the opinion of young Marx readers, Marx's writings did not offer any ideas for overcoming the decline of the Reich. Chinese intellectuals relied on the concept of class cooperation , as opposed to class struggle , which is a common denominator in all Western Marxist theory schools.

Chen recognized Bolshevism in 1919 without calling himself a Bolshevik, and in 1920 he professed Marxism . He wanted to break with the traditional institutions of China, so he enlisted the help of the Communist International (Comintern ) to found the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chen used the support of the Comintern to build a party with sensitive consideration of the various opinions, rather than just orienting himself towards the USSR .

Political activities from 1919

After the May 4th Movement , Chinese youth were much more willing to accept radical solutions to China's national problems and welcomed the scientific-socialist method of analysis. When Hu Shi spoke out in 1919 in favor of “dealing more with problems, discussing less about '-isms'” , the New Cultural Movement split into liberals and socialists after about a year.

In May 1920, as a freshly baked Marxist, Chen published a special edition of New Youth, in which he published numerous reports of mass political events and declared that "-isms", used correctly, could point the way to social reform. Social reforms and revolution are a very conscious process. Chen gave speeches to workers on strike while labor disputes began. After returning to Shanghai , he stayed with an author friend in the French concession, where the CCP would later be founded.

At their founding party congress in July 1921, the Chinese communists proclaimed their determination to build a dictatorship of the proletariat in China, following the Russian example , and to devote themselves to the education and organization of the working class . Chen co-founded the party to give the oppressed working class an instrument to rebel against the capitalist class and take state affairs into their own hands, with politics, law and other areas of the state being controlled by the working class itself. He was elected its first general secretary in Shanghai in 1921.

The Communist International (Comintern) in 1923 forced an alliance hiss of the CCP un the Kuomintang , which came into being in January 1924th Chen Duxiu contradicted this alliance, arguing that social classes would be mixed and that the party's independence would be jeopardized with such cooperation. Five members of the CCP Central Committee refused to join the Kuomintang. Chen did not submit to Comintern orders until 1925 and joined the Kuomintag. After the break of the united front, Chen Duxiu was given responsibility for the failure of the alliance in 1927. In an “emergency conference” held by the CCP, Chen Duxiu was held responsible for the terrorist attacks against civilians in the unsuccessful establishment of the Chinese Soviet republics and was forced to resign as a right-wing opportunist . In July 1927 he was replaced by Qu Qiubai .

Chen Duxiu resigned from his post as general secretary of the party on July 15, 1927 and called for open, violent struggle against the Kuomintang. He joined the Left Opposition against Stalin around Leon Trotsky . In 1929, Chen was also expelled from the Chinese Communist Party , to which he replied with an "open letter to all comrades." At that time he had adopted arguments from the Trotskyist program, including: a. that of the need for an intermediate phase of political reconsolidation of the CCP and the slogan of the Consolidating National Assembly. He also called Trotsky the main ally against Moscow and demanded the publication of Lenin's will and Trotsky's reinstatement in office. He was arrested in 1932 and spent five years in prison. After a renewed alliance between the Kuomintang and the CCP , all politically detainees were released in 1937 at the instigation of the Kuomintang, including all Trotskyists like Chen Duxiu.

For Chen, the time after five years of imprisonment was one of conflict and disappointment. The dissent with his former companion Liu Renjing , which existed even before his imprisonment, had deepened into an enmity during their joint imprisonment. After her release, Liu Renjing sent letters to all members of the left opposition to weaken Chen's positions. Chen Duxiu has now published articles in which he surprisingly spoke out in favor of the three principles of the Kuomintang people . After exchanging letters with the Central Committee, Chen became enraged and described the left opposition as hopeless sectarians and he wanted nothing more to do with them.

Chen went from Nanjing to the new capital Wuhan , where he tried to establish close contacts with members of the Kuomintang and the CCP. The people addressed made him feel very clearly that they were not interested in working with him. The engineer Luo Han advocated for Chen with Mao Zedong , who replied in a letter that Chen must first admit his mistakes and renounce Trotskyism before considering cooperating with the CP. Chen then withdrew from any active political process and limited himself to commenting.

Late years and death

At the end of his life, Chen Duxiu was convinced that it was impossible for a communist China to emerge from the civil war. Through his experiences in the Soviet Union, he formulated demands against the bureaucratisation process in the post-revolutionary stage. Chen believed that the USSR had to be reformed, following the model of its post-October Revolution of 1917, under the motto "Our answer to Stalinist falsification is class struggle!" He also considered the “dictatorship of the proletariat” and Bolshevism as the “twin of fascism and the father of Stalinism”.

Chen wrote articles to the last. His colleague and friend Wang Fanxi said he stuck to a Trotskyist conviction until his death. In 1942, Chen Duxiu died withdrawn from politics in Sichuan .

literature

• Fonts 2/1. Writings on China 1924–1928 by Leon Trotsky (Eds .: Wolrad Bode, Helmut Dahmer, and Horst Lauscher) (1900)
• Fonts 2/2. Writings on China 1928–1940 by Leon Trotsky (Eds .: Wolrad Bode, Helmut Dahmer, and Horst Lauscher) (1990)
• Chen Duxiu's Last Articles and Letters, 1937-42 by Chen Duxiu (Ed .: Gregor Benton), Routledge Curzon (1998)
• Duxiu wen cun. Hefei: Anhui Renmin Chubanshe by Chen Duxiu (1988)
• Who was Mr Democracy? von Gu, Edward X. (2001) (in Modern Asian Studies 35: 3: 589-621. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
• Kuo, Thomas C. (1975): Ch'en Tu-hsiu (1879–1942) and the Chinese Communist Movement (Seton Hall University Press America)
• Kuhfus, Peter (1985): Chen Duxiu and Leo Trotsky: New Light on their Relationship (The China Quarterly, No. 102, June 1985, pp. 253-276)
• Zheng Chaolin: Chen Duxiu and the Trotskyists written in 1945 (Ed .: Benton, Gregor (1986), online source: http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/china/zheng.htm )

Web links

Commons : Chen Duxiu  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Chen Duxiu in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kuo, Thomas C. (1975): Ch'en Tu-hsiu (1879-1942) and the Chinese Communist Movement (Seton Hall University Press America), pp. 22-24.
2. ↑ Kuo, Thomas C. (1975): Ch'en Tu-hsiu (1879-1942) and the Chinese Communist Movement (Seton Hall University Press America), p. 273.
3. ↑ Kuo 1975: 75
4. ↑ Cambridge History of China: 396
5. ↑ Gu 2001: 589-612
6. ↑ Article: Jinggao qingnian; Chen 1987: 3-10
7. ↑ Article: Shixing minzhi de jichu- Basis for the Implementation of Political Democracy, xin qingnian (Dec. 1, 1919); Chen, 1988: 14
8. ↑ Kuo 1975: 73 ff
9. ↑ mei-chou p'ing-lun, July 20, 1919.
10. ↑ Kuo; 1975, 76-79
11. ↑ Dahmer 1990, 1:11
12. ^ Kuo 1975: 81
13. ^ Genton 1998: 147

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Chen is the family name here, Duxiu is the first name.