¹ Despite a more objective, and indeed more sympathetic, treatment of Chen Duxiu by Chinese scholars, his “official” image as it was determined prior to the Cultural Revolution has remained essentially unchanged. While some authors have tried to shift the “blame” for the events of 1924–27 from the shoulders of Chen Duxiu to those of the Comintern, in official writings he remains the main culprit. As Barrett has pointed out, while the names of those such as Qu Qiubai and Li Lisan have been rehabilitated, Chen Duxiu has only undergone a re-evaluation (chongping), but not rehabilitation (pingfan). See Barrett, D.P., Guest Editor's Introduction to Chinese Law and Government, Spring–Summer 1984, pp. 4–5, 7Google Scholar. For a further consideration of recent Chinese communist writings concerning Chen Duxiu, see Benton, Gregor, Two Purged Leaders of Early Chinese Communism [Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Amsterdam, Working Paper No 41] (1984)Google Scholar.

² Da Qianhou, Yi, compiled and ed. by the Contemporary History Research Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Party History Research Department of the Museum of the Chinese Revolution (2 vols; Beijing, 1980), 452 and 577 pp.Google Scholar, respectively. This collection also contains a number of interesting memoirs relating to the formation of the Socialist Youth Corps, the work-study programme in France, and Chinese students in Japan. It is indispensable reading for anyone interested in this period. A copy of the collection is available for purchase in Hong Kong.

³ Da Huiyilu, Yi, ed. by the Zhishi Chubanshe (Shanghai, 1980), 176 pp.Google Scholar; de Youguan Ziliao, Malin zai Zhongguo, ed. under the auspices of the Contemporary History Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing, 1980), 202 ppGoogle Scholar. The latter collection contains materials relating to the whole of Sneevliet's (Maring's) two visits to China and copies of the articles which he wrote for the Chinese newspapers Xiangdao (The Guide Weekly) and Qianfeng (Vanguard).

⁴ This research note relies heavily on the materials in the Yi Da Qianhou collection. No attempt has been made to be comprehensive, as it is impossible to know precisely what has been published in China, but still remains unavailable to non-Chinese scholars. To an extent it remains a question of pot-luck. This research note is a by-product of a larger project to publish the Sneevliet archives held in the Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis, Amsterdam.

⁵ These were the “small groups” in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan (or Hankou or Hubei), Guangzhou (or Guangdong), Changsha (or Hunan), Shandong (or Jinan). There is disagreement about what these early organisations were called. While most Chinese writers refer to them as xiaozu (small groups), others disagree. Liu Renjing states that before the First Party Congress Shanghai, Beijing, Changsha, Jinan, Wuhan, Qingdao, Guangzhou, etc., all had organisations propagating communism, but that they had no formal name. Liu Renjing, “Huiyi dang de ‘yi da’” (Recollections of the “First Party Congress”), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 207. According to Luo Zhanglong the name Beijing communist “small group” was attached to it by later writers. At the time the “small group” did not use this name either in internal or external dealings. Luo Zhanglong, “Huiyi dang de chuangli shiqi de jige wenti” (Recollections of Several Problems around the Time of the Founding of the Party), ibid., p. 195. Finally, Zhu Wushan goes as far as to say that in early 1921 there was no formal party organisation in Beijing. Zhu Wushan, “Zhonggong chengli qianhou zai Beijing gongzuo de huiyi” (Recollections of Work in Beijing around the Time of the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party), ibid., p. 91.

⁶ The Committee for the Study of Modern Chinese History, Zhongguo Xiandai Geming Yundongshi (Hong Kong, 1947), p. 127Google Scholar. Bing, quotes Komintern i Vostok (Moscow, 1969), p. 245Google Scholar, to give also a date of May 1920. He writes that on Voitinsky's initiative the provisional central committee of the Chinese Communist Party was formed. Bing, Dov, “Ma-Lin's Activities in China From the Beginning of June Till December 10, 1921”, in: Issues and Studies (Taipei), IX (1972–1973), No 5, p. 22Google Scholar.

⁷ According to Chen Wangdao, a Marxist study society was set up that later became the party organisation without, however, changing its name. Chen Wangdao, “Huiyi dang chengli shiqi de yixie qingkuang” (Recollections of Certain Conditions at the Time of the Founding of the Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 23. Yang Zhihua relates that in autumn or winter (1920) a communist “small group” was set up probably under the name “Marxist study society”. Yang Zhihua, “Yang Zhihua de huiyi” (Yang Zhihua's Recollections), ibid., p. 26.

⁸ Li Da, , “Qiyi huyi” (Recollections of July First), in: xuanji, Wusi Yundong zai Shanghai Shiliao (Compilation of Historical Materials on the May Fourth Movement in Shanghai) (Shanghai, 1980), p. 593Google Scholar.

⁹ Zhang Shenfu, “Jian dang chuqi de yixie qingkuang” (Certain Conditions in the Early Period of the Establishment of the Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 220.

¹⁰ Id., “Zhongguo gongchandang jianli qianhou qingkuang de huiyi” (Recollections of Conditions around the Time of the Establishment of the Chinese Communist Party), ibid., p. 548. Bao Huiseng offers dates of summer-autumn 1920 for the establishment. In his article written under the alias Jiwu Laoren he does not give a date, but in his 1953 recollections that form the basis for the 1957 Xin Guancha piece he gives a date of summer 1920. Bao Huiseng, “Gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao huiyi qianhou de huiyi” (Recollections about the First National Congress of the Communist Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 312. Elsewhere Bao offers dates of July-August and summer-autumn 1920, “Dang de yi da qianhou” (Around the Time of the First Party Congress), in: Yi Da Huiyilu, op. cit., p. 27, and “Bao Huiseng de yifengxin” (A Letter from Bao Huiseng), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 434, respectively. One further unsubstantiated report gives the date as the end of June 1920. She Fuliang says that just before he set off for Japan, five people (Chen Duxiu, Chen Gongpei, Li Hanjun, Yu Xiusong and She Fuliang) met in Shanghai to set up a revolutionary organisation. They drew up a constitution containing ten articles and decided on the name of Communist Party for the organisation. She Fuliang, “Zhongguo shehuizhuyi qingniantuan chengli qianhou de yixie qingkuang” (Certain Conditions around the Time of the Founding of the Chinese Socialist Youth Corps), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 71. She also mentions that this meeting was advocated by Voitinsky, who was in Shanghai at the time, “Zhongguo gongchandang chengli shiqi de jige wenti” (Some Questions Concerning the Period of the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party), ibid., p. 34. It is interesting to note that an account of the First Party Congress written in the second half of 1921 mentions that the party began to be organised first in Shanghai from the middle of 1920 onwards. Initially the group had only five members. “Zhongguo gongchandang diyici daibiao dahui” (The First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party), ibid., I, p. 20. For further discussion of this account see below.

¹¹ Kuo-t'ao, Chang [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927 (Lawrence, Kansas, 1971), p. 111Google Scholar.

¹² Zhang Shenfu, “Jian dang chuqi de yixie qingkuang”, loc. cit., p. 221.

¹³ This report is quoted by Zixin, Zhou, “Beijing ‘gongchandang xiaozu’” (The Beijing “Communist Small Group”), in: Yanjiu, Dangshi, 1980, No 1Google Scholar. In his article on Li Dazhao and the founding of the party Zhou simply mentions the date without indicating the source. Id., “Li Dazhao yu zhongguo gongchandang de chuangli” (Li Dazhao and the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party), in: Luntan, Jianghuai, 1981, No 3, p. 18Google Scholar.

¹⁴ This is variously referred to as the Hubei Party branch (Hubei dangzhibu), the Hubei Party “small group” (Hubei dang xiaozu) and the Wuhan Party branch (Wuhan dangzhibu).

¹⁵ This is based on the account in Xinchu, Liao, “Hubei dang zuzhi de jianli jiqi chuqi de huodong” (The Establishment and Early Activities of the Hubei Party Organisation), in: Xuebao, Hubei Caijing Xueyuan, 1981, No 3, p. 26Google Scholar. Liao's account is essentially a summary of a number of reminiscences by Bao Huiseng. Bao mentions the role played by Liu Bochui in setting up the group and gives a date of September 1920 for the founding of the group. He mentions that he was chosen as Deputy Secretary and that Zhang Guoen was put in charge of financial work. After the “small group” was set up Manaev, one of Voitinsky's entourage, came to Wuhan to investigate the situation and to select students to go to Russia. Bao Huiseng, “Zhongguo gongchandang diyici daibiao dahui de jige wenti” (Several Questions Concerning the First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 373. See also id., “Gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao huiyi qianhou de huiyi”, loc. cit., pp. 312–13. Elsewhere Bao gives a date of September–October 1920 and makes the comment that perhaps the Beijing group was set up a little earlier than the Wuhan group, “Bao Huiseng de yifengxin”, loc. cit., p. 435. This date is earlier than that given by Zhang Guotao in his memoirs: November 1920. Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, op. cit., p. 131.

¹⁶ Cadart, Claude and Yingxiang, Cheng, Mémoires de Peng Shuzhi: L'Envol du Communisme en Chine (Paris, 1983), pp. 154–56Google Scholar. I am grateful to Dr Gregor Benton for pointing out this source to me.

¹⁷ Jui, Li, The Early Revolutionary Activities of Comrade Mao Tse-tung (White Plains, N.Y., 1977), p. 157Google Scholar.

¹⁸ Ibid., p. 166.

¹⁹ Zhang, however, gives a date of November, not December. Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, p. 129.

²⁰ As quoted by Li Rui, the entry in Zhang Wenliang's diary for 26 December 1920 reads as follows: “Tse-tung came. The Youth Corps will hold its inaugural meeting next week.” Li Jui, The Early Revolutionary Activities of Comrade Mao Tse-tung, op. cit., p. 164.

²¹ Meiying, Chang, Youwei, Zhuang, Wuxiang, Ren and Changyu, Liu, “Wuhan, Guangzhou, Jinan, Changsha, liuxuesheng de zaoqi jiandang huodong” (Early Party-Building Activities in Wuhan, Guangzhou, Jinan and Changsha, and among Chinese Students Abroad), in: Xuebao, Shanghai Shifan Xueyuan, 1981, No 2, pp. 18–19Google Scholar.

²² Yi Lirong, “Dang de chuangli shiqi Hunan de yixie qingkuang” (Certain Conditions in Hunan at the Time of the Establishment of the Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 283.

²³ Cadart and Cheng Yingxiang, Mémoires de Peng Shuzhi, op. cit., p. 158.

²⁴ Chen Duxiu left Shanghai to take up his post on 16 December 1920. Kuo, Thomas C., Ch'en Tu-hsiu (1879–1942) and the Chinese Communist Movement (South Orange, N.J., 1975), p. 85Google Scholar.

²⁵ See Chang Meiying et al., “Wuhan, Guangzhou, Jinan, Changsha, liuxuesheng de zaoqi jiandang huodong”, loc. cit., p. 18, and Laidi, Wang, “Guanyu zhongguo gongchandang zaoqi zuzhi de jige wenti” (Concerning Several Problems of the Early Organisation of the Chinese Communist Party), in: Xuekan, Zhejiang, 1981, No 3, p. 10Google Scholar. According to Wang the transliteration of the Russian names is Mi-nuo-er (Minor?) and Bie-si-lin (Besilin?).

²⁶ Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, p. 133. Liang Furan gives the much earlier date of October 1920. He claims that Tan Pingshan called together a meeting of seven people and announced the formation of the “small group”. This date would be before Chen Duxiu's arrival and seems improbable. Liang Furan, “Guangdong dang de zuzhi chengli qianhou de yixie qingkuang” (Certain Conditions around the Time of the Founding of the Guangdong Party Organisation), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 447.

²⁷ Chang Meiying et al. conclude that the group was founded with the help of both Beijing and Shanghai. The basis for this view derives from accounts that during the summer of 1920 Chen Duxiu sent Wang Yueping a letter calling on him to set up a communist “small group”. “Wuhan, Guangzhou, Jinan, Changsha, liuxuesheng de zaoqi jiandang huodong”, p. 18. This date seems to be too early and while such a letter might have been sent later it seems clear that practical contact came via Beijing.

²⁸ Wenquan, Wang and Zhaonian, Li, “Guanyu Shandong gongchandang xiaozu wenti de tantao” (An Inquiry into Questions Concerning the Shandong Party “Small Group”), in: Shandong Daxue Wenke Lunwen Jikan, 1981, No 1, p. 97Google Scholar. Zhang Guotao does not mention Chen by name in his memoirs, but he does say that Beijing organised the communist “small group” and the SYC in Shandong. Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, p. 128. Ma Baosan confirms in his memoirs that Chen was sent to Shandong, but claims that this was after the First Party Congress. He was sent to set up the Shandong branch of the Communist Party (Shandong qu zhibu). According to Ma, a communist “small group” had been founded in early 1921 by Wang Jinmei and Deng Enming. Ma's timing of Chen's visit is wrong, as Chen went to Russia for study at the end of 1920. Ma Baosan, “Shandong dangzuzhi de faduan” (Making a Start with the Shandong Party Organisation), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 393.

²⁹ Wang Wenquan and Li Zhaonian, “Guanyu Shandong gongchandang xiaozu wenti de tantao”, p. 97.

³⁰ Ibid.

³¹ Li Da, “Zhongguo gongchandang de faqi he diyici, dierci daibiao dahui jingguo de huiyi” (Recollections of the Origins of the Chinese Communist Party and the First and Second Party Congresses), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 8.

³² Bericht des Genossen H. Maring für die Executive (1922), v. Ravesteyn Papers, No 79, Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis.

³³ Li Da, “Zhongguo gongchandang de faqi he diyici, dierci daibiao dahui jingguo de huiyi”, loc. cit., p. 9.

³⁴ In fact, Bao Huiseng was pressed into service to help with the work in Shanghai. Towards the end of 1920, he arrived in Shanghai with a group of Wuhan SYC members who were intending to go to Moscow for study. The study trip proved impossible to realise, at least as far as Bao was concerned, and Bao was asked to stay on in Shanghai to help with party work. “Gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao huiyi qianhou de huiyi”, p. 304.

³⁵ Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, p. 136.

³⁶ Li Da, “Zhongguo gongchandang de faqi he diyici, dierci daibiao dahui jingguo de huiyi”, p. 9.

³⁷ Ibid., pp. 9–10. Bao Huiseng gives a different account of the decline of party work in Shanghai. Following a May Day rally, Chinese and French-concession police raided the party office and the communist-sponsored Foreign Languages School. Li Hanjun called a meeting to discuss this matter, and suggested that the activities of the party be suspended and party headquarters be moved to Guangzhou. Alternatively, Chen Duxiu should be asked to return to Shanghai. Bao was instructed to go to Guangzhou to talk these matters over with Chen. “Gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao huiyi qianhou de huiyi”, p. 304. A similar accounts is contained in his article under the alias of Jiwu Laoren in Xin Guancha, 1957, No 13.

³⁸ The principal memoirs of the Chinese participants are as follows. Li Da, “Guanyu zhongguo gongchandang jianli de jige wenti” (Some Questions Concerning the Establishment of the Chinese Communist Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, pp. 1–5 (23 February 1954); id., “Zhongguo gongchandang de faqi he diyici, dierci daibiao dahui jingguo de huiyi”, pp. 6–18 (August-September 1953). Zhang Guotao (Chang Kuo-t'ao), Wo de Huiyi (My Recollections), I (Hong Kong, 1971); id., The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927. Liu Renjing, “Yi Da Suoyi” (Trivial Recollections of the First Party Congress), in: Yi Da Huiyilu, pp. 45–52 (21 December 1979). Dong Biwu in Nym Wales, Red Dust: Autobiographies of Chinese Communists (Stanford, 1952) (interview from 1937); id., “Zhongguo gongchandang ‘yi da’ de zhuyao wenti” (Important Questions Concerning the “First Congress” of the Chinese Communist Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, pp. 360–64 (28 June 1961); id., “Dong Biwu tan zhongguo gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao dahui he Hubei gongchanzhuyi xiaozu” (Dong Biwu on the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and the Hubei Communist Small Group), ibid., pp. 365–71 (12 August 1971). Chen Tanqiu. “Reminiscences of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China”, in: Communist International, American ed., XIII (1936), pp. 1361–66; British ed., XIII, pp. 593–96. Mao Zedong in Edgar Snow, Red Star over China (New York, 1938) (interview from 1936). Chen Gongbo, “Wo yu gongchandang” (I and the Communist Party), in: Hanfeng ji (Cold Winds Collection) (n.p., 1944), pp. 191–267 (1943); id.: Ch'en Kung-po, The Communist Movement in China, ed. with an introd. by C. Martin Wilbur (New York, 1966) (1924). Zhou Fuhai, “Fusang jiying shou dangnian” (My Recollections of Studying in Japan), in Wangyi ji (The Bygones) (Shanghai, 1944) (1942); also in Chen Gongbo Zhou Fuhai Huiyilu Hebian (Recollections of Chen Gongbo and Zhou Fuhai) (Hong Kong, 1967), pp. 107–36; id., “Taochu liao zhidu Wuhan” (Escape from the Red Capital Wuhan), ibid., pp. 137–78. Bao Huiseng, “Gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao huiyi qianhou de huiyi”, pp. 303–21 (August–September 1953); id., “Zhongguo gongchandang diyici daibiao dahui de jige wenti”, pp. 372–78 (12 August 1978); id., “Dang deyi da qianhou”, loc. cit., pp. 24–44 (1979); id., “Huiyi dang de chuangli shiqi” (Recollections of the Time of the Founding of the Party), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, pp. 379–81 (9 November 1978).

³⁹ “Zhongguo gongchandang diyici daibiao dahui”, loc. cit., pp. 20–23. Unless otherwise stated the information on the Congress is taken from this report.

⁴⁰ Two other documents relating to the First Party Congress were returned at the same time. These were “Zhongguo gongchandang diyige gangling” (The First Programme of the Chinese Communist Party) and “Zhongguo gongchandang de yige jueyi” (The First Resolution of the Chinese Communist Party). They have been translated back from the Russian into Chinese and are available in Yi Da Qianhou, I, pp. 6–8,12–14, respectively. These two documents are basically the same as those that appear as Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 in Ch'en Kung-po, The Communist Movement in China, op.cit. Interestingly, in both the Russian and the English version of the party programme article 11 is missing, which would seem to further attest to the authenticity of the documents. The English versions of the programme and the decision are ibid., pp. 102–03, 103–05, respectively.

⁴¹ The most easily available such account is Shao Weizheng, “The First National Congress of the Communist Party of China: A Verification of the Date of Convocation and the Number of Participants”, in: Social Sciences in China, I (1980), No 1, pp. 108–29.

⁴² These occasions were in 1959, 1961 and 1963. Quoted in Gong Yushu, “Guanyu zhongguo gongchandang diyici daibiao dahui daibiao renshu de tantao” (An Inquiry concerning the Number of Representatives at the First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party), in: Qiushi Xuebao, 1981, No 2, p. 82. Gong also points out that in a letter of 31 December 1929 Dong Biwu wrote to He Shuheng that the Congress “made a report to the International on China's conditions, the report was drafted Li Hanjun and Dong Biwu and approved by Congress.” This prompts Gong to wonder if this is the same report as the one returned by the Russians in 1957. It would seem strange, however, if Dong did not later recognise the 1921 account as partly his work. Also, the account is hardly one about conditions in China. Dong Biwu when commenting on why the materials of the First Party Congress were never published makes the remark that Sneevliet took the copies of the documents away with him and sent them to the Communist International. Dong Biwu, “Dong Biwu tan zhongguo gongchandang diyici quanguo daibiao dahui he Hubei gongchanzhuyi xiaozu”, loc. cit., pp. 366–67. If this account is correct, it would explain the presence of the documents in the Comintern archives.

⁴³ For a full account of the debates at the First Party Congress and of Sneevliet's role at the Congress see the introduction to the forthcoming publication on the Sneevliet archives.

⁴⁴ Indeed a number of participants did not even set off for Shanghai until after the original date. For example, Bao Huiseng left Hong Kong on 15 July, arriving in Shanghai around 20 July (Shao Weizheng, “The First National Congress”, loc. cit., p. 113); Liu Renjing first went to the annual meeting of the Young China Society in Nanjing from 1 to 4 July (Liu Renjing, “Huiyi dang de ‘yi da’”, loc. cit., p. 209). Mao Zedong and He Shuheng left Changsha for Shanghai on 29 June, the entry in Xie Juezai's diary for 29 June reads: “today at six o'clock p.m. Shuheng left for Shanghai accompanied by Renzhi to attend the national…….“ Renzhi is a courtesy name for Mao Zedong. Quoted in He Shishan and He Shisi, “Cong ‘qiong xiucai’ dao ‘yi da’ daibiao” (From “Poor Xiucai” to “First Party Congress” Representative; a xiucai is one who passed the imperial examination at the county level in the Qing Dynasty), in: Xinxiang Pinglun, 1981, No 7, p. 79.

⁴⁵ See Wilbur's introduction to Ch'en Kung-po, The Communist Movement in China, pp. 22–24.

⁴⁶ These were Xinwenbao, 1 and 2 August, Shenbao, 1 August, and Shanghai Shenghuobao, 2 August. Shao Weizheng, “The First National Congress”, pp. 115–16.

⁴⁷ Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, pp. 148–49.

⁴⁸ Shao Weizheng, “The First National Congress”, p. 116.

⁴⁹ Wang Huiwu, “‘Yi da’ zai nanhu kaihu de qingkuang” (The Situation of the “First Party Congress” Session at Nanhu), in: Yi Da Qianhou, II, p. 56.

⁵⁰ Zhang Guotao gives a different account to explain the discrepancy. Zhang says he refused to recognise He Shuheng's qualifications to be a delegate and, as a result, Mao Zedong thought of a way to send He back to Hunan. Chang Kuo-t'ao, The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party 1921–1927, p. 142. This seems to be an improbable account, although there may have been disagreement about Bao Huiseng's official credentials to be there when it came to writing an official account for the Comintern. For further discussion of this see below. Perhaps the passage of time confused things in Zhang's memory. However, it should be pointed out that there is no mention in any other memoirs about problems concerning the recognition of delegate's credentials.

⁵¹ In fact, some accounts mention him as having played an active part in the debates at the Congress.

⁵² Shao Weizheng, “The First National Congress”, p. 129.

⁵³ This was in February 1979. Quoted in Gong Yushu, “Guanyu zhongguo gongchandang diyici daibiao dahui daibiao renshu de tantao”, loc. cit., p. 87.