Qin Bangxian
Encyclopedia
Qin Bangxian or better known as Bo Gu (秦邦宪 or 博古) (May 14, 1907 – April 8, 1946) was a senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party in its early stages, and well-known as a member of the group of 28 Bolsheviks
.
, Jiangsu
, Qin was born in 1907. He studied in the Suzhou Industrial School in his early years, and took an active role in the activities against imperialism and warlords tyrannizing China
at that time. In 1925 Qin entered the Shanghai University
, known for its impact on young revolutionists, early CCP leaders such as Qu Qiubai
and Deng Zhongxia being its teachers and introducing Marxism
and Leninism
. It was there that Qin showed great interest in Marxism
and Leninism
. In the same year, Qin joined the May 30th Movement for protest and boycott against imperialism; and he joined the CPC before long.
In 1926 Qin was sent to Moscow
to study Marxism and Leninism in Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
, a university established under Kuomintang
founder Sun Yat-sen
's policy of alliance with the Soviet Union
and CPC, with the aim of training young revolutionists for Chinese revolution inn the Russia
n way. Using the alias Bo Gu, which means familiar with histories in Chinese, Qin began to learn Marxism and Leninism in a systematic way. Moreover, he became acquainted with Wang Ming
, who had come to this university a year earlier. Wang and Qin, with other prominent figures in Chinese students such as Zhang Wentian
, Wang Jiaxiang
and Yang Shangkun
, founded a group known as the 28 Bolsheviks. They regarded themselves as orthodox Marxists, destined to take charge of Chinese revolution. Furthermore, with Wang's connection to Paul Mif, who was vice-president of Sun Yat-sen University and then vice minister of Eastern Department of Comintern
, the 28 Bolsheviks had more and more influence, one example being their role as missionaries and interpreters for the 6th National Congress of the CPC held in Moscow, with chances to comment on Chinese affairs.
With Mif succeeding Radek
as president, his proteges were sent back to take charge of CPC. But for their poor record for Chinese revolution compared with old CPC members such as Zhou Enlai
and Zhang Guotao
, Wang and his associates including Bo Gu were assigned insignificant jobs first. Then with the direct support from Mif, who came to China as envoy of Comintern, in the 4th Plenary Meeting of 6th National Congress of CPC in 1931 Wang and his associates won the battle with Li Lisan
, who was incumbent paramount leader of CPC at that time, and Li's opponents of old CPC members such as Labor activists He Mengxiong and Lin Yuying. Wang was appointed as member of politburo
of CPC, with Mif took charge of CPC headquarter, Wang became the No1 in practice. As a reward, Bo Gu was appointed to in charge of CY. When Wang returned Moscow for medical treatment, Qin was promoted to member of Central Bureau of CPC, and then the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
in charge of daily work of CPC. under the policy of extremism and leftism of Li and Wang, CPC suffered great loss in their power struggle with KMT in cities. In 1933 Bo Gu and other members of Central Bureau such as Zhou Enlai had to evacuate to Soviet Territory, power base set up by CPC in countrysides, in Jiangxi
. Bo Gu, Zhou and Otto Braun or Li De, the military advisor from Comintern, found a military command team to replace Mao Zedong
's control over military, who was chairman of Soviet Government at that time. Due to a change in Nationalist tactics, CPC Red Army suffered great loss in Chiang Kai-shek
's 5th Suppression against them. Bo Gu and his team had to launch a strategic diversion. Although it was called Long March
later, it would rather been called a big escape in disorder for its having no destination and plan at first.
During the Long March
, Red Army suffered heavy casualties from time to time due to no plan and incompetent command of the three-men team. Especially when the Red Army crossed the Xiang River, Red Army was near a rattrap and half of its elites were annihilated by KMT army. Discontent and fury over three-men team piled up. Under this circumstance, Mao used his diplomatic skills to communicate with Wang Jiaxiang, General Commissar of Red Army at that time, and got support from most of the generals used to be loyal to him.
Then in Jan 1935 came the convening of Zunyi Conference
, and with the defection of 28 Bolsheviks members Zhang Mintian, Wang Jiaxiang and Yang Shangkun
to Mao's camp, three-men team's command over military was discharged, Mao, Wang and Zhou Enlai composed a new three-men team to replace them; and Bo Gu's title of General Secretary was replaced by his former associate Zhang, but still a member of politburo.
When Bo Gu reached Yan'an
with Red Army, he was still a young man longing for a bright future of Chinese revolution. In order to make a clear distinction from his past, Bo Gu preferred others called him by his real name Qin instead of his alias. Mao still needed Gu and other 28 Bolsheviks such as Zhang, Wang Jiaxiang for their support in Mao's later power struggle with Wang Ming and Zhang Guotao
. So some important assignments were given to them from time to time. During which, Qin was appointed as representative of CPC with Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying
and went to Xi'an
to handle the Xi'an Incident
in 1936,and made contribution for the establishment of United Front against Japan. In 1937 Qin was appointed as Minister of Organization Department of CPC, which was in charge of CPC cadres' promotion and nomination. In 1938 he was the Minister of Organization Department of Yangtze River
and then Southern China Division of CPC. In 1941 he was appointed as boss of Jie Fang Daily and Xinhua News Agency
. Qin showed great enthusiasm in promoting the newspaper and exercised best endeavor to make it a mouthpiece of CPC. Qin pledged his allegiance to Mao in Mao's struggle with Zhang Guotao, and in Cheng Feng he criticized his former close friend Wang Ming
. But Qin still could not get favor from Mao and had suffered from great stress and humiliation, especially for his kindness and leniency in the Cheng Feng movement of newspaper under his direction, which received heavy criticism from Mao and his secret police boss Kang Sheng
, who regarded Qin's action being inefficient and too mercy. As a result, although Qin was elected as Commissioner of Central Committee of CPC in the 7th National Congress of CPC in 1945, he was listed as the last one.
After the end of China anti-Japan war in 1945, Mao was invited by Chiang to Chongqing
for peace negotiation in order to avoid civil war between CPC and KMT. Qin was one of the delegate of CPC with Mao, which indicated his appealing to Mao and prominence in CPC. Qin attended the following Political Consulting Congress held in Chongqing as delegate of CPC in Feb 1946. When Qin was on his way to Yan'an for reporting his work to CPC, he was unfortunate to experience an air crash in Shanxi
and died, among the victims were several senior CPC leaders such as General Ye Ting
, notorious secret police boss Deng Fa, and old CPC member Wang Ruofei (王若飞) besides Qin.
28 Bolsheviks
The 28 Bolsheviks were a group of Chinese students who studied at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University from the late 1920s until early 1935, also known as the "Returned Students". The university was founded in 1925 as a result of Kuomintang's founder Sun Yat-Sen's policy of alliance with the Soviet...
.
Biography
A native of WuxiWuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
, Qin was born in 1907. He studied in the Suzhou Industrial School in his early years, and took an active role in the activities against imperialism and warlords tyrannizing China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
at that time. In 1925 Qin entered the Shanghai University
Shanghai University
Shanghai University is a public, comprehensive university located in Shanghai, China. The university has the longest serving President; Chien Wei-zang since 1982 until he died in 2010. He was a well known scientist in China...
, known for its impact on young revolutionists, early CCP leaders such as Qu Qiubai
Qu Qiubai
Qu Qiubai was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. He was a leader of the Communist Party of China in the late 1920s.-Early life:...
and Deng Zhongxia being its teachers and introducing Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and Leninism
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
. It was there that Qin showed great interest in Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and Leninism
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
. In the same year, Qin joined the May 30th Movement for protest and boycott against imperialism; and he joined the CPC before long.
In 1926 Qin was sent to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to study Marxism and Leninism in Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, officially the Sun Yat-sen Communist University of the Toilers of China, was a Comintern school, which operated from 1925-1930. It was a training camp for Chinese revolutionaries from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China .-Origins:In 1923, Dr...
, a university established under Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
founder Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
's policy of alliance with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and CPC, with the aim of training young revolutionists for Chinese revolution inn the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n way. Using the alias Bo Gu, which means familiar with histories in Chinese, Qin began to learn Marxism and Leninism in a systematic way. Moreover, he became acquainted with Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
, who had come to this university a year earlier. Wang and Qin, with other prominent figures in Chinese students such as Zhang Wentian
Zhang Wentian
Zhang Wentian . He is also known as Luo Fu . His names in Wade-Giles are Chang Wen-t'ien and Lo Fu.Born in Jiangsu, he attended engineering school in Nanjing and also spent a year at the University of California. He later joined the Communist Party and was sent to study at Sun Yat-sen University...
, Wang Jiaxiang
Wang Jiaxiang
Wang Jiaxiang , one of the senior leaders of the Communist Party of China in its early stage and a member of the 28 Bolsheviks, with his life of up and down indicating the cruel reality of politics.-Biography:...
and Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission...
, founded a group known as the 28 Bolsheviks. They regarded themselves as orthodox Marxists, destined to take charge of Chinese revolution. Furthermore, with Wang's connection to Paul Mif, who was vice-president of Sun Yat-sen University and then vice minister of Eastern Department of Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
, the 28 Bolsheviks had more and more influence, one example being their role as missionaries and interpreters for the 6th National Congress of the CPC held in Moscow, with chances to comment on Chinese affairs.
With Mif succeeding Radek
Radek
Radek is a name, used as a surname and given name.As a surname, it may refer to:* Karl Radek , Bolshevik and international Communist leader* General Ivan Radek, communist terrorist leader of Kazakhstan in the Air Force One movie...
as president, his proteges were sent back to take charge of CPC. But for their poor record for Chinese revolution compared with old CPC members such as Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
and Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
, Wang and his associates including Bo Gu were assigned insignificant jobs first. Then with the direct support from Mif, who came to China as envoy of Comintern, in the 4th Plenary Meeting of 6th National Congress of CPC in 1931 Wang and his associates won the battle with Li Lisan
Li Lisan
Lǐ Lìsān was an early leader of the Chinese communists, and the top leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1928 to 1930, member of Polit Bureau, and later member of Central Committee.-Early years:...
, who was incumbent paramount leader of CPC at that time, and Li's opponents of old CPC members such as Labor activists He Mengxiong and Lin Yuying. Wang was appointed as member of politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of CPC, with Mif took charge of CPC headquarter, Wang became the No1 in practice. As a reward, Bo Gu was appointed to in charge of CY. When Wang returned Moscow for medical treatment, Qin was promoted to member of Central Bureau of CPC, and then the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
in charge of daily work of CPC. under the policy of extremism and leftism of Li and Wang, CPC suffered great loss in their power struggle with KMT in cities. In 1933 Bo Gu and other members of Central Bureau such as Zhou Enlai had to evacuate to Soviet Territory, power base set up by CPC in countrysides, in Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
. Bo Gu, Zhou and Otto Braun or Li De, the military advisor from Comintern, found a military command team to replace Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's control over military, who was chairman of Soviet Government at that time. Due to a change in Nationalist tactics, CPC Red Army suffered great loss in Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's 5th Suppression against them. Bo Gu and his team had to launch a strategic diversion. Although it was called Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
later, it would rather been called a big escape in disorder for its having no destination and plan at first.
During the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
, Red Army suffered heavy casualties from time to time due to no plan and incompetent command of the three-men team. Especially when the Red Army crossed the Xiang River, Red Army was near a rattrap and half of its elites were annihilated by KMT army. Discontent and fury over three-men team piled up. Under this circumstance, Mao used his diplomatic skills to communicate with Wang Jiaxiang, General Commissar of Red Army at that time, and got support from most of the generals used to be loyal to him.
Then in Jan 1935 came the convening of Zunyi Conference
Zunyi Conference
The Zunyi Conference was a meeting of the Communist Party of China in January of 1935 during the Long March. This meeting involved a power struggle between the leadership of Bo Gu and Otto Braun and the opposition led by Mao Zedong. The result was that Mao left the meeting in position to take...
, and with the defection of 28 Bolsheviks members Zhang Mintian, Wang Jiaxiang and Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission...
to Mao's camp, three-men team's command over military was discharged, Mao, Wang and Zhou Enlai composed a new three-men team to replace them; and Bo Gu's title of General Secretary was replaced by his former associate Zhang, but still a member of politburo.
When Bo Gu reached Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
with Red Army, he was still a young man longing for a bright future of Chinese revolution. In order to make a clear distinction from his past, Bo Gu preferred others called him by his real name Qin instead of his alias. Mao still needed Gu and other 28 Bolsheviks such as Zhang, Wang Jiaxiang for their support in Mao's later power struggle with Wang Ming and Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
. So some important assignments were given to them from time to time. During which, Qin was appointed as representative of CPC with Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...
and went to Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
to handle the Xi'an Incident
Xi'an Incident
The Xi'an Incident of December 1936 is an important episode of Chinese modern history, taking place in the city of Xi'an during the Chinese Civil War between the ruling Kuomintang and the rebel Chinese Communist Party and just before the Second Sino-Japanese War...
in 1936,and made contribution for the establishment of United Front against Japan. In 1937 Qin was appointed as Minister of Organization Department of CPC, which was in charge of CPC cadres' promotion and nomination. In 1938 he was the Minister of Organization Department of Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
and then Southern China Division of CPC. In 1941 he was appointed as boss of Jie Fang Daily and Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
. Qin showed great enthusiasm in promoting the newspaper and exercised best endeavor to make it a mouthpiece of CPC. Qin pledged his allegiance to Mao in Mao's struggle with Zhang Guotao, and in Cheng Feng he criticized his former close friend Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
. But Qin still could not get favor from Mao and had suffered from great stress and humiliation, especially for his kindness and leniency in the Cheng Feng movement of newspaper under his direction, which received heavy criticism from Mao and his secret police boss Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...
, who regarded Qin's action being inefficient and too mercy. As a result, although Qin was elected as Commissioner of Central Committee of CPC in the 7th National Congress of CPC in 1945, he was listed as the last one.
After the end of China anti-Japan war in 1945, Mao was invited by Chiang to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
for peace negotiation in order to avoid civil war between CPC and KMT. Qin was one of the delegate of CPC with Mao, which indicated his appealing to Mao and prominence in CPC. Qin attended the following Political Consulting Congress held in Chongqing as delegate of CPC in Feb 1946. When Qin was on his way to Yan'an for reporting his work to CPC, he was unfortunate to experience an air crash in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
and died, among the victims were several senior CPC leaders such as General Ye Ting
Ye Ting
Ye Ting , born in Huiyang, Guangdong, was a Chinese military leader. He started out nationalist and went to the communists....
, notorious secret police boss Deng Fa, and old CPC member Wang Ruofei (王若飞) besides Qin.