28 Bolsheviks

The Twenty Eight Bolsheviks were a group of Chinese students who studied at the Sun Yat-Sen University in Moscow during the late 1920s until early 1935. The university was set up in 1925 as a by-product of Kuomintang's founder Sun Yat-Sen or Sun Zhongshan's policy of alliance with Soviet Union and named after him. Although the university only lasted for 5 years, it had important influence on Chinese modern history by training many prominent Chinese political figures, among which the most famous ones are called "Twenty Eight |Twenty Eight and A Half Bolsheviks". This group of students consisted of hardliner of Marxism- Leninism policy, regarded them as legitimate and one hundred percent MarxistsThey advocated radical violent revolution and neglected the contribution of peasants. Furthermore, as proteges of Pavel Mif, the president of Sun Yat-sen University at that time and then Comintern representative to CPC, they thought they were destined to take charge of Chinese revolution.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Sun Yat-Sen University - Moscow - 1920s - 1935 - Kuomintang - Sun Yat-Sen - Soviet Union - Marxists - Comintern

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Actually there were 29 active members, including:

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Wang Ming or Chen Shaoyu, and his wife Meng Qingshu(???in Chinese);

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Bo Gu or Qing Bangxian; Zhang Mintian or Luo Fu; Wang Jiaxiang;

Related Topics:
Bo Gu - Zhang Mintian - Wang Jiaxiang

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Yang Shangkun; Chen Changhao(???in Chinese) with his wife Du Zuoxiang(???in Chinese?; Shen Zhemin????in Chinese? and his wife Zhang Qingqiu???? in Chinese?; He Kequan or Kai Feng????of ??in Chinese); Xia Xi???in Chinese?; He Zishu????in Chinese?? Sheng Zhongliang????in Chinese?; Wang Baoli????in Chinese?; Wang Shengrong????in Chinese?; Wang Yuncheng????in Chinese?; Zhu Ageng????in Chinese?; Zhu Zisun(female)????in Chinese?; Sun Jiming????in Chinese?; Song Panmin????in Chinese?; Chen Yuandao????in Chinese?; Li Zhusheng????in Chinese?; Li Yuanjie????in Chinese?; Wang Shengdi????in Chinese?; Xiao Tefu????in Chinese?; Ying Jian???in Chinese?; Yan Jiayong????in Chinese?,Xu Yixin????in Chinese?. And the half there were two saying :one was that the half was Xu Yixin because of his pendulous attitude between left and right.The other was that the half was Wang Shengrong for his being so short that he could only be counted as a half.

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With support from their mentor Pavel Mif,who was president of Sun Yat-sen University and then envoy of Comintern to China, their return to China firstly brought struggle with Li Lisan and his allies who controlled Communist Party of China, and then fought against Li's dissidents in CPC as well. In the 4th Plenary Meeting of 6th National Congress of CPC,with the presence and direct support of Mif,who acted as Comintern representative to CPC and like a imperial envoy, Wang Ming and his group's had big victory. Wang was elected as member of politburo of CPC, and Bo Gu, Zhang Mintian took different important jobs.In order to move the last obstacles ,they launched a renewed struggle between the Central Committee and Mao Zedong's fledgling Chinese Soviet Republic and won in some rounds. Although Wang Ming returned to Moscow after his short stay in Shanghai, Bo Gu and Zhang Mintian both took the position of General Secretary of Central Committee of CPC by turns and led Chinese revolution into a radical way which resulted in CPC's great lost and then they had to go on Long March.

Related Topics:
Li Lisan - Communist Party of China - Comintern - Wang Ming - Politburo - Bo Gu - Zhang Mintian - Mao Zedong - Chinese Soviet Republic - Moscow - Shanghai - Long March

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At the 1935 Zunyi Conference, the 28 Bolsheviks were completely defeated by Mao Zedong and his allies for their incompetence in military command; in this conference, Bo Gu stood by with the Comintern military advisor Otto Braun or Li De, while Zhang and Wang Jiaxiang, who was General Commissar of the Red Army, and Yang Shangkun, Commissar of the Third Field Army of Red Army at that time, defected to Mao's camp, which eventually announced the disintegration of the 28 Bolsheviks.

Related Topics:
1935 - Zunyi Conference - 28 Bolsheviks - Mao Zedong - Bo Gu - Comintern - Wang Jiaxiang - Yang Shangkun

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Among which, Wang Ming, Zhang Mintian and Bo Gu had been General Secretary of CPC. Wang was in exile to Moscow and died there. Zhang was demoted to do some ideology research work in Yanan and later was appointed as Deputy Foreign Minister after 1949, and was soon purged for his labelled anti-revolution group with Peng Dehuai in LuShan Meeting and then persecuted to death in Cultural Revolution and Bo Gu died in a air crash in 1940's when he returned to Yanan.

Related Topics:
Wang Ming - Zhang Mintian - Bo Gu - Moscow - Yanan - Foreign Minister - Peng Dehuai - Cultural Revolution

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Wang Jiaxiang later was demoted to Minister of Outside Communication Department of CPC and Chinese Ambassador to Soviet Union and persecuted to death in Cultural Revolution too.

Related Topics:
Wang Jiaxiang - Soviet Union - Cultural Revolution

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Chen Changhao worked with Zhang Guotao when he returned from Moscow and became Zhang's Commissar, and lost his power in the struggle between Zhang and Mao, and later became a researcher in CPC history but could not escaped from persecution too.

Related Topics:
Zhang Guotao - Moscow

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He Kequan once was General Secretary of China Communist Youth League ,and later Vice Minister of Propagada Department of CPC, died in his late 40's in 1954.

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Xia Xi was sent to Hunan and then carried out the horrible purging which claims more than 40,000 lives of Red Army soliders and commanders. In the end he was regarded as a public enemy so that in Long March when he fell down to a river, nobody went to save him and resulted in his death in drowning.

Related Topics:
Hunan - Long March

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Yang Shangkun survived in several cleanings including Cultural Revolution and later became paramount leader of CPC in 1980's.

Related Topics:
Yang Shangkun - Cultural Revolution

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Sheng Zemin ,who was little brother of famous writer Shen Yuanbin or Mao Dun, worked for Zhang Guotao and his 4th Red Army. When Zhang and his army evacuated after their defeat, Sheng led a guerrilla and later died in a battle. His wife Zhang Qingqiu later married with Chen Changhao and became the only one female division commander of red army. After 1949 she was appointed as Deputy Minister of Textile Industry. Neither did she survive in the persecution of Cultural Revolution.

Related Topics:
Zhang Guotao - Cultural Revolution

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Ying Jian was arrested by Kuomintang when he mobilized workers in Northern Cina and executed later.

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Li Zhusheng was promoted to a member acting politburo after Wang Ming's return to Moscow in 1931, in charge of daily work of CPC in Shanghai, but he was under arrest before long .Li defected to KMT and sold many of his former colleagues out.

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Chen Yuandao was appointed as senior leader for Jiangsu and Henan Division of CPC, and later was under arrest and executed by KMT in Nanjing.

Related Topics:
Jiangsu - Henan - Nanjing

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Xu Yixin worked for Zhang Guotao's 4th Red Army and became his vice general commissar, and survived wars and party cleansings .After establishment of People's Republic of China, Xu held the position of ambassador, Under Secretary of Foreign Ministry. He died in the 1990's.

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Yuan Jiayong was appointed as General Secretary of Jiangsu Division of CPC , and later was under arrest ,then defected to KMT and worked for its secret police.

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He Zishu worked for the Northern China Bureau of CPC , and was exectued by KMT in 1929.

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Wang Shengrong was a senoir leader of CPC , survived wars and party purges and now still alive.

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Wang Yuncheng succeeded Wang Ming as General Secretary of Jiangsu Division of CPC , then was kidnapped by KMT and work its secret police with Li Zhusheng.

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Sheng Zhonglian was senior leader of Shanghai Division of CPC, and was sold out by Li Zhusheng, after his arrest,Sheng worked for KMT secret police too. Sheng wrote a memoir on Sun Yat-sen University and 28 Bolsheviks when he lived in the U.S.

Related Topics:
28 Bolsheviks - U.S

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Song Panmin worked for Zhang Guotao too. When he expressed his discontent over the party cleansing carried out by Xia Xi, Song was executed.

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Sun Jiming ,a senior CY leader,was arrest and defected to KMT together with Wang Yuncheng

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Wang Shengdi and Zhu Ageng left CPC although they held senior positions of CPC for a while.

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Wang Baoli,Zhu Zisun, Li Yuanjue ,Du Zuoxian were unknown to public later, maybe they had lived in ordinary lives from then.

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28 Bolsheviks might have been another Skull and Bones Society at first.But when it was used by their mentors in Moscow to engage in the power of struggle of CPC, they became victims and victimized others. Above all they were still too immature and young in the revolution albeit they had taken great power . They have little practice on revolution, all they could rely were just principles from books. They thought they were orthodox CP members and despised those old CPC members such as Mao Zedong and Zhang Guotao who earn their fames and positions by blood and sweat and were more familiar with Chinese revolution ,and above all more skillful in power struggle.Although its members had different endings, as a group 28 Bolsheviks were destined to fail.Today in China 28 Bolsheviks is the code name for doctrinairism and leftism and puppet for imperialism or chauvinism.

Related Topics:
28 Bolsheviks - Skull and Bones Society - Moscow - Mao Zedong - Zhang Guotao

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Image:Wang Ming.jpg|Wang Ming

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Image:Zhang Mintian.jpg|Zhang Mintian

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Image:Bo Gu.jpg|Bo Gu

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Image:Wang Jiaxiang.jpg|Wang Jiaxiang

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Image:Yang Shangkun.jpg|Yang Shangkun

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Image:Chen Changhao.jpg|Chen Changhao

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Image:He Kequan.jpg|He Kequan

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Image:Sheng Zemin,jpg.png|Sheng Zemin

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Image:Zhang Qinqiu.jpg|Zhang Qinqiu

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Image:Xu Yixin.jpg|Xu Yixin

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Image:Xia Xi.jpg|Xia Xi(first from left)

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