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Boda ChenChinese politician, one of the ideologists of the Communist Party of China
Country:
 China |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Military Service and Party Membership
- Moscow Studies and Return to China
- Imprisonment and Continued Propaganda
- Aufstieg to Prominence in Yan'an
- Mao Zedong's Political Secretary
- Contributions to the CPC
- Ideological Work and Cultural Revolution
- Role in the Cultural Revolution
- Rise to Political Prominence
- Drafting the New Party Constitution
- Denunciation of Military Leadership
- Decline and Fall
Early Life and Education
Chen Boda was born in 1904 in the Fujian province of China into a poor peasant family. Little is known about his early life. He graduated from Jimei Middle School for the Poor and possibly from the Teacher's Training School attached to the elementary school. Chen Boda continued his education by enrolling in the Shanghai Labour University.
Military Service and Party Membership
Chen Boda served in the army of General Zhang Zhen, became his personal secretary, and participated in the Northern Expedition of 1926-1927. In 1927, he secretly joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) and soon after traveled to the USSR for further studies.
Moscow Studies and Return to China
From 1927 to 1930, Chen Boda studied at the Sun Yat-sen Institute in Moscow. In Moscow, he joined the university's CPC "faction" and was later criticized for "factionalism." He returned to China in 1930 and taught at a college in Beijing. He also engaged in party and propaganda work in Fujian and North China, serving as editor for party publications.
Imprisonment and Continued Propaganda
In 1931-1932, Chen Boda was imprisoned by the Kuomintang despite pleas from General Zhang Zhen for his release. After his release, he continued underground propaganda work in Tianjin while also teaching history and philosophy at Beijing University's Department of Literature.
Aufstieg to Prominence in Yan'an
In 1937, Chen Boda moved to the main "revolutionary base" of the CPC in Yan'an. There, he began teaching philosophy at the CPC's Central Party School and quickly rose to become one of the party's leading theorists. He co-founded the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in Yan'an in 1938 and taught history, Marxist-Leninist theory, and philosophy there.
Mao Zedong's Political Secretary
In 1939, at the recommendation of Zhang Wentian, Mao Zedong appointed Chen Boda as his political secretary. In 1942, Chen Boda rose during the "campaign to rectify the style of work" and soon became responsible for news services and labor propaganda.
Contributions to the CPC
At the CPC's Seventh Congress in April 1945, Chen Boda was elected as a candidate member of the CPC Central Committee. After Japan's defeat, he carried out party assignments in Hong Kong and became a member of the 7th CPC Central Committee in 1946.
Ideological Work and Cultural Revolution
In 1947, Chen Boda published the book "The Four Families of China," criticizing the Kuomintang. In October 1949, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and Deputy Director of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in Beijing.
In the early 1950s, Chen Boda became a leading expert on Mao Zedong's theoretical legacy. In 1951, he published the article "Mao Zedong's Theory of the Chinese Revolution—The Integration of Marxism-Leninism with the Chinese Revolution" and the book "Mao Zedong on the Chinese Revolution."
Chen Boda became a candidate member of the Politburo in 1956. In 1958, he was appointed editor-in-chief of the ideological journal "Red Flag" established by the CPC's Eighth Congress.
At the Lushan Plenum of the CPC Central Committee in 1959, Mao Zedong used Chen Boda as a key critic of the opposition led by Marshal Peng Dehuai.
On April 1966, at a meeting of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, Chen Boda and Kang Sheng sharply criticized Peng Zhen, the Mayor of Beijing, triggering the start of the Cultural Revolution.
Role in the Cultural Revolution
On April 16, 1966, Chen Boda was appointed head of the reorganized Cultural Revolution Group of the CPC Central Committee (CRG), whose powers steadily increased. Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife, was appointed as his first deputy, and Kang Sheng as one of two advisors.
During this period, the CRG, with the tacit support of the military, organized and oversaw the Red Guards movement in educational institutions throughout the country. On Mao Zedong's instructions, Chen Boda published the article "Sweep Away All Monsters and Demons!" on June 1, 1966, which became a signal for the mass Red Guards movement.
However, in Mao Zedong's absence during the summer, the Red Guards movement faced resistance from the party leadership. Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, sent "working groups" to educational institutions to restore order. In July 1966, after Lu Dingyi was dismissed, Chen Boda also became the director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee.
At Mao Zedong's behest, Chen Boda, Jiang Qing, and Kang Sheng were sent to Beijing University to organize resistance against the "working groups." Within days, the "working groups" that had opposed the Red Guards were disbanded, and the Cultural Revolution gained momentum.
Rise to Political Prominence
At the Eleventh Plenum of the 8th CPC Central Committee in August 1966, Chen Boda became a member of the Politburo and the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee.
In October 1966, he addressed the Working Conference of the CPC Central Committee with a report entitled "Two Lines in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution," in which he opposed Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping and stated that most party committees were still resisting the Cultural Revolution.
In January 1967, Chen Boda supported the dismissal of Shanghai authorities and the establishment of the "Shanghai Commune." As head of the CRG, he participated in numerous meetings and rallies of Red Guards, traveled throughout the country, and assisted in the removal of local authorities and the transfer of power to Revolutionary Committees in the provinces.
In his speeches, he called for the deepening and expansion of the Cultural Revolution until the "ideas of Mao" achieved complete victory.
Drafting the New Party Constitution
In November 1967, Chen Boda, as head of the CRG, was appointed to lead the commission responsible for drafting the new CPC Constitution. Kang Sheng, Zhang Chunqiao, and Yao Wenyuan were the other three members of the group tasked with drafting the Constitution. Within a week, they published the draft Constitution in the Red Guards publication "Dongfanghong." The draft stated: "The contemporary world has entered a new era, an era for which Mao Zedong Thought is the banner."
Denunciation of Military Leadership
On March 27, 1968, Chen Boda addressed a rally of a hundred thousand people at the Worker's Stadium where he denounced the army leadership, particularly the acting Chief of Staff of the PLA, Yang Chengwu, the Political Commissar of the Air Force, Yu Lijin, and the commander of the Beijing Garrison, Fu Chongbi. In his speech, he summarized the achievements of the two years of the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" and highlighted "five great battles." He considered the first battle to be the removal of Peng Zhen, Yang Shangkun, Lu Dingyi, and Luo Ruiqing, the second to be the removal of Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, and Tao Zhu, the third to be the defeat of the "February Retrogressive Current" of 1967 involving Zhu De, Chen Yi, Ye Jianying, and others, the fourth to be the elimination of Wan Li, Guan Feng, and Qi Benyu. Chen Boda saw the ongoing "exposure" of the army command—the "March Explosion"—as the "fifth battle." The following day, Yang Chengwu was removed from all his positions.
Decline and Fall
On the night of July 28, 1968, Chen Boda participated in a meeting between the country's leadership and Red Guard leaders where a decision was made to reform the Red Guards movement and shift the focus of the Cultural Revolution to rural areas.
In October 1968, by decision of the 12th Enlarged Plenum of the CPC Central Committee, he became one of the 14 members of the "Proletarian Headquarters" created to govern China. Together with Lin Biao, he wrote the text of the political report to the CPC's Tenth Congress and later spoke at the Congress during its discussion.
On April 24, 1969, at the 12th Plenum of the CPC Central Committee following the Tenth Congress, Chen Boda was re-elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee.
In March 1970, Mao Zedong decided to revise the Constitution of China and spoke in favor of abolishing the position of the Chairman of China. Chen Boda, along with Lin Biao, advocated for the retention of the position. Chen Boda worked on the draft of the new Constitution, which legally enshrined Lin Biao's role as Mao Zedong's successor.
At the Lushan Plenum (the Second Plenum of the 9th CPC Central Committee) in August 1970, Chen Boda again attempted to preserve the position for Lin Biao. On August 31, Mao wrote the document "My Opinion" against Chen Boda, accusing him of "carrying
