Chen Boda | |
|---|---|
| 陈伯达 | |
 Chen Boda inc. 1966 | |
| Member of thePolitburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party | |
| In office 1966–1970 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chen Shangyu 29 July 1904 (1904-07-29) |
| Died | 20 September 1989 (1989-09-21) (aged 85) |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party (1927–1973) |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Alma mater | Sun Yat-sen University |
| Chen Boda | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳伯達 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈伯达 | ||||||||||||
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Chen Boda (simplified Chinese:陈伯达;traditional Chinese:陳伯達;Wade–Giles:Ch'en Po-ta;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Tân Peh-ta̍t; 29 July 1904 – 20 September 1989), was aChinese Communist journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter ofMaoism (or "Mao Zedong Thought") in the first 20 years of thePeople's Republic of China.[2] Chen became a close associate ofMao Zedong inYan'an, during the late 1930s, drafting speeches and theoretical essays and directing propaganda.[3]
After 1949, Chen played a leading role in overseeing mass media and ideology; at the start of theCultural Revolution in 1966, Mao named him Chairman of theCultural Revolution Group, entrusting him with the task of guiding the new mass movement. However, his ultra-radical line and close ties withLin Biao eventually led to his downfall in 1970.[2][3]
Chen Boda was bornChen Jianxiang (simplified Chinese:陈建相;traditional Chinese:陳建相;pinyin:Chén Jiànxiāng;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Tân Kiān-siong) in 1904 to peasant parents.[2] Hiscourtesy name wasShangyou (Chinese:尚友;pinyin:Shàngyǒu;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Siōng-iú). During his childhood, his family moved toJimei, in modern-dayAmoy, likely to facilitate young Chen's enrollment at the Jimei Normal School, from which Chen graduated as aschoolteacher (he taught at various elementary schools until 1927).[3]
In 1925, Chen enrolled at Shanghai Labor University, studyingliterature, and in 1927 he joined theChinese Communist Party. After returning to Fujian, he was hired as the personal secretary of GeneralZhang Zhen, helping to prepare for the 1926–1927Northern Expedition from the CCP side of theFirst United Front. When the Front collapsed, Chen fled and was eventually arrested inNanjing. He was released after a month on General Zhang's recommendation. Shortly thereafter, Chen was sent by the Party toMoscow Sun Yat-sen University, where he studied politics andMarxist philosophy for four years.[3][4]
In 1931, Chen Boda returned to China, and marriedSichuan native Zhu Yuren, who had also studied in Moscow. Chen became a professor of politics and ancient Chinese history at China College inBeijing[2] while writing articles under the pen namesChen Zhimei andChen Boda. Most of these articles focused on the dispute between advocates of "national defense literature" such asLu Xun, and more nationalist authors. Chen also did underground work for the Party inTianjin.
From 1937 on, he taught politics and Marxist philosophy at theCentral Party School of the Chinese Communist Party inYan'an, where he became a leader in theYan'an Rectification Movement.[2] He soon became personal research assistant and chief political aide toMao Zedong. Chen published the first collection of Mao's writings in 1937, and an official history of the Party in 1945.[4]
After the Communist victory in theChinese Civil War and the establishment of thePeople's Republic of China in 1949, Mao entrusted Chen with many important tasks. Chen Boda became:[3]
In 1951, Chen wrote an article with the titleMao Zedong's theory of the Chinese Revolution is the combination of Marxism-Leninism with the Chinese Revolution and a book entitledMao Zedong on the Chinese Revolution. These works made him one of the most important interpreters ofMao Zedong Thought, and in the 1950s he became one of Mao's closest associates, compiling many of the quotations eventually published inthe Red Book.[5]
In 1950 Chen accompanied Mao toMoscow to participate in the negotiations withJoseph Stalin that led to the signing of the 30-year treaty of alliance (February 1950) between China and theSoviet Union.[2]
Following Mao's complaint that "the economic sector is blocking me and ComradeLiu," Chen was appointed in 1962 to serve as a vice director of theState Planning Commission.[6]: 102
From 1966 until 1969, Chen Boda was to play an important role in theCultural Revolution. In May 1966, he was placed at the head of the newly formedCentral Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG), a body established to oversee and direct the course of the Cultural Revolution.[7] In time, this group would rise to become the most important political body in China, surpassing even the influence of thePolitburo.[8] Furthermore, Chen Boda was also placed as head of the Communist government's propaganda apparatus alongsideJiang Qing when the previous leader,Lu Dingyi (with whom he had often quarrelled),[3] was deposed in 1966.[9] He also became a member of the Standing Committee of thePolitburo.[10]
According to the Central Committee leadership, the Cultural Revolution Group began to show signs of ultra-leftism during the late 1960s. Boda's reputation began to wane after the9th Party Congress in 1969 due to his ties with Lin Biao (with whom he had closely collaborated in the publication of theLittle Red Book)[3] and his opposition toZhou Enlai's attempt to deescalate the Cultural Revolution and refocus on consolidating the Party.[11][12] This marked the end of Chen Boda's involvement in the cultural revolution. As the leadership became more moderate in its outlook and the initial aims of the cultural revolution were sidelined, Chen's radicalism caused concern, and he was denounced at the10th Party Congress in 1973 as a 'revisionist secret agent' for his associations with Lin Biao.[13]
After the Cultural Revolution, he was tried by the post-Mao government for collaboration with theGang of Four.[14] He was sentenced to eighteen years in prison, but was released under parole shortly afterwards due to his ill health, and his parole time ended in 1988. He died on 20 September 1989, at the age of 85.[3]
