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Peng Shuzhi (also spelledPeng Shu-tse;Chinese:彭述之;pinyin:Péng Shùzhī';[1] 1895–1983) was an early leader of theChinese Communist Party who was expelled from the party for being aTrotskyist. After the Communist victory in China, he lived in exile in Vietnam, France and the United States. His memoir was published in France by his daughter Cheng Yingxiang and son-in-lawClaude Cadart.
Peng was born inLonghui County,Baoqing Prefecture,Hunan province in 1895. He joined theChinese Socialist Youth League in 1920, and later was sent to study inMoscow.[2] After returning to China in September 1924,[2] he became a member of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, directed the propaganda work of the Party and edited its central journal during the revolution of 1925–1927 (seeFirst United Front). During this time, he began living withChen Bilan (陳碧蘭), whom he later married.[2]
Peng's extramarital relationship withXiang Jingyu exacerbated disagreements between Party leadership.[3]: 113 As the Party had grown rapidly following theMay Thirtieth Movement, leadership was divided over the organization of the Party.[3]: 113 Peng andChen Duxiu favored centralized authority, whileQu Qiubai,Cai Hesen, andZhang Guotao supported increased autonomy for local Party organizations.[3]: 113
During the Party's5th National Congress in late April and early May 1927, Peng and Chen were criticized by Qu and Cai criticized for what Qu and Cai described as rightist opportunism, contending that Chen and Peng's approach impeded the progress of worker's movements and leadership of the proletariat.[3]: 114 Qu distributed a 70,000 word pamphlet titledControversial Issues in the Chinese Revolution, asserting that "our party is sick, and the name of the illness is Peng Shuzhi-ism."[3]: 114 Peng ceased to be a member of thePolitburo after the Congress.[3]: 114
Following a meeting in August 1927, the Party established its Northern Bureau, which was led by Peng, Cai, andWang Hebo.[3]: 114
Peng was expelled from the party in November 1929, together withChen Duxiu, for supportingTrotskyism.[2]
In 1949, on the eve of Communist victory in China, Peng fledShanghai with his family to British Hong Kong and then toSaigon,State of Vietnam in January 1950. After fellow Trotskyist Liu Jialiang (刘家良) was arrested and killed by Vietnamese agents, in June 1951 Peng fled again to Paris, then the headquarters of the TrotskyistFourth International.[4] In Paris, his daughter Cheng Yingxiang (程映湘) married the French sinologistClaude Cadart. They later organized, translated and published Peng's memoirs entitledL’envol du communisme en Chine.[4] Peng and his wife moved to the United States in 1972. He died inLos Angeles on the 28th of November, 1983, at 88 years old.[4]
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