S Political Thought

Chen Duxiu is a figure of great complexity with a far-reaching influence inthe history of the Communist Party of China (CPC). His political thinking coversthe two stages, i.e. the Old Democratic Revolution and the New DemocraticRevolution and is a part of the spiritual legacy of the early history of CPC.Chen's political ideas truthfully reflected the main social contradictions andthe changes in the complicated class relationship in Modern China; the strugglesamong the various political powers; and the Party members' painstaking processof exploring the Way of Chinese Revolution. To analyze and study Chen's politicalideas is of great importance in the analysis and study of the history of thepolitical thoughts in Modern China, and the forepart phylogeny of the Party'sthoughts as well as the formation and evolution of Mao Zedong Thoughts. This paper studies diachronically and synchronically the evolution process,the main contents and characteristics of Chen's political ideas. This paper alsoanalyzes the complicated reasons, and gives an overall evaluation of his ideas.The method of historical materialism and comparative study are used. Chapter One outlines the evolution process of Chen's political ideas andanalyzes it with the great changes in the social contradiction and classrelationship, and with the rise of the Chinese Revolution. Chen's political ideas have undergone a complicated process. Under theinfluence of the October Revolution, he changed from a radical democratic to aMarxist. After the founding of CPC, he actively explored the theory of Chineserevolution. As in the aspects of the stages, the drive and the leadership ofChinese revolution, there are correct as well as immature and even wrong ideas.After the failure of the National Revolution, he adopted the political ideas ofTrotsky. In his late years, he published many of his political opinions aboutthe Anti-Japanese War, the problem of Democracy and the experiences of the SovietUnion. Some of these opinions are right and some of them are biased. Chapter Two analyzes and studies the complicated reasons of the changes inhis political ideas. His ideas changes with the objective situations. The changesand complexity of his thoughts reflected the difficulties in conducting the NewDemocratic Revolution in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. It alsoreflected the hardship of exploring the theory of Chinese revolution in the earlyperiod of CPC. The evolution of Chen's political ideas is not only influenced and 3restricted by the objective situations of Chinese revolution in different periodsbut also closely related to the right or wrong instructions of the CommunistInternational and controlled by its theory and policy about Chinese revolution.This evolution is not only influenced by the Party's exploration of therevolutionary theory, but restricted by such subjective factors as the complexpolitical ideas of different schools and his knowledge level. The Chapter Three puts its emphasis on analyzing and studying the majorcontents of Chen's political ideas. The contents of his ideas are rich andmeaningful, contracting his considerations of the theory and practice of Chineserevolution. Chen's patriotism is mainly displayed in two aspects. The first is in histransformation from a radical democrat to a Marxist. The second is in hispersistence in resisting the dictatorship of feudalism and imperialism, and hiscalling for prosperity and enlightenment. At the end of the National Revolution,he turned to conservative and became a Trotskyism, but his patriotism did notchange. After the incident on September 18th, Chen's advocate of anti-JapaneseWar is the best reflection of his patriotism. Yet, there are serious defectionsin his patriotism. Science and Democracy are very important components of his ideas and is thecore of his early political ideas. His democratic ideas mainly include: the earlyc...