The Founding of the CPC

 The Founding of the CPC——中国共产党的建立

The First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which marked the formal establishment of the CPC, was held in July 1921.

The CPC was born amid grave social crises, at a time when the Chinese nation was facing both domestic and foreign challenges. It came from the integration of Marxism-Leninism and Chinese workers' movements. The October Revolution of Russia in 1917 led by Lenin brought Marxism to China, pointing the direction for and giving a brand new choice to the Chinese people who were struggling for national salvation. In the course of the May 4th Movement, the Chinese working class had for the first time emerged as an independent political power. After deep reflection, intellectuals like Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Mao Zedong, and Zhou Enlai shifted their stance to scientific socialism. They advocated Marxism and embraced communism. Eventually, China strengthened its class foundation and created a solid ideological basis for the founding of the CPC.

In August 1920, China's first communist group was established in Shanghai. Other early-period CPC organizations were then set up in Beijing, Wahan, Changsha, Guangzhou, Jinan, and also in Japan and France by overseas students and expatriates. On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the CPC was held in secret in the French Concession of Shanghai, at what was then 106 Rue Wantz Rd (now 76 Xingye Rd.). It was attended by 13 delegates from Party organizations around the country and also from Japan, who represented more than 50 Party members nationwide. Police in the French Concession searched the meeting venue and kept monitoring the place. The delegates left the city in small numbers, and the final day's meeting was convened in a boat on the South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province.

The First National Congress adopted the unified name “Communist Party of China", passed the Party's resolution, and adopted its first program, including “overthrowing capitalism”, “maintaining the dictatorship of proletariat”, “eliminating capitalist private ownership", and collaborating with the Communist International. The congress also decided to focus on workers' movement through organizing labor unions and educating workers.

The establishment of the CPC, an epoch-making event in the history of the Chinese nation, was the culmination of social progress and revolutionary development in China's modern history. It provided a mainstay for the future development of the Chinese people, and gave fresh impetus to the Chinese revolution. The founding of the CPC profoundly changed the direction and course of the Chinese nation, the future of the Chinese people, and the trend of the world.