Who is the translator of the "introductory" book on Party history | Deng Xiaoping Marxism-Leninism?

30 years ago, Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China's reform and opening up, said in his famous "Southern Speech": Studying Marxism-Leninism must be essential and effective, "My introductory teachers are the Communist Manifesto and the Communist ABC." In fact, "Communist ABC" is also the ideological enlightenment work of many early Communist Party members, including Zhu De and Liu Shaoqi. Xia Zhengnong, former secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, said: "In 1927, when I joined the revolution and began to contact Marxism, the first enlightenment textbook was Bukharin's ABC of Communism." As we all know, the translator of the first full translation of the Communist Manifesto Chinese was Chen Wangdao, but who was the translator of the first full translation of the Chinese of the Communist ABC? On December 26, 2021, the academic seminar on "Zheng Chaolin's Collection and Collation of Historical Materials in the CPC Central Committee Organs" jointly organized by the Shanghai Cpc History Society, the Shanghai Propaganda Newsletter, the Party History Office of the Hongkou District Committee of the CPC, and the Four Memorial Halls of the CPC was held at the Four Memorial Halls of the CPC. More than 80 CPC party history experts and scholars of literature and history from all over the country attended the meeting and unveiled this mystery.

A well-known translator with a strong sense of knowledge and conviction

Professor Xin Ping, vice chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Federation of Social Societies and president of the Shanghai Municipal Society of Communist Party History, pointed out that Zheng Chaolin went to France to work and study in his early years, was one of the founders of the young Communist Party in Europe in 1922, a famous translator in the early days of the Communist Party of China, an important disseminator of Marxism-Leninism in China, and an important backbone of the party's early propaganda and ideological front. He was knowledgeable and strong, personally experienced many major events of the Communist Party of China, was an important historical witness and narrator, not only a participant and recorder of the Four Congresses of the Communist Party of China, but also a participant and recorder of the Eighty-Seven Conference, and was recognized as the most accurate in the recollection of the four major contents of the Communist Party of China, the four major sites and the site of the Eighty-Seventh Conference, leaving precious oral history materials for future generations to study and publicize the Fourth National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Eighty-Seventh Conference.

Xie Junmei, a professor in the History Department of East China Normal University, pointed out that Zheng Chaolin is a figure created by Chinese and Western cultures, and it is necessary to study him in the context of China's march toward the world and modernity. He had a deep foundation in his studies, and he had been to France, to English and German, to the Soviet Union, to Stalin, and to the leaders of the Communist International, and he was to be treated in the context of the international community. The highlight of his life was that during the First Revolution, he participated in many propaganda activities, went to many universities, such as Shanghai University, and gave lectures at St. John's University. At the 1987 meeting, he participated as the director of the Propaganda Department of the Hubei Provincial CPC Committee, and although he did not say anything at the meeting, he served as the minutes of the meeting and left a precious record of the meeting.

Professor Su Zhiliang of Shanghai Normal University pointed out that Zheng Chaolin was one of the pioneers of the Communist Party of China, the earliest full-time cadre of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, and made great contributions to the Chinese revolution. From coming to Shanghai in 1924 until his death in 1998, he lived in our city for more than 70 years. I hope that this meeting is only a beginning, and in the future, we should carry out in-depth research, especially to sort out Zheng Chaolin's revolutionary activities, from going to France to work-study to the great revolution, Zheng Chaolin participated in many activities, as well as many of his translations and articles, which need to be studied and studied with great efforts. An appropriate evaluation of Zheng Chaolin's merits and historical positioning was made. We should have high respect for zheng Chaolin, a pioneer of the Chinese revolution who is frank and upright and adheres to the truth.

Shao Yong, a distinguished professor at Shanghai Normal University, pointed out that Zheng Chaolin was one of the early members of the CPC and an important member of the CCP's group studying in France. After returning from Moscow in September 1924, he edited the Guide in the Central Propaganda Department and also wrote for the party magazine New Youth and the league magazine Chinese Youth. As a result of receiving systematic education at the Eastern Workers' University in Moscow and having been with the leaders of the Communist Party of China for a long time after returning to China, he published important articles in the party periodicals and group periodicals, taking the party's will as the will and the party's propositions as the proposition, full of the atmosphere of revolutionary fighting, vigorously propagating and defending Leninism; resolutely criticizing nationalism and reformism; enthusiastically praising the February 7 strike and the May Thirtieth Movement, embodying the correct understanding of Leninism and advanced political judgment. His prediction that "the Chinese proletariat will have the possibility of holding the world revolution has been proved by the history of the Party for a hundred years." Zheng Chaolin's revolutionary literature played a certain positive role in awakening the people and promoting the great revolutionary movement.

In 1996, a large-scale TV series "Deng Xiaoping", which was continuously broadcast in a set of golden files on CCTV, the 95-year-old Zheng Chaolin appeared three times in the first episode, using his Mandarin with a Fujian accent to clearly tell the world about the great Deng Xiaoping during the period of work-study in France, because he and Deng Xiaoping were work-study classmates and had close personal relations. Many people know for the first time that there is an old man named Zheng Chaolin in the world.

The first low-key translator of the full Chinese of communism ABC

Shen Jianzhong, a researcher at the Party History Research Office of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, pointed out that "Communist ABC" was first translated by Zheng Chaolin, and the title of the book was also taken by him. Originally, the book's name was literally translated as "Introduction to Communism" or "A Brief View of the Program of the Russian Communist Party", but Zheng Chaolin named it "Communist ABC", but insisted on not signing his name. This book became an introductory book for a large number of Communists to participate in the revolution and made a great contribution to the propagation of Marxism in China. There are countless revolutionaries who have used "Communist ABC" as an enlightenment textbook, and they have seriously studied it in different posts, and even most of the high-level leaders have consulted it: Peng Zhen read it in the enemy's prison, Peng Dehuai read it on the march, Zhu De read it in Germany, and Liu Shaoqi read it in Moscow. "Communist ABC" has nourished the minds of our whole party and the whole army, and it has made great contributions.

Chen Sihe, director of fudan university library and senior professor of liberal arts, recalled the academic exchanges with Zheng Chaolin when he began to do comparative research on Chinese and foreign literature and first introduced Marxist-Leninist theory, and recalled that he had read the manuscript of "Qu Qiubai I Know" that year, and knew that his hands were trembling when he saw the handwriting, and wrote nearly 20,000 words, which was very touching at that time. Zheng Chaolin's life was bumpy, but he was frank. He not only pursues the truth, respects practice, is not afraid of going to jail, is not afraid of sacrifice, adheres to ideals, always has firm political belief and fearless heroic spirit, and at the same time has a high degree of discipline and loyalty to the party.

Chen Xiaosheng, former deputy department-level discipline inspection and supervision commissioner of the Fujian Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and former director of the Propaganda Department of the Fujian Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission, pointed out that the party history value of "Zheng Chaolin's Memoirs" mainly has three aspects: First, it has made rich, detailed, and vivid records of the party's early activities. Second, it fills in certain gaps in the memory of party history. Third, the evaluation of the party's early leaders was relatively objective, and he made systematic and independent thinking on some major party history events and problems. This is a precious and irreplaceable record of the party's early activities, and its party-history value will become more and more precious.

Yan Shaoyuan, a special researcher of the Party History Research Office of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee and former deputy editor of the Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, pointed out that Zheng Chaolin's first translation of "ABC of Communism" is in line with the study of the program of the Eighth Party Congress of the Russian Communist Party, showing the specific practice of Applying Marxism to the Russian Revolution, and is actually the Russification of Marxism. This is of great methodological and epistemological significance for the later Chinese Communists in integrating the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the specific reality of the Chinese revolution and in opening up the sinification of Marxism, and reflects Zheng Chaolin's new understanding of the basic issues of the Chinese revolution. The articles he published in the Guide also have certain guiding significance for the Chinese revolution, reflecting the phased results of Zheng Chaolin's thinking on Marxism-Leninism.

A revolutionary fighter who is loyal to the Party and has high integrity

Professor Xu Guangshou, vice president of the Shanghai Cpc History Society and Shanghai Lixin Institute of Accounting and Finance, pointed out that although Zheng Chaolin's life was full of ups and downs and full of legend, it clearly embodied the great spirit of party building, especially the firm belief of "adhering to the truth and adhering to ideals" and the heroic spirit of "not being afraid of sacrifice and heroic struggle." Firm faith and loyalty to the party are the most important characteristics of Zheng Chaolin. After Zheng Chaolin's arrest, someone reminded Chen Duxiu to move quickly to prevent Zheng Chaolin from confessing. Chen Duxiu smiled calmly and said, "Zheng Chaolin will not betray me, I don't have to move." Sure enough, the reactionary military police really did not find Chen Duxiu's door this time. During the New Democratic Revolution, Zheng Chaolin was arrested twice by the Kuomintang for opposing Chiang Kai-shek and imprisoned for nearly 7 years. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was imprisoned for 27 years for adhering to his political views, and was not freed until 1979, at the age of 78.

Wu Haiyong, director of the Party History Research Office of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, pointed out after conducting an in-depth study of Zheng Chaolin's article "The Inhumane White Terror of China" published in 1927 in Bolsevik Vol. 1, No. 3: The article combs through the general history of the White Terror, deeply mourns the martyrs Chen Yannian and Zhao Shiyan, who heroically sacrificed themselves in the White Terror, denounces the heinous crimes of the warlords of the North and the South in slaughtering communists and the masses of workers and peasants, and also exposes the shameful acts of his lackeys in spreading rumors and slander, calling on the broad masses of workers and peasants and other revolutionaries to act as ". The martyrs of Cheng Ren took revenge.".

Wang Juru, former director of the research office of the Shanghai Longhua Martyrs' Cemetery, cited the official commentary of the People's Daily that "Zheng Chaolin is a living encyclopedia" to review the history of his contacts with Zheng Chaolin, and pointed out that Zheng Chaolin dared to tell the truth, insisted on seeking truth from facts, did not follow the tide, did not stop thinking, and had the unique style and bone of Chinese traditional knowledge elements.

At the meeting, Ms. Zheng Xiaofang, the granddaughter of Zheng Chaolin, donated the manuscript of Zheng Chaolin's "Qu Qiubai I Know" to the four memorial halls of the CPC, which provided an important reference basis and first-hand historical materials for the study of the early history of the CPC, especially the propaganda work of party building.

Column Editor-in-Chief: Wang Duo

Source: Author: Xu Guangshou