The Central Compilation and Translation Bureau () is an organ under the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...

established in 1953. Its primary responsibility, according to official sources, is to "research key Marxist works" and translate foreign language Marxist writings. Under the plan on deepening reform of Party and State Institutions, the Compilation and Translation Bureau was abolished, and the functions were merged to the

Institution for Party History and Literature Research Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

in March 2018.

Work

The main duties of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau is to compile, translate, and research classical Marxist works. They research the theory of Marxism and its development in the

contemporary era Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it i ...

and its history with focus on Marx, Engels,

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

and Stalin. It has also translated the works of Chinese Leaders into different languages. After founding the Party, intellectuals and

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

members made it very important to translate Marxist works so they could introduce them to China. The party established the Marxism–Leninism College in 1938, located in Yan’an. The Bureau was originally the Office for the Translation of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

’s Works, and it later became better known as the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau.

Impact

The Central Compilation and Translation Bureau compiled and translated the first edition of the Collected Works of Marx and Engels (50 volumes), the first edition of the Collected Works of Lenin (38 volumes), the second edition of the Collected Works of Lenin (60 volumes) and the Collected Works of Stalin (13 volumes). The CCTB also published a number of selected works like collections of

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

s, collections of statements on various issues, selected readings, and single-volume works. The CCTB was listed as a national high-end

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...

in 2015. The CCTB is known as being "one of the premier institutions devoted to the research of Marxism in China." It is still one of the most prominent organs that is authorized to translate the writings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin.

Compilation & Translation Press

Affiliated with the Central Compilation & Translation Bureau, the Central Compilation & Translation Press was established in 1993 to translate and publish works of scholarly works on politics, economics, philosophy and culture in the word. The CCTP emphasized on Marxism and their goal was to “be a cultural bridge between the east and west.”

Theoretical research

One of the main tasks of CCTB is theoretical research, research is mostly done by the Institute of Contemporary Marxism and the Institute of World Socialism. The main task of theoretical research is to follow the lead of the Central Committee's Project to Study and Develop Marxist Theory. The CCTB participated in over 200 investigations and research projects, they also published over 400

s, compilations, translations, and academic papers.

List of directors

Wei Jianhua Wei Jianhua (; born March 23, 1979) is a retired female javelin thrower from PR China. Her personal best throw is 63.92 metres, achieved in August 2000 in Beijing. This stood as the Asian record for the event until April 2012 when fellow Chinese ...

(July 1996 - February 2010) *

Yi Junqing Yi Junqing (; born January 1958) is a former Chinese politician. Born in Liaoning province, Yi served as the propaganda chief of the Heilongjiang party organization between 2007 and 2010. In 2010 he was transferred to Beijing to head the Compila ...

(February 2010 - January 2013) *

Jia Gaojian Jia Gaojian (; born May 1959) is the current director of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, an organ under the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a position in which he has served since January 2013. Jia is the superinte ...

(January 2013 - March 2018) In February 2010, Yi Jinqing was promoted the director of the CCTB. While in this position, he played a major role in developing the

Confidence Doctrine The Confidence Doctrine () is a signature political philosophy of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It calls for CCP members, government officials, and the Chinese people to be "confident in our chosen path (), con ...

, a political philosophy that "calls for Communist Party members, government officials, and the Chinese people to be 'confident in our chosen path, confident in our political system, and confident in our guiding theories.'" He stayed in this position until January 17, 2013, when he was dismissed for his "improper lifestyle" and was replaced by

Documentary Information Department

The Documentary Information Department, also known as the Library, is one of the main institutions of the CCTB. Its main responsibilities are

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

. They also construct and service documents that provide information related to the business field of the CCTB. The Documentary Information Department edits the website, and does maintenance work while being responsible for the compilation and research of public opinion information.

History

The Central Compilation and Translation Bureau has advocated for new and innovative ideas for political and economic reforms. Many foreign scholars and organizations have worked with the CCTB, including the Ford Foundation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States presid ...

. The origins of the CCTB can be traced back to at least three other places: the Translation Department of Marx-Lenin College in the early 1940s, the Russian Translation Group during 1946–1949, and the Russian Compilation Translation Bureau in Beijing in 1949. These groups specialized in translating important policies and works. In 1962, the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau took over the Central Liaison Department, an office that translated works of Chinese Leader and Chinese documents into foreign languages. The CCTB played an instrumental role in opening up Chinese academia to many foreign ideas and trends.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party