Li Da (; 2 October 1890 – 24 August 1966) was an early
Chinese Marxist philosopher and founding member of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
. He was heavily involved in bringing Marxism into China by translating Marxist literature into the
Chinese language
Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...
, editing, writing books, and teaching, among other things. He subscribed to and spread
Orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought which emerged after the deaths of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the late 19th century, expressed in its primary form by Karl Kautsky. Kautsky's views of Marxism dominated the European Marxis ...
throughout his life.
Early life
Li was born to a
tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and ma ...
family in
Lingling in
Hunan
Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
.
His father, though a farmer, had some schooling and had taught in primary schools as well as engaged in business. He witnessed local resistance efforts against Japan in the post-
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
era including boycotting and Japanese product burning.
Academic background
In 1913 he enrolled as a
study abroad
International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own.
In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...
government-sponsored student in Japan having passed provincial examinations. He caught
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
and was compelled to return home; in 1917 he again went to Japan to study, taking courses in mining and metallurgy at
Tokyo Imperial University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
.
With the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
taking place, Li began learning of
Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...
via Japanese sources, making him one of the earliest
Chinese Marxists. He again left Japan in 1918 per renewed political tensions between Japan and the Chinese government of
Duan Qirui
Duan Qirui (, pronounced ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord, politician and commander of the Beiyang Army who ruled as the effective dictator of northern China in the late 1910s. He was the Premier of the Republic of C ...
, although for the third time returned that same year.
He abandoned his studies of science and focused on Marxist theory under the direction of
Hajime Kawakami
was a Japanese Marxist economist of the Taishō and early Shōwa periods.
Biography
Born in Yamaguchi, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University. After writing for ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', he attained a professorship in economics at Kyoto Imp ...
. He soon was translating works of Marxist theory into Chinese, including works by
Herman Gorter
Herman Gorter (; 26 November 1864 – 15 September 1927) was a Dutch poet and council communist theoretician. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers, a highly influential group of Dutch writers who worked together in Amsterdam in the 1880 ...
,
Motoyuki Takabatake, and
Karl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian Marxism, Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, a ...
. His translations were some of the earliest and was one of the key steps in disseminating Marxism into China.
He did not witness the
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response ...
as he was in Japan at the time. He began writing articles of a socialist bent that were both introductory (explaining the goals of socialism), historical (on European socialism before the war) and contemporary (on
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, p=Chén Dúxiù, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 9 October 1879 – 27 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary, writer, educator, and political philosopher who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921, serving as its fi ...
). In 1920, Li traveled back to China (
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
).
Chinese Communist Party founding
Li was a founder of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
.
During his time at
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, he met with
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, p=Chén Dúxiù, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 9 October 1879 – 27 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary, writer, educator, and political philosopher who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921, serving as its fi ...
and others and founded what was later called the "Shanghai Committee for the Establishment of the Chinese Communist Party". Li founded the first
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
journal in China ("The Communist").
The magazine was distributed semi-secretly, using pseudonyms for its writers, printer, distributor, and not disclosing the paper's address.
Its editorial office was in Li's residence.
The journal, becoming one of the ideological rallying points of the early Party, was later described by
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
as a "bright flag".
In 1921, the first Congress of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
was held, with Li (along with Li Hanjun) representing Shanghai. Li was elected to the Provisional Central Executive Bureau and appointed head of the Party's Propaganda Department. Li would later state that at this time in his life, his two major tasks were "first, propaganda and second, organizing the workers." Li was tasked with founding the
People's Publishing House.
He was now fully immersed in translation, editing, and publishing, while also writing articles for workers, exposing them to socialism. He also became a headmaster for a school for girls established by the Party in Shanghai.
By this time, Li had established himself as indispensable in spreading Marxist ideas throughout China. He chaired the Second Congress of the CCP in July 1922, and in late 1922
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
invited him to become principal of the Self-Study University in
Changsha
Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...
, as well as editor of the university's journal. Li became close to Mao during this period.
Departure from the Chinese Communist Party
Communist parties across the world, including in China, had debates in the early 1920s about whether it was appropriate to form alliances with bourgeois parties (temporarily); Li was involved in these debates and advocated extreme caution, because although this tactic was rooted in Marxist theory, it was risky and prevented the independence of the Party.
In China, propositions were put forth to have the CCP ally with the
Guomin Dang to help overthrow the warlords who reigned during this time. Li had a meeting with
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, p=Chén Dúxiù, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 9 October 1879 – 27 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary, writer, educator, and political philosopher who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921, serving as its fi ...
over this subject and while Chen was in favor of the alliance, Li was not. Li would later recall that, upon hearing his view, Chen banged the table, smashed teacups and threatened his expulsion from the Party. Li decided to leave the party over this disagreement in the late 1923. He did not rejoin until 1949.
Work outside the Party
Although he had officially left the Party, he continued to research, publish articles, and cultivate Marxist theory along with referring students to the local Party officials in
Hunan
Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
.
He published his first major work in 1926, ''Modern Sociology.'' A summation of lectures Li had given in the previous 3 years, it elucidates the materialist conception of historical and scientific socialism, as well as uncovering the development of Marxism in China. Renewed conflicts between the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
and CCP such as the
Shanghai massacre
The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces support ...
caused Li to flee first to his native Lingling, then to
Wuchang
Wuchang is one of 13 urban District (China), districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the right (southea ...
where he barely escaped the execution of revolutionary teachers; he soon was in hiding in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
. Despite the personal risk, he founded the Kunlun Publishing House in 1928 with other revolutionaries, and once again was publishing, translating, and editing.
In 1930, Li was invited to teach at the Shanghai Institute of Law and Politics; in 1931 was made departmental head of the Sociology Department of
Jinan University
Jinan University ( ; JNU, zh, 暨南大学) is a national public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is managed by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The university is part of the Double First-Class ...
. He suffered a broken collarbone and shoulder after being assaulted by right wing political agitators, and in 1932 was dismissed and went to teach a study group formed around the warlord
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a Chinese warlord and later general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930.
A ...
. In August 1932, he moved to Beiping (
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
; see
Names of Beijing
"Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...
) where he taught at the Institute of Law and Commerce at Beiping University for 5 years as the departmental head of the Department of Economics. This was to be one of Li's most productive periods, where he published numerous books (all on Marxist theory, economics, sociology, etc.) in addition to teaching. One of his most well known texts, ''Elements of Sociology,'' was published during this period; it cemented Li's ideological position as an
Orthodox Marxist
Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought which emerged after the deaths of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the late 19th century, expressed in its primary form by Karl Kautsky. Kautsky's views of Marxism dominated the European Marxist ...
, providing Chinese Marxists with up-to-date Marxist philosophy.
Later life
After the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Li rejoined the Chinese Communist Party. He was heavily criticized and beaten at the beginning of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
, and died in 1966. He was posthumously rehabilitated after Mao's death.
Family
Li was married to
Wang Huiwu and they had three children. Their eldest daughter, Li Xintian (), died of an illness during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
. Their second daughter was Li Xinyi (). Their only son was
Li Xintian (), who helped introduce and develop
medical psychology
Medical psychology or Medicopsychology is the application of psychological principles to the practice of medicine, sometimes using drugs for both physical and mental disorders.
A medical psychologist must obtain specific qualification in psych ...
in China.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Da
1890 births
1966 deaths
20th-century Chinese translators
Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
Chinese publishers (people)
Delegates to the 1st National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Delegates to the 2nd National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Alternates of the 2nd Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Educators from Hunan
Academic staff of Guangxi University
Heads of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party
Academic staff of Jinan University
National Wuhan University alumni
People from Yongzhou
People persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution
Philosophers from Hunan
Presidents of Wuhan University
Presidents of Hunan University
Second Sino-Japanese War refugees
Academic staff of Sun Yat-sen University
Translators to Chinese
Writers from Hunan