One of the countries strongly influenced by the Great October Socialist Revolution was China. Investigating the factors of influence of the October Revolution and the Soviet State born of it, as well as the shifts and phenomena caused by them on the social and political life of China, the author of this article was guided by Lenin's characterization of world development in the middle of the post-October five-year period, when, in Lenin's words, China was "boiling"1 . The transformative and inspiring influence of the October Revolution on China at that time was manifested primarily in the fact that it contributed to a qualitatively new orientation and the emergence of new social and political driving forces of the national liberation movement in the country.

Why, shortly after the October Revolution and under its influence, did China take one of the first places among the countries of the oppressed East in terms of the level of national liberation struggle? Apparently, the answer to this question must be sought in the fact that the sharpness of internal and external contradictions in this country, having reached extreme tension, contributed to its transformation into one of the weakest links in the colonial system of imperialism.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Basically, the process of China's transformation into a semi - colony with its characteristic features of economic, financial and political domination of foreign capital and extreme socio-economic backwardness has ended. During the First World War, when the belligerent powers were forced to somewhat weaken their attention to China, national industry grew noticeably in it, and with it the ranks of the industrial proletariat, and national patriotic thought became more active. Economic and social shifts have sharpened the contradictions between the Chinese people and foreign capital, between the Chinese people and the semi-feudal regime in the country, supported by imperialism, which is not interested in the decolonization of China. These internal and external lines of contradictions, from which the contradictions between the Chinese people and imperialism came to the fore, created an objective basis for the maturation and development of the national liberation movement in China in the new internal and international conditions generated by the Great October Socialist Revolution.

Among the various objective factors of October's influence on China, we should single out the revolutionary impact of the first reports of the October Revolution, Lenin's foreign policy, the spread of Marxism-Leninism in China, and the first international links between the world communist movement, represented by the Comintern and the RCP (b), and the nascent communist movement in China. These main factors contributed to the preparation of the ideological and organizational foundations

1 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 45, p. 174.

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The Communist movement in China was the greatest conquest of the Chinese working class at that time.

* * *

Already on the eve of the October Revolution, various sections of the Chinese intelligentsia showed great interest in the revolutionary events in Russia. In April 1916 , Li Da-zhao 2, who had been studying economics at Tokyo's Waseda University since the fall of 1913, returned to China from Japan. Here, while still in the position of revolutionary democracy, he first became acquainted with socialist and Marxist literature in Japanese and English. The victory of the February bourgeois-democratic revolution in Russia evoked a lively response from him. Under the pseudonym Shou Chan (first name Lee Da-jao) He published an article in the Beijing liberal newspaper Jiayin (Tiger), which he edited, on March 29, 1917, entitled "The Impact of the Great Russian Revolution." Li Da-zhao, highly appreciating the victory of the Russian people, wrote that it inspires the Chinese to fight "for the strengthening of the republican system", against the restoration of the monarchy in China .3 In April of the same year, the Shanghai monthly magazine of the bourgeois-democratic intelligentsia, Xin Qingnian (New Youth), published an article by the representative of bourgeois radicalism, Chen Du-hsiu, entitled " The Russian Revolution and the Awakening of Our Nation." Its author also believed that the February Revolution contributed to the "awakening" of the Chinese nation4 .

For the first time in the Chinese press, the revolutionary events in Russia at that time were associated with the name of V. I. Lenin and his struggle for peace. In the aforementioned magazine, under the heading "Chronicle of major foreign events", it was reported that in Petrograd the movement for ending the war with Germany is not weakening. "The leader of the radical Socialist Party (as the Chinese press called the Bolshevik party at that time-E. K.)... Lenin actively gathers like-minded people in order to promote peace", "the troops promoted by the Lenin Party at the front actually stopped the war" 5 .

The news of the October Revolution came to China on the third day after its victory, and a report about this event was published in a number of publications. On November 10, 1917, the Shanghai newspaper Mingo Zhibao ("Republic"), published by Sun Yat-sen's supporters, announced the revolution in Russia under large headlines. The next day, it was reported in other major bourgeois newspapers - Shi Bao, Shen Bao (Shanghai), and Chenzhong Bao (Beijing) .6
2 Li Da-zhao (1888-1927) was one of the organizers of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

3 Li Da-zhao. Selected articles and Speeches, Moscow, 1965, pp. 57-60. Li Da-zhao edited Jiayin from late January to May 1917.

4 "Xin Qingnian", 1917, April 1, vol. 3, No. 2, pp. I-3. Chen Du-hsiu (1880-1942) - one of the organizers of the CCP. After the defeat of the revolution of 1925-1927, he switched to Trotskyist positions and in 1929 was expelled from the ranks of the CCP.

5 "Xin Qingnian", 1917, June 1, vol. 3, No. 4, p. 2.

6 For the first responses in China to the October Revolution, see: "Reports on the October Socialist Revolution received by the Chinese people in 1917". "Lishi Yanjiu", 1954, No. 4, p. 52; Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bozhao. The Influence of the October Revolution on China, Moscow, 1959, pp. 44-48 (translated from Chinese); Pyn Min. History of Chinese-Soviet Friendship, Moscow, 1959, pp. 65-67 (translated from Chinese); M. S. Kapitsa. Soviet-Chinese Relations, Moscow, 1958, pp. 20-22; Yu. M. Garushyants. The first responses to the Great October Socialist Revolution in China (historiographical reference). "History of the USSR", 1962, N 1; S. L. Tikhvinsky. Sun Yat-sen. Foreign Policy Views and Practice, Moscow, 1964, pp. 220-221; A. G. Krymov. Social thought and ideological struggle in China. 1900-1917, Moscow, 1972, pp. 330-332.

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Although the first information in Chinese newspapers about the October Revolution did not go beyond stating the fact itself, was not always reliable, and was sometimes accompanied by malicious attacks against the revolution, it nevertheless introduced social concepts that were completely unfamiliar to the Chinese public, and therefore aroused great interest in them. The newspapers reported that Russian revolutionary workers, sailors, and soldiers had overthrown the Kerensky government, and Lenin, speaking at the Congress of workers 'and soldiers' representatives (meaning the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets), proposed making peace, transferring land to the peasants, and resolving the country's economic difficulties .7 The Shi Bao newspaper wrote on November 11 that "The Soviets of Soldiers' and Workers ' Deputies are planning... 1) an immediate and just peace; 2) the division of the landlords 'land among the peasants; 3) the transfer of full executive power to the Soviets of Soldiers 'and Workers' Deputies."8
The Beijing government at that time, following the lead of the Northern militarists and the imperialists behind them, understood that objective reports of events in Russia would only inspire the democratic strata of Chinese society. Therefore, the reactionary camp was biased in its information about October. The bourgeois magazine Taipingyan (Pacific Ocean), in its issue of November 15, 1917 (vol. 1, No. 8), tried to distort the true meaning of the October Revolution, equating it only with "a situation that extremely hindered the activities of the Provisional Government", seeing in the propaganda of the Soviets "the failure of the orders of the command", evaluating the revolution as "a situation that greatly hindered the activities of the Provisional Government".crowd riot " 9 . Reflecting the fear of the propertied classes about the Russian revolution and its impact on the broad masses of the Chinese people, the magazine essentially repeated the hostile fabrications of the Western press about events in Russia.

Such was the immediate reaction of the Chinese press to the October Revolution, which immediately revealed its friends and foes. This was followed by attempts by various sections of Chinese society to move from stating the fact of the coup in Russia to understanding the nature of the October Revolution, the Soviet government, the Bolshevik Party, and Lenin's role.

Kang Yu-wei showed the attitude of adherents of the constitutional monarchy to the revolutionary events in Russia in his two works "Criticism of the Democratic Republican System" and "Letters to Xu Tai-fu", published in the Shanghai monthly magazine" Buren "("Intolerance"), published and edited by him. From extremely reactionary positions, the author rejected the possibility of establishing a democratic system in both Russia and China, on the grounds that these countries were allegedly not prepared for democracy and the introduction of republican systems would inevitably cause "riots"in them10 .

The revolutionary Democrat Sun Yat-sen and the democrats grouped around him welcomed the October Revolution. In a conversation with Japanese and Indian journalists held in Shanghai in the spring of 1918, Sun Yat-sen spoke in favor of recognizing Soviet Russia as an Asian nation.-

7 "Reports on the October Socialist Revolution received by the Chinese people in 1917", p. 52.

8 Cit. by: Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Decree. op :tr. 48.

9 Ibid., p. 47; "Periodical press of the period "May 4". Vol. 3. Peking. 1959, p. 343 (in Chinese).

10 In view of the lack of corresponding numbers of Buren (NN 9-10 for 1917), Kang Yu-wei's position is presented here based on extensive quotations from his two works mentioned above, cited by Chen Du-hsiu in his article "Criticism of Kang Yu-chei's Reasoning on the Republic "(see Xin Qingnian, 1918, 15 March, vol. 4, N 3, pp. 190, 207-209; A. G. Krylov. Op. ed., pp. 270-271).

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Russian states and for publishing in their press data on the conquests of the October Revolution 11 . Presumably in the spring of the same year, Sun Yat-sen sent a welcome telegram from Shanghai to the Soviet government and Lenin, in which, on behalf of the Parliament of Southern China and his party, he expressed his admiration for the success of the Bolsheviks and the hope that the Chinese Revolutionary Party (Zhongguo Gemin dan) and the RCP (b) would unite for a joint struggle .12 Sun Yat-sen later wrote that the Russian Revolution "gave China an example of how a country can free itself from the shackles of foreign aggression and injustice" 13 and that "from now on, if we do not follow Russia's example, the revolution cannot succeed"14 .

Chinese students also welcomed the October Revolution. Defending the Soviet government and its peace-loving policy and exposing the anti-Soviet plans of the Japanese imperialists and the Beijing government, the students wrote in a petition dated May 21, 1918, addressed to the government: "The new government of Russia, which aims to create a communist society, has already declared that it will not commit aggression against China under any circumstances. another country " 15 .

The epochal nature of the events was so great that even representatives of ideological and political trends alien to scientific socialism in China showed a positive interest in what happened in Russia under the influence of the October liberation ideas.

The monthly magazine Laodong (Trud), published in Shanghai from March to July 1918 under the editorship of the oldest Chinese anarchist, Wu Zhi-hui, and aimed to "explain the meaning of labor, introduce the world and Chinese labor movement, and study the October Revolution in Russia and the world socialist movement." 16 It also tried capture the character, meaning, and goals of the October Revolution. The article "The War in Europe and the working people", published under the signature of Lao Ren in the first issue of the magazine of March 20, 1918, stated: "Events are developing in such a direction that, having overthrown those who were in power, the workers will rule themselves in the future, in the future, in the future.-

11 S. L. Tikhvinsky. On Sun Yat-sen's attitude to Soviet Russia. "Questions of history", 1963, N 12, p. 73, 74; his own. Sun Yat-sen. Foreign Policy worldviews and Practice, p. 222.

12 "The Chinese Revolutionary Party," the telegram said, "expresses its deep admiration for the hard struggle being waged by the revolutionary Party of your country, and expresses its hope that the revolutionary parties of China and Russia will unite to fight together" (cit. by: Pyn Min. Op. ed., p. 68; see also: Liu Li-kai. Sun Yat-sen's greeting to the October Revolution and his proposal for an alliance with Russia. "Lishi yanjiu", 1954, N 5, p. 42; his. Sun Yat-sen and the Sino-Soviet friendship. "Druzhba", 28. XI. 1956). Due to the imperialist blockade of Soviet Russia, which cut off its communication with foreign countries, Sun Yat-sen's telegram reached its destination with great delay, being sent through Chinese emigrants to the United States. Its receipt was confirmed by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR G. V. Chicherin in a letter to Sun Yat-sen dated August 1, 1918 (see "Documents of the Foreign Policy of the USSR", Vol. 1, Moscow 1957, pp. 415-416). The original text of Sun Yat-sen's telegram has not yet been found. A possible reason for its dating is Chicherin's letter to Sun Yat-sen dated August 1, 1918. It states that the greeting from Sun Yat-sen was received "several months ago" and that "within two months, communication with you (with Sun Yat-sen, apparently. - E. K.) was interrupted" (ibid., p. 415). In Chinese literature, Sun Yat-sen's telegram dates back to the summer of 1918. Soviet sinologists also refer to this date.

13 Cit. by: Sun Qing-ling. Historical links between the Great October Revolution and the Chinese Revolution. "Druzhba". 7.XI. 1956.

14 Cit. by: Lo Yang-sheng. A great friend of the Country of Soviets. "Druzhba". 8.XI.1956.

15 Cit. by: Ding Shou-he, Yin Xuyi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Op. ed., pp. 50-51.

16 "Periodical press of the period "May 4". Vol. 2. Peking, 1959, p. 167 (in Chinese).

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they will probably put an end to wars and conflicts forever."17 . The second issue of this magazine for April 1918 provided brief biographical information about Lenin, noting that the Russian Revolution, although " provoked the opposition of the rich and bureaucrats of various countries of the world, was nevertheless met with great approval by the working people."18 Mostly objectively presenting facts about the new Russia of those years, pointing out the direction of the Russian revolution against the landlords and capitalists, its influence on the revolutionary movement in other countries, the magazine helped to form a benevolent attitude towards Soviet Russia among the Chinese people. But by adhering to the anarcho - syndicalist position in interpreting these facts, the magazine "distorted the character of the Russian revolution." 19 The magazine interpreted the new social phenomena in Russia in the spirit of petty-bourgeois socialism-rejecting the class struggle and the dictatorship of the proletariat, ignoring the participation of workers in the political struggle and the need for a political party of the proletariat, trying to attribute to the October Revolution an attempt to establish some vague equality of people .20
The first responses in China and the first attempts of various groups of its bourgeois and petty-bourgeois public to understand the essence of the revolutionary events in Russia testified that the October Revolution awakened the political consciousness of this public, confronted it with the fact of the greatest social upheaval in the history of mankind, made it reflect on the essence of this fact and,in the light of this fact, on on the question of whether the Chinese should follow the example of the Russians. The truth about the events in Russia was-and the ruling circles of the country and Western bourgeois propaganda could not hide it from the Chinese people - that for the first time in history, power passed from the hands of landlords and capitalists to the hands of working people - workers and peasants. It made a stunning impression 21 . Gathered in the hold of one of the ships and discussing the report of the October Revolution, Shanghai sailors and workers said: "They (the Russians - E. K.) did really well, and we should also do the same." 22 Later, Deng Chung-hsiang, a prominent organizer of the labor movement in China, called the October Revolution "the greatest event in world history" and wrote: "The Chinese workers, who lived in incredibly difficult conditions, joyfully welcomed the news of the world labor movement. They received with particular joy the news of the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia. This event inspired the Chinese workers and had a profound impact on the development of the revolutionary movement in China. " 23
Lenin's foreign policy had a huge revolutionary impact on China. Already in the first post-October years, the country of the victorious working class by its legislative acts gave China-

17 Cit. by: Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Op. ed., p. 63.

18 Cit. by: "Periodical press of the period "May 4". Vol. 2, p. 171.

19 Ibid., p. 173.

20 Ibid., p. 167, 170 - 174, 175, 177.

21 " The recognition of this fact, and it became known not only to representatives of the bourgeois intelligentsia, but also to simple, illiterate workers, was in itself of enormous importance, for it showed that the October Revolution was unlike any other revolution in the history of mankind, and that the main role in this revolution belongs to the working people, led by the worker class" (Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Op. ed., p. 47).

22 Cit. po: Fan Wen-lan. The influence of the October Revolution on the Chinese Revolution. "Kexue gongbao", 1957, No. 22, p. 681.

23 Deng Zhong-hsiang. A brief history of the Trade union Movement in China, Moscow, 1952, pp. 23-24 (translated from Chinese).

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tsam is an unprecedented example of relations between nations. As soon as the workers 'and peasants' Government took power into its own hands, it appealed to all the belligerent peoples and their Governments to begin immediately negotiations for a just, democratic peace. The Peace Decree also declared abrogated the secret treaties confirmed or concluded by Russia from February to October 25, 1917. On November 15 (28), the Soviet Government asked the Governments and peoples (including China )of the belligerent countries to join the armistice negotiations. 24 The instructions of the NKID to the international departments of the regional Soviets of February 22, 1918, charged them with "emphasizing that we are laying the first stone in creating completely new relations with the peoples of the East and that their salvation from the danger of capture, violence and lawlessness of the Japanese - European capitalists and oppressors lies in close unity with the peoples of socialist Russia"25 . On December 2, 1918, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to stop collecting payments from China on the "boxer debt" (due to Russia under the agreement of August 25, 1901) .26
The pro-Japanese Beijing government of Duan Qi-rui did not respond to the call of the Soviet government, interrupted the negotiations on the establishment of friendly Soviet-Chinese relations, which the Soviet side had begun in November-December 1917, and at the end of March 1918 recalled its envoy to Russia, Liu Jingren, and thereby virtually refused to maintain relations with Soviet Russia. 27. The hostile attitude of the Beijing government towards the RSFSR began to manifest itself in direct complicity with the anti-Soviet actions of White Guard gangs that found themselves in Northeastern China. On January 11, 1918, the Chinese authorities, under the pretext of preventing the "spread of communism", closed the border with Soviet Russia to the detriment of their own economic interests. Beijing demonstratively supported the former tsarist diplomats in China (the envoy of Prince N. A. Kudashev and his staff), despite the fact that the Soviet government, by order of the NKID of November 26 (December 9), 191728, suspended them from work; May 16, 1918. A secret Japanese-Chinese agreement on military cooperation against Soviet Russia was concluded. According to it, the Japanese and Peking governments sent their troops under a common Japanese command to the Soviet Far East and Siberia. Then other anti-Soviet Sino-Japanese agreements were concluded .29 In this way, the imperialists turned China into an instrument of struggle against the world's first socialist state.

Despite the anti-Soviet intrigues, the Beijing government could not, however, undermine the feeling of sympathy that the majority of the Chinese people had for: Soviet Russia. The policy of peace, friendship, and equal rights of peoples, which was unprecedented in the history of international relations, and which was pursued by the country of the victorious socialist revolution, clearly convinced the Chinese people that the new Russia is a new world.-

24 "Documents of the Foreign Policy of the USSR", vol. 1, p. 11 - 13, 15, 28 - 30.

25 Ibid., p. 111.

26 Ibid., p. 593.

27 M. S. Kapitsa. Edict. op., pp. 9-12, 15-16; S. S. Huseynov. Intervention of the imperialist powers in the Soviet-Chinese negotiations of 1917-1918 "Peoples of Asia and Africa", 1962, N 5.

28 "Documents of foreign policy of the USSR", vol. 1, p. 43.

29 For more information about the Chinese intervention, see: M. P. Svetachev. On the role of Chinese militarists in the anti-Soviet intervention in the Far East (1918-1922). "New and recent history", 1970. N 5; "International relations in the Far East". Book 2. 1917-1945, Moscow, 1973, p. 4. 10; B. A. Sapozhnikov. Chinese militarists-accomplices of the intervention in the Far East (1918-1922). "Problems of the Far East", 1974, N 4, pp. 187-190; his. China and Imperialist Intervention in the Soviet Far East (1918-1922). Voprosy Istorii, 1976, No. 4.

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He is a sincere friend of China. The Chinese people, who had experienced the oppression of imperialism and did not know the fair treatment of themselves by foreign powers, began to look at Russia and the society created in it differently.

Advanced and patriotic representatives of the Chinese people condemned the imperialist intervention in Soviet Russia and the anti-Soviet actions of the Beijing government. In protest against the Sino-Japanese agreements, which were aimed not only against Soviet Russia, but also at the enslavement of China by Japanese militarists, Chinese students studying in Japan refused to continue their studies and left for China in May 1918. In Shanghai, students created the "Society for Saving the Motherland". A branch of the society was opened in Beijing, and branches were opened in the provinces. In the center and in the field, the society launched agitation against the secret Sino-Japanese agreements, organized petitions to the government demanding that they be liquidated .30
On the basis of a joint anti-imperialist struggle, Soviet Russia sought to establish friendship with the Chinese people. Chicherin's letter of August 1, 1918, already mentioned, stated that at a difficult time for Russia, when imperialist governments were stretching out their hands to crush the Russian revolution and "when the government of Peking, created there by foreign bankers, is ready to join these robbers , at that moment the Russian working classes turn to their Chinese brothers and call on them to fight together " 31 .

In the summer of 1919, the young Soviet Republic again attempted to establish good-neighborly relations with China. In the" Appeal of the RSFSR Government to the Chinese people and the Governments of South and North China "of July 25, 1919, imbued with warm sympathy for the Chinese people, it was emphasized that" its only ally and brother in the struggle for freedom is the Russian worker and peasant and his Red Army." The "Appeal" stated that the Soviet government "is ready to negotiate with the Chinese people... eliminate all acts of violence and injustice committed against China by the former Russian governments together with Japan and its Allies"," refuses to receive an indemnity from China for the "Boxer Rebellion of 1900", and invites the Chinese government to enter into "official relations" with the government of Soviet Russia 32 . Because of the civil war in Siberia, which interrupted the development of the Soviet Union in the Soviet communication with China, and due to the lack of normal diplomatic relations between the RSFSR and China, the "Appeal" was handed to the Chinese Consul in Irkutsk only on March 3, 1920, with a request to send it to Beijing.

The Beijing government's attempt to hide the " Appeal "from the Chinese people failed: on March 25, it was published in Shanghai by the Russian newspaper Shanghaiskaya Zhizn, and the next day by many Shanghai newspapers in Chinese, Japanese, and European languages, and then by some of the country's magazines. The "appeal" provoked a flood of warm, grateful greetings from Chinese public organizations (workers', students', trade and industry organizations, journalists ' organizations, etc.) to Soviet Russia and the movement for its recognition. 33 In the message of the Chinese Labor Association to the workers, Peasants and Red Army men of Russia, published in a special issue of " Xin Qing-

30 Pyn Min. Op. ed., pp. 94-95.

31 "Documents of the Foreign policy of the USSR", vol. 1, pp. 415-416.

32 Ibid., vol. 2, Moscow, 1958, pp. 222-223.

33 I. F. Kurdyukov. From the history of Soviet-Chinese relations. "Soviet Sinology", 1958, N 1, pp. 141-143; R. A. Mirovitskaya. Movement in China for the Recognition of Soviet Russia (1920-1924), Moscow, 1962, pp. 13-19. Decree.

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Nyan", dedicated to the celebration of May 1, said: "All our people admire your creative efforts and spirit of self-sacrifice, which especially delight and inspire our workers. They want to cooperate with the workers, peasants and Red Army men of Russia who have risen up under the banner of humanity and justice, and to fight together for the elimination of the privileged classes, for the realization of the great world unity."34
The Beijing government could not ignore the mood of the masses. It was forced to send a military and diplomatic mission to Soviet Russia, headed by Zhang Si-lin, in order to prepare the conditions for possible Sino-Soviet negotiations and get acquainted with the economic and political situation of the RSFSR. On April 24, 1920, the mission arrived in Verkhneudinsk, and on September 5 - in Moscow. The same mission was sent from Beijing to Tashkent 35 . Although Zhang Si-lin's delegation did not have the authority to negotiate formal relations with the RSFSR, it was nevertheless warmly received by the Soviet Government, showing deep respect for the Chinese people and wishing to normalize relations with China. This was noticed in Beijing. 18. On September 18, 1920, the Beijing government invited the missions and consulates of former tsarist Russia, with which it had previously maintained relations, to cease their activities in China. But Beijing didn't go any further than that 36. Pod.Under pressure from foreign powers, who feared recognition of Soviet Russia by China, the latter evaded establishing diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia.

Continuing the policy of normalizing Soviet-Chinese relations, the Government of the RSFSR on September 27, 1920, addressed the Government of the Republic of China with proposals to enter into negotiations on the conclusion of an agreement between the RSFSR and China .37 Expressing the feelings of the Soviet people who were eager to establish good neighborly relations with the Chinese people, Lenin received Zhang Si-lin before he left Moscow on November 2, 1920.38

Another instruction of the NKID of the RSFSR to the international departments of the regional Soviets dated February 22, 1918 stated that " the Peking government is not the representative of the will of the Chinese people and is fighting the people who have raised an uprising against the reactionary north.-

op., pp. 72-74. According to Pyn Ming (Edict op. cit., p. 72), the original "Appeal" was published by "Xin qingnian" (1920, May 1, vol. 7, No. 6, appendix, pp. 1-3). "Xin Qingnian" (ibid., pp. 3-29) published responses from various sources. Chinese organizations and periodicals in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin on "Appeal".

34 "Xin Qingnian", 1920, May 1, vol. 7, No. 6, appendix 10, pp. 7-8.

35 "Documents of the Foreign Policy of the USSR", Vol. 2, pp. 498-499; Vol. 3, Moscow, 1959, p. 214; M. S. Kapitsa. Decree. op., p. 51. The author of this article adheres to the name of the mission of Zhang Si-lin, given in the publication "Documents of Foreign Policy of the USSR". M. I. Kazanin believes that " the name of the mission of Zhang Si-lin, as a military-diplomatic, apparently, was a misunderstanding...". It represented not the government in Beijing, but the Chinese progressive intelligentsia, and was sent to "make friendly acquaintance with the country of Soviets in the interests of semi-colonial China's struggle for a better future" (M. I. Kazanin. General Zhang Si-lin's mission to Moscow (June-November 1920). "Peoples of Asia and Africa", 1970, N 3, p. 57). M. I. Kazanin gives his interpretation of the nature of the mission as a hypothesis supported by indirect evidence (ibid., p. 56).

36 "Documents of foreign policy of the USSR", vol. 2, p. 499; M. S. Kapitsa. Edict. op.,: tr. 51-52.

37 "Documents of foreign policy of the USSR", vol. 3, pp. 213-216. The Soviet government, addressing the Chinese government, emphasized: "There are no issues between the Russian and Chinese peoples that cannot be resolved for the common good of both peoples. We know that the enemies of the Russian and Chinese peoples are trying to prevent our friendship and rapprochement, and they understand that the friendship of the two great peoples and their assistance to each other will strengthen each other... China" (ibid. sto. 214).

38 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41, p. 685. .

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go of China"39 . Therefore, the Soviet government was willing to support the initiative of Sun Yat-sen, president of the national government established in Guangzhou in the autumn of 1917, aimed at establishing contacts between China and Soviet Russia. A letter of greeting sent by Chicherin on October 31, 1920, with a proposal to resume trade relations between Russia and China, reached Sun Yat-sen on June 14, 1921. In a reply to Chicherin dated August 28, 1921, Sun Yat-sen wrote:: "I am extremely interested in your work, especially in the organization of your Councils, your army and education. I would like to know everything that you and others can tell me about these things, especially about education. Like Moscow, I would like to lay the foundations of the Republic of China deep in the minds of the young generation - the workers of tomorrow. With best wishes to you and my friend Lenin and all those who have done so much for the cause of human freedom. " 40
The Peking Government was powerless to prevent the growing influence of revolutionary ideas emanating from the Republic of Soviets. By its existence and equal treatment of China, Soviet Russia won the hearts of Chinese workers and progressive circles in the country, instilled in them hope for a better future, aroused the desire to fight for it and at the same time support the world's first state of workers and peasants, and seek recognition of the new Russia.

* * *

Although the sympathetic responses of the Chinese liberal press to the October Revolution and the objective assessments of the Russian Revolution by certain advanced groups influenced Chinese society, they did not yet contain an answer to the question of how and by what means to turn China on the revolutionary path. Sun Yat-sen's group rejected class struggle and considered it possible to reconstruct society within the framework of capitalism. As for the Chinese proletariat, it was still a "class in itself" and did not know that the victory of the October Revolution was the result of applying the theory of scientific communism.

Before the October Revolution, Marxism was little known in China. Contradictory information about him began to arrive in the country at the beginning of the XX century. It is characteristic that almost simultaneously attempts were made to prevent the penetration of proletarian ideology into China .41 Under the influence of the October Revolution, the first representatives of the revolutionary-socialist intelligentsia, and among them the first propagandists of Marxism, are being promoted from the ranks of the most advanced elements of the Chinese revolutionary-democratic intelligentsia. In the beginning, there were literally only a few of them. The transition from a revolutionary-democratic worldview to a revolutionary - socialist one and the path to mastering the theory of scientific communism and its propaganda were not easy, because in the conditions of China at that time, every revolutionary was threatened with prison and torture. It was also difficult to abandon many of the political and social concepts instilled by upbringing and the environment. Therefore, in the narrow line of the first representatives of the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia, there were not only convinced supporters of scientific socialism, but also temporary fellow travelers who, carried away by the novelty of the theory,

39 "Documents of foreign policy of the USSR", vol. 1. sto. PO.

40 "Soviet-Chinese Relations 1917-1957", Moscow, 1959, pp. 58-59.

41 For example, in 1906, the second issue of the Min Bao magazine, founded by Sun Yat-sen in Japan as an organ of the United Revolutionary League of China (Zhongguo gamin tongmenghui), published an article signed by Shi Shen (Zhu Zhi-hsin), entitled "Brief Biographies of German Socialist Revolutionaries", criticizing Marxism from a bourgeois perspective.

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but without understanding it, they later moved away from the revolution. However, the very appearance of the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia in Chinese society, whose worldview was completely opposite to the views of other strata of the Chinese intelligentsia, testified to a qualitatively new phenomenon in the ideological and political life of the country.

Among those who were among the first to join the ranks of the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia, became a propagandist of scientific socialism, introduced it to the working class and laid the foundations of the communist movement in China, was Li Da-zhao. From revolutionary democracy to Marxism and proletarian internationalism-such is its ideological and political evolution .42 The Great October revolution marked a qualitative milestone in this evolution. Li Da-zhao was not only the first representative of the Chinese revolutionary socialist intelligentsia to welcome the October Revolution, but also the first to analyze the situation in China in the light of the October ideas and call on the Chinese people to follow the path indicated by the proletarian revolution in Russia. In January 1918, Li Da-zhao joined the editorial board of Xin Qing - nian, and in February was appointed director of the Peking University Library. Impressed by the events in Russia, Li Da-zhao published articles in the spring of 1918 in Segodnya and Novoe! Old! " 44 . They stated that the way out of the difficult international and domestic situation of China should be sought in the active struggle of the masses against the old political system. If for the previous revolutionary movement in China, the struggle against the old was the lot of relatively small groups of revolutionaries, who were characterized by a break with the masses, a gap between theory and practice, then Li Da-chao's thesis sounded completely new. He was at odds with the views of the other members of the Xin Qingnian group. Thus, Chen Du-hsiu, who did not believe in the struggle of the masses and attributed all the shortcomings of the Chinese revolutionary movement to the dominance of feudal ideology in the minds of the people, saw the path to the liberation of China in the establishment of a bourgeois democratic republic. Professor Hu Shi, a bourgeois reformist, believed that it was not the breaking of the existing system, but only changes in the field of culture and education that could save the country. And only Li Da-chao, raising the fundamental question of Chinese reality - the way of China's further development - was guided by the experience of the October Revolution.

Marxism-Leninism made its way to the Chinese working class in a fierce struggle against pseudo-socialism, reformism, anarchism and other ideological and political trends alien to scientific socialism, which were imposed on the Chinese intelligentsia by bourgeois ideologists of the West. The ideological struggle between the Chinese supporters of Western worldview and political concepts and the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia in the first years after October became all the more acute, the more it affected the most vital problems of war, peace and revolution for the Chinese people in connection with the end of the First World War and the upcoming signing of the peace treaty. Interpretation of these problems revealed the attitude of various layers of the intelligentsia to the October Revolution and the svi-

42 See Yu. M. Garushyants. Preface to Li Da-zhao's book "Selected Articles and Speeches", Moscow, 1965; V. A. Krivtsov, V. A. Krasnova. Li Da-zhao is the first propagandist of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism in China (on the 50th anniversary of his death). "Problems of the Far East", 1977, N 2; M. Sladkovsky, V. Krivtsov. In memory of an internationalist revolutionary. Pravda, 28. IV. 1977.

43 "Xin qingnian", 1918, April 15, vol. 4, N 4, pp. 307-310; Li Da-zhao. Selected works. Beijing, 1959, pp. 93-96 (in Chinese).

44 "Xin qingnian", 1918, May 15, vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 446-449; Li Da-zhao. Op. ed., pp. 97-110.

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She testified to the process of ideological and political separation of these strata 45 .

In the First World War, China was on the side of the Entente. The Chinese intelligentsia had high hopes that after the end of the war, the country would take an equal position among the powers participating in the war. Such sentiments intensified after the Armistice of Compiegne (November 11, 1918). A part of the Chinese bourgeois and petty-bourgeois intelligentsia regarded the victory of the Entente as a victory of the bourgeois system. The bourgeois liberals Tsai Yuan-pei and Hu Shi saw the Allied victory as the main outcome of international development, ignoring the Great October Socialist Revolution. Chen Du-hsiu, while focusing on the Allied victory, essentially also belittled the historical significance of the October Revolution.

In contrast to these assessments, even before the armistice, Li Da-chao, developing the thesis of the need for an active struggle of the masses against the old political system and guided by an internationalist position, in his article "Comparison of the French Revolution with the Russian Revolution" (July 1918), emphasized the international character of the October Revolution with surprising depth for the level of Chinese public thought at that time. He wrote that if the French revolution was carried out under the slogans of nationalism, the interests of one country, then the Russian revolution "is a socialist, deeply social revolution that will win all over the world."46 Shortly after the Armistice of Compiegne, Li Da-jao, in an article entitled "Victory of the People" (November 15, 1918), called on people not to be deceived by the results of the First World War, revealed the predatory nature of the war as a war of capitalist states. In his article "The Victory of Bolshevism "(November 15, 1918), he assessed the October Revolution as a victory of " socialism and Bolshevism... world working class", and recognized the Bolshevik Party, which based its activities on the teachings of Karl Marx and V. I. Lenin, as the instrument of this victory. Emphasizing the international character of the Russian revolution, Li Da-jao wrote with conviction:: "Although Bolshevism was created by the Russians, it reflects the awakening of all of humanity in the twentieth century." 47
Li Da-zhao's articles on October had a great revolutionary impact on China, more significant than any other speeches of the leading people of Chinese society at that time. Defending the Russian revolution and its principles in disputes with the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois intelligentsia, Li Da-chao actually represented the small and not yet fully seasoned Marxist intelligentsia that was emerging in China. It defended the October Revolution against the attacks of reaction, explained its historical significance, and called on the Chinese people to follow Russia's example.

The voice of the Chinese Marxist intelligentsia, calling for equality in October, and the foreign policy of Soviet Russia, aimed at establishing equal and good-neighborly relations with China, were important factors in shaping the national and political consciousness of wide circles of the Chinese people. That is why when, at the end of April 1919, the Paris Peace Conference, taking advantage of the indecisiveness of the Chinese government delegation, rejected its demands to give up spheres of influence, leased territories, concessions, extraterritorial rights and other privileges of foreigners in China, in particular Japanese claims to Shandong, it caused an explosion of indignation among the Chinese public. May 4, 1919

45 For more information, see: Yu. M. Garushyants. Ideological struggle among the Chinese intelligentsia in late 1918-early 1919 "Soviet Sinology", 1958, N 1.

46 Lee Da-jao. Favorites, articles and speeches, p. 63.

47 Ibid., p. 69, 75 - 76, 78, 81.

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More than 3,000 students and high school students in Beijing gathered at the Tiananmen City Gate for a demonstration under the slogans. "To win back the sovereignty of the country and punish traitors to the motherland!", "To refuse to sign the Treaty of Paris!", "Boycott Japanese goods", etc. 48 . Thus began the mass patriotic anti-imperialist "May 4 movement" - a vivid evidence of the life-giving influence of the October Revolution on China.

In the May 4 movement, the Chinese working class took the first step towards independent political struggle, but ideological and organizational immaturity still prevented it from becoming the main driving force and leading this movement. However, the appearance of the Chinese proletariat indicated that it was already claiming an independent role and a place in the revolution, and in this sense it was resisting the bourgeoisie's desire to seize the leadership of the revolution.

The ideological struggle between supporters of Western bourgeois worldviews and political concepts and the revolutionary-socialist intelligentsia, which began in China in the first post-October years, intensified after the events of May 4, 1919. This struggle, which lasted until 1921,49 deepened the process of ideological separation and political differentiation of the Chinese petty-bourgeois and bourgeois intelligentsia into left and right wings. Objectively, the fundamental differences between the two trends in Chinese ideological and political thought expressed the struggle for two possible ways of development of the country: socialist or capitalist. The position of the bourgeois intellectuals represented the interests of the national bourgeoisie, which dreamed of independent but capitalist development and of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. But the triumph of Marxism-Leninism in Russia pointed to the possibility of developing socialism in China. The revolutionary socialist intelligentsia, which believed in the renewing power of the ideas of communism and therefore not only propagated them, but also took a practical part in the revolutionary struggle, and took the first steps towards introducing the ideas of scientific socialism to the Chinese working class, called for taking this path.

Under the colonial regime and the constant persecution of everything progressive, the process of maturation of the Chinese revolutionary socialist intelligentsia, its spread of Marxism - Leninism, and the perception of scientific socialism by the Chinese public was complex and difficult. This is evidenced by Qu Qiu-bo 50, who, describing the social thought in his country in 1919-1920, wrote: "Discussions about socialism usually arouse boundless interest in us. However, just as it occurred in the minds of young people in the 1940s in Russia, our understanding of it still remains vague, as if we are watching the dawn through a tulle-covered window, we do not have a clear idea of the existing socialist trends, and the very meaning of socialism remains unclear."51
Li Da - zhao's active propaganda of Marxism was of great importance in fulfilling the dual task of giving the Chinese public a clear understanding of the essence of scientific socialism and defending it in the fight against its opponents. Under his editorship, in May 1919, a special issue of the magazine "Xin Qingnian" was published.-

48 Hong Huan-chun. The revolutionary movement in China during the "May 4" period. Beijing, 1956, p. 84 (in Chinese).

49 For a detailed account of this period of struggle, see The Dispute over Socialism. Collection of materials. Shanghai. 1922 (in Chinese); L. P. Delyusin. Dispute about Socialism, Moscow, 1970.

50 Qu Qiu-bo (1899-1935) - one of the organizers of the CCP.

51 Qu Qiu-bo. Travel notes about the new RUSSIA. Collected works Vol. 1. Peking, 1954, pp. 23-24 (in Chinese).

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the face consisted of articles on the problems of Marxist ideology. In this issue, the first part of Lee Da - jao's theoretical article "My View of Marxism"was published, and in the November issue, the second part was published .52 This article was not only evidence of the author's open recognition of his affiliation with Marxism, but also played a major role in promoting scientific ideology and in the fight against its enemies in China. Li Da-zhao emphasized the international character of Marxism, stating that " since the revolution in Russia, Marxism has become a current that has penetrated almost all corners of the globe. One after another, revolutions broke out in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, whose guiding principles were the principles of Marxism." Then Li Da-zhao, based on the original sources (works of Marx in Japanese translations), outlined three parts of Marxism: isthmus (materialist understanding of history, the doctrine of class struggle), economic theory (surplus labor and surplus value, concentration of capital), "theory of the socialist movement" (on the transition to socialism), indicating that they are "inextricably linked, and the class struggle, like a golden thread, permeates and binds them into one single whole." 53
As a result of repressions, after the publication of the May issue (Volume 6), the Xin Qingnian magazine was temporarily closed in June 1919. Although this was a serious blow to the democratic movement and to the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia grouped around Li Da-jao, it did not discourage the latter. While staying in Beijing, he switched to the weekly Meizhou Pinglun (Weekly Review), which he edited under various pseudonyms in late 1918, where he continued to promote Marxism and ideological struggle against reformist liberals like Professor Hu Shi. Already understanding the class struggle as the driving force of history and supporting this Marxist thesis with references to the history of the struggle of the Russian working people, Li Da-chao published an article "Class Struggle and Mutual Aid"in the weekly (No. 29 of July 6, 1919) .54 This article stated that " the class struggle is the way to eliminate class society. This path cannot be avoided, it must be passed. " 55 Two issues later, due to a new wave of repression, Li Da-zhao was forced to give up editing "Meizhou Pinglun" and leave Beijing.

The weekly was taken over by the reformists. Hu Shih used it to promote the views of his teacher, the bourgeois pragmatist philosopher D. Dewey. In No. 31 of July 20, 1919, in the article "Study more concrete problems, talk less about 'isms'", Hu Shi called for the study of" concrete problems " instead of theoretical ones, that is, the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. His speech was aimed at diverting people's attention from the revolutionary struggle that Li Da-jao and his associates were calling for. Hu Shi was particularly fierce in his attack on the Marxist theory of class struggle. Rejecting it, he suggested that the masses should follow the path of agreements and compromises, class cooperation and reform. Li Da-zhao responded with a sharp article-letter "Once again about specific problems and"isms" 57, published in No. 35 of the Meizhou Pinglun on August 17, 1919. Insisting on the study of Marxism and on

52 "Xin Qingnian", 1919, May, vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 521-537; 1919, November 1, vol. 6, No. 6, pp. 612-624. For the translation entitled "My Marxist Worldview", see: "The Working Class and the Modern World", 1971, No. 2.

53 "The Working Class and the modern World", 1971, N 2, p. 94, 95, 97, 101, 107.

54 Lee Da-jao. Selected articles and speeches, pp. 118-123.

55 Ibid., p. 122.

56 "Brief reference materials on the history of Chinese Social Thought in modern times". Ed. Shi Jun. Beijing, 1957, pp. 1063-1067 (in Chinese).

57 Lee Da-jao. Selected articles and speeches, pp. 124-135.

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In its practical application, Li Da-jao emphasized that scientific socialism is a weapon of the proletariat. It needs it to eliminate the unjust social system, to " destroy the capitalist class, "to" expel our rulers who live off the labor of others. " 58
Li Da-zhao's controversy with Hu Shi was deeply political in nature. The dispute meant a sharp division of forces between the two groups of Chinese intellectuals - the Marxist and the compromisist-on the main question: whether the Chinese people should follow the revolutionary or reformist path. At the same time, for a small group of Chinese Marxists, the ideological struggle against bourgeois reformists was a serious test of maturity. In the course of this struggle, the Marxists struck blows at their ideological opponents and emerged from it ideologically strengthened and hardened. This struggle was an important milestone in the maturation of the Chinese Marxist intelligentsia and stimulated its spread of Marxism and its revolutionary activities among the Chinese working class.

The first congresses of the Comintern and the first fraternal international contacts between the Comintern and Chinese Marxists were of great importance for the maturation of the Chinese Marxist intelligentsia, the preparation of the ideological and organizational foundations of the communist movement, and the integration of scientific socialism with the working-class movement in China .59 From the very beginning of its existence, the Comintern, like the RCP (b), considered it its international duty to assist the international proletariat and the liberation movement of oppressed peoples. After the victory of the October Revolution, this assistance was expressed primarily in the very fact of the existence and strengthening of Soviet Russia, whose revolutionary struggle and socialist construction exerted a tremendous influence on the international workers ' and communist movement. The Bolshevik Party and the young workers 'and peasants' state provided an example of the practical implementation of one of the most important propositions of Marxism-Leninism on combining the interests of the struggle of the proletariat and the Communist Party of the victorious country with the interests of the entire international workers ' and communist movement.

V. I. Lenin showed great interest in the Chinese revolutionary movement and in the state of work among the Chinese workers living in Russia. On November 29, 1918, Lenin spoke with representatives of the Chinese workers in Russia, Liu Tse-jun (Lau Siu-jau) and Zhang Ying-chun .60 At the First Congress of the Comintern, held in Moscow on March 2-6, 1919, a delegation of the Chinese Socialist Workers ' Party, consisting of Liu Tse - rong (Lau Siu-jau) and Zhang Yun-kui, was present with an advisory vote .61 Speaking at the 4th session of the Congress on March 5, Liu Tse-rong, on behalf of the party he represented, the Chinese workers living in Soviet Russia, and the people of China, conveyed greetings to the Comintern and said that the struggle of the RCP (b) and the Russian people aroused a deep feeling of sympathy among the Chinese people. Liu Ze-rong said that the Chinese people were delighted when "through the ring of fire of war and revolution, the voice of the Soviet Government of Russia reached them in its appeal to the peoples."

58 Ibid., pp. 127-128.

89 For details of the Comintern's first contacts with Chinese Marxists, see: V. I. Glunin. The Comintern and the Formation of the Communist Movement in China (1920-1927). "The Comintern and the East", Moscow, 1969, pp. 244-246; A. I. Kartanov a. International aid to the working class of China (1920-1922). "Problems of the Far East", 1973, No. 1, pp. 136-140.

30 For the conversation of V. I. Lenin, see: "Dates of V. I. Lenin's life and activity (July 29, 1918-March 12, 1919)". V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol.37. p. 711.

61 "The First Congress of the Comintern", Moscow, 1933, pp. 161, 251,

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Especially in Comrade Chicherin's letter to the pride of China, Sun Yat-sen (meaning Chicherin's letter of August 1, 1918-E. K.). In these addresses, for the first time, China heard from the lips of foreign comrades that its cherished aspirations were understood... The voice of Russia, with its fraternal appeal, will serve as the most inspiring call to fight. " 62
In April 1920, the Far Eastern Secretariat of the Comintern sent representatives G. N. Voitinsky, I. K. Mamaev, and Yang Mingzhai to Beijing. 63 In Beijing, the delegation made contact with Li Da-zhao and, with his letter of recommendation, traveled with a representative of the Beijing Marxists attached to it to Shanghai 64 to meet with Chen Du-hsiu, who was then editing Xin Qingnian. Li Da later wrote in his memoirs about the significance of this meeting for Chinese Marxists, who emphasized that as a result of the exchange of views between Chinese Marxists and representatives of the ECCI, the former "understood the situation in the Soviet Union even more, learned more about the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. We had only one conclusion from this: to follow the path of the Russians. " 65
The Central Organizing Bureau of the Chinese Communists, established on June 25, 1920, as part of the foreign groups of the RCP (b), tried to establish contact with the revolutionary organizations of China. 66 On the eve of the Second Congress of the Comintern (July 19-August 7, 1920), the Central Bureau asked the ECCI to allow representatives of the Bureau to participate in the congress. This request was granted. Liu Jae-rong and Ahn Yong-hak participated in the congress with advisory voting rights 67 . Liu Tse-rong, who was a member of the Congress Commission on national and colonial Affairs, 68 said in his speech at the Congress on July 28, 1920:: "Support for the Chinese revolution is important not only for China itself, but also for the entire world revolutionary movement, because at the moment the only factor that can be opposed to the greedy Japanese imperialism, which has taken deep roots in Asia and extends its imperialist plans to Siberia, the Pacific Islands, and even South America, is a strong and independent state. a powerful revolutionary movement of the working masses of China " 69 . On August 11, 1920, four days after the congress ended, Lenin received the chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Union of Chinese Workers in Russia, Liu Tse-rong, and wrote a note to the Central Committee of the RCP (b), N. N. Krestinsky, asking him to receive Liu Tse-rong70.

As a follow-up to the decisions of the Second Congress of the Comintern on the national-colonial question, the ECCI began to establish links with the young communist and democratic movement in the Far East. At the end of 1920, a member of the ECCI delegation, Voitinsky, met with Sun in Shanghai

62 Ibid., p. 243.

63 Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Op. ed., p. 166; Yu. An-li. The Communist International and the emergence of the Communist Party of China. "Communist International", 1929, N 9-10, p. 181; Qi Wu Lao-ren. Before and after the formation of the Communist Party of China. "Xin guancha", 1957, N 3, p. 16.

64 Chi Wu Lao-ren. Op. ed., p. 16.

65 Cit. by: Yu. M. Garushyants. The struggle of Chinese Marxists for the creation of the Communist Party of China. "Peoples of Asia and Africa", 1961, N 3, p. 86.

66 V. M. Ustinov. Chinese Communist Organizations in Soviet Russia (1918-1920). Voprosy istorii CPSU, 1961, No. 4, p. 112.

67 "The Second Congress of the Comintern", Moscow, 1934, p. 621. In the list of delegates to the Second Congress of the Comintern, Liu Tse-rong and Ahn Yong-hak were registered as representatives of the" Central Bureau of the Chinese Workers 'Party" (ibid., p. 621).

68 Ibid., p. 627.

69 Ibid., p. 125.

70 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41, pp. 654-655.

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Yat-sen. In a conversation with Voitinsky, Sun Yat-sen was interested in the life of Soviet Russia and the possibility of establishing contacts with it. 71
The Comintern's first contacts with Chinese Marxists and with representatives of the Chinese revolutionary democracy were of great importance to both sides. The Comintern was able to form a more or less accurate picture of the level of the communist and democratic movement in China and draw appropriate conclusions from this. The Chinese Marxists, who did not have the necessary experience in organizing revolutionary work, especially among the working masses, received the necessary advice and recommendations.

Since the ideological struggle between Marxists on the one hand, reformists and pseudo - socialists on the other, was waged "for or against the dictatorship of the proletariat, for or against a centralized and disciplined party"72, it accelerated the ideological division of the Chinese intelligentsia and more persistently raised the question of combining their individual efforts. The first stage on this path was the formation of Marxist circles (communist groups). The first such circle in China was organized by Cheng Du-hsiu in May 1920 in Shanghai, consisting of seven intellectuals grouped around the magazine Xin Qingnian, which he edited. In August of the same year, the circle was named "Shanghai Initiative Group for the Establishment of the Communist Party of China" 73 .

Until about the summer of 1920, Marxism spread in China mainly among the petty-bourgeois intelligentsia and almost did not reach the working class. 74 The formation of Marxist circles in Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Jinan, Tientsin, Hangzhou, and Changsha created conditions in China for organized propaganda of Marxism-Leninism among the workers, raising their class consciousness, and combining scientific socialism with the working-class movement. Xin Qingnian magazine became the main propaganda organ of Marxism-Leninism. Ideological differences between the left wing of the magazine and the right group of Hu Shi led to the fact that in September 1920 the latter left the editorial board. The magazine passed entirely into the hands of Marxists and became the legal organ of the Shanghai Marxist Circle 75 . The theoretical organ of the Chinese Marxists was the illegal monthly magazine "Gongchandang" ("Communist"), the first issue of which was published on the third anniversary of the October Revolution, November 7, 1920.

Chinese Marxists worked hard to raise the cultural and political level and organizational cohesion of the country's proletariat. Cultural and educational activities among the workers, the vast majority of whom were illiterate, contributed to organizational and political activation. The main forms of cultural and educational work were evening schools, clubs, and mutual aid societies. Established in March-April 1919, the" Propaganda Group for Public Education at Peking University", headed by Deng Chung-hsiang, worked with workers in the suburbs of Beijing Fengtai, Changxindian, Tongxian. However, group members-

71 G. N. Voitinsky. My meetings with Sun Yat-sen. Pravda, 15. III. 1925.

72 Yu. An-li. Op. ed., p. 182.

73 Chi In Lao-ren. Op. ed., p. 16.

74 A. I. Kartunova and E. F. Kovalev. On the question of combining Scientific Socialism with the Chinese Labor Movement (1917-1921). Voprosy Istorii CPSU, 1974, No. 8, p. 61. See also 1: Li Sh wu. On the spread of socialism in China. "Lishi yanjiu", 1954, N 3, pp. 8-13; Jiang Chun-fang. From the history of the spread of Marxism in China. "Questions of history", 1958. N 5, p. 61; "Modern history of China", M. 1972, p. 56, 59-60.

75 Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Edict op., p. 93; Lo Le. A brief history of printing in China. "People's China", 1957, N 5, p. 21.

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They conducted political propaganda, telling their listeners about the situation in China and the aggression of Japanese imperialism. Tianjin students also spoke to farmers in the vicinity of the city 76 .

The May 1 celebration, which was held in China for the first time in 1920, contributed to the growth of the political consciousness and organization of the Chinese proletariat. In Shanghai, a special committee was formed, which appealed to public organizations in other cities of the country with a proposal to hold the holiday. Xin Qingnian published an article by Li Da-zhao describing the history of May 1 and calling on workers to engage in political struggle .77 Li Da-jao spoke at the May Day rally in Beijing. Rallies under the slogans "Bread!" and " 8-hour working day!"78 meetings were also held in Shanghai and Guangzhou . Beijing and Shanghai workers issued a declaration on workers ' struggle for their rights 79 .

At the initiative of Marxist circles, weekly publications began to be published in industrial cities of China, which introduced workers to the basics of Marxism-Leninism and the political struggle of workers. Such publications, for example, were the Shanghai weekly Laodong Jie ("World of Labor"), the first issue of which was published on August 15, 1920, the Guangzhou Laodongzhe ("Worker"), published on October 3 of the same year, the Beijing Laodong Yin ("Voice of the Worker"), which began to appear November 7 of the same year 80 . Separate works by Marx, Engels, and Lenin were published in Chinese translation .81
The political propaganda of the Marxist circles bore fruit. In 1920, 46 strikes were held in the country, of which 46140 workers participated in 19, in 1921 - 49 strikes, of which about 108,025 people took part in 22 .82 Some strikes have taken on an anti-imperialist character.

The creation of Marxist circles was an important stage in the ideological maturation of the Marxist intelligentsia and in its dissemination of Marxism-Leninism in China. However, the dispersion of Marxist forces, which made it difficult to promote Marxism and unite it with the workers ' movement, persistently set the Chinese Marxists the task of creating a single Marxist party that, standing at the head of the working class, would unite the revolutionary forces of the entire country. The experience of the October Revolution, the RCP (b), the Comintern, and their own convinced Chinese Marxists of the necessity of uniting the advanced Chinese workers in the party of the proletariat, which would lead the struggle of the masses of the people against imperialist and feudal forces. Uavs-

76 Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Op. ed., pp. 155-156.

77 Lee Da-jao. History of the May 1 holiday. "Xin Qingnian", 1920, May 1, vol. 7, No. 6.

78 Pun Min. Edict op., p. 90; Tzu Nu. The first May Day of Shanghai workers. "Lishi jiaoxue", 1959, N 5, pp. 40-43.

79 W Un Meng-yuan. Celebration of May 1, 1920 in Beijing. "Lishi yanjiu", 1954, N 3, p. 14.

80 For more information about these publications, see: Periodical Press of the May 4 Period, vol. 2, pp. 61-79; Ding Shou-he, Yin Xu-yi, Zhang Bo-zhao. Op. ed., pp. 168-175; A. I. Kartunova. Laodong Jie is the first working-class newspaper of Chinese Marxists. "Peoples of Asia and Africa", 1975, N° 2.

81 See: Jiang Chun-fang. The all-conquering power of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. "Druzhba", 1. VII. 1955; his. Publication and distribution of Lenin's works in China. "Publication and distribution of the works of V. I. Lenin", Moscow, 1960, pp. 280-281 (translated from Chinese); Zhang Yuan-hou. Chronology of Chinese translations of V. I. Lenin's works (December 1919-March 1960)." Lishi Yanjiu", 1960, N 4, pp. 17-48.

82 "Materials on the history of Chinese Political Thought in modern times". Ed. Gong Ji. Dalian. 1947, p. 119 (in Chinese); Hu Hua. The birth of the Chinese Communist Party. "People's China", 1954, N 13, p. 10.

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It was also an unfortunate circumstance that China did not have a working-class aristocracy, which, as is well known, served as the basis of reformism in the labor movement in the West. Unfavorable circumstances, however, were the backward, agrarian nature of the economy, the small size of the industrial proletariat, and the strong influence of petty-bourgeois peasant ideology on it. Subsequently, these circumstances affected the activities of the CPC leadership.

The ideological growth of Chinese Marxists, their contacts with the Comintern, Marxist circles, and their propaganda of Marxism-Leninism among the workers prepared the ideological and organizational foundations for the formation of the CCP. The Communist Party of China was formed organizationally at its first congress on July 23 - August 5, 1921 in Shanghai. The formation of the Communist Party of China was a victory for Marxism-Leninism, a concrete demonstration of the influence of the Great October Revolution on China, and an outstanding event in the country's recent history. It meant the unification of the Chinese workers ' movement with Marxism-Leninism, the inclusion of the Chinese communist movement in the general direction of the struggle of the international proletariat.

* * *

The historical experience of world socialism "irrefutably proved the universal significance of the basic laws of the socialist revolution and the construction of a new society, discovered by Marxist-Leninist science and first implemented in the practice of October, and confirmed the need for creative application of these laws, taking into account the specific conditions and characteristics of individual countries"83 . During the 60 years that have passed since the October Revolution, nationalists, revisionists,and bourgeois ideologists have been trying to discredit the objective general laws of social development, the historical initiative of the working class, and the revolutionary and transformative power of the Great October Revolution.

For modern Chinese historiography, the fundamental theoretical and ideological-political document is the "Decision on certain Issues of the History of our Party" written by Mao Tse-tung, adopted by the VII Plenum of the CPC Central Committee of the 6th convocation on April 20, 194584 . This "Solution" is a clear evidence of the violation of the Marxist-Leninist principle of historicism, replacing the objective methodology of studying the historical process with a subjectivist, voluntaristic approach to social phenomena, in this case, the communist movement in China .85 Maoist historiography tries to discredit the historical experience of October by distorting Lenin's teaching about the forms of transition of power. Its representatives claim that the proletarian revolution in Russia indicates the existence of only one possible form of transition of power - violent, armed struggle . In addition, as early as 1957, Chinese historians attempted to count the latest history of China not from October 1917, but from October 1949 (the year of the victory of the people's revolution).87 . Modern Chinese historiography tends to ignore the role of revolutionaries-inter-

83 "On the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution". Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU of January 31, 1977, Moscow, 1977, p. 16.

84 See Mao Tse-tung. Selected Works, vol. 4, Moscow, 1953.

85 It is characteristic that the" Decision " does not mention the October Revolution as a factor that contributed to the activation of the revolutionary forces in China. Resheniye mentions the October Revolution only in the sense that since its beginning Marxism has been gaining victories all over the world (ibid., p. 386).

86 Feng Lin. Act with words and a fist. "People's Daily", 9. VI. 1977.

87 Cm. Rong Meng-yuan. On the question of periodization of the new history of China. Discussion among Chinese historians. "Druzhba", 10, 11, 12, 13.I. 1957.

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the role of nationalists in preparing the ideological and organizational foundations of the communist movement in China.

The Great October Socialist Revolution, which broke through the front of world imperialism under the banner of Marxism-Leninism and ushered in the era of humanity's transition from capitalism to socialism, dealt a crushing blow to the entire system of imperialism. It had a huge impact on the growth of the national liberation movement in the colonial and dependent countries, opening the way for the Chinese people to fight for liberation from the oppression of the imperialists and feudal lords. Under the influence of the Great October Revolution, the wave of national liberation movement that swept through China in the first post-October years marked the beginning of the process of eroding the semi-colonial and semi-feudal regime in the country, gave the struggle of the Chinese people a pronounced anti-imperialist and anti-feudal orientation, and with the support of the forces of socialism, democracy and peace, ended with the victory of the people's revolution in 1949.

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