Chinese History

Li Dazhao's enthusiasm about the Russian revolution stemmed from his belief that it heralded a new age of progress for mankind. He believed that the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution would pave the way for identical revolutions to occur around the world. These inevitable class struggles would break down national boundaries, thus uniting the working classes on a global scale. This massive unification would lead to the eradication of Capitalism, allowing true freedom and democracy to flourish. Property ownership would be forever abolished so that everyone would be able to receive a piece of the industrial pie. Finally, presidents and parliaments would be ousted in favor of labor union councils that would serve in the central government.

The consequences Li Dazhao anticipated for China was that it would learn from and emulate the Russian revolution. He wanted his countrymen to realize that Russia, which like China never fit the description of a capitalist state, was nonetheless successful in overthrowing its despotic rulers in favor of installing Communism. He also wanted the Chinese to realize that other socialist revolutions were occurring in European countries. He, for example, believed that Germany's defeat in WWI was caused not so much by Allied military prowess, as it was by the rise of German socialism. In order to make Communism more palatable to the Chinese, he tried to relate Marxist terms to the Chinese experience. For example, he attempted to classify China as also being composed of proletarians despite it not having ever implemented Capitalism before. He attempted to do this by showing that the Western capitalist states had been exploiting Chinese citizens much like the way they exploited their own working classes. With this and other unique interpretations of Marxist ideology, Li Dazhao encouraged his student followers to spread its message to the Chinese people, particularly the peasant class. He thus worked diligently to gain widespread support for a Communist revolution in China.