ABSTRACT
Some people say that, if a rightist faction has now once again split off from the Guomindang, this is a result of the impetuosity of leftist elements in the party and is a misfortune for the Chinese Guomindang and the Chinese national revolution. This opinion is incorrect. Such a split should occur today in the party of national revolution in semicolonial China. This is an inevitable phenomenon, and although not a cause for rejoicing, it is, on the other hand, assuredly not something unfortunate. If you want to know why this is the case, it suffices to look at the political situation of modern times and the history of the Guomindang from the Revive China Society to the present time, and then you will understand completely. The democratic revolution in Europe, North America, and Japan, from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, in which the bourgeoisie opposed the feudal aristocracy, is totally different in nature from the national revolution in the colonies and semicolonies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, in which the petty bourgeoisie, the semiproletariat and the proletariat cooperate against imperialism and its tools, the bureaucrats, warlords, compradors, and the landlord class. Moreover, the nature of the Revolution of 1911 is also different from that of the current revolution. The bourgeois revolutions of the previous era in England, France, Germany, America, and Japan were carried out by a single class, the bourgeoisie. Their target was the feudal aristocracy within each country, and their goal was to establish nationalist 1 states, that is to say states ruled by the bourgeoisie alone. Their slogans of so-called liberty, equality, and fraternity were only put forward at that 321time as tactics for winning over and deceiving the petty bourgeoisie, the semiproletariat, and the proletariat. Their ultimate outcome was to develop colonies and semicolonies throughout the world and to create international capitalist imperialism. In contrast, the contemporary revolution in colonies and semicolonies is a revolution jointly carried out by three classes: the petty bourgeoisie, the semiproletariat and the proletariat. The big bourgeoisie, as an appendage to imperialism, is a counterrevolutionary force. The middle class wavers between revolution and counterrevolution. Only the alliance of the three classes of the petty bourgeoisie, the semiproletariat, and the proletariat is truly revolutionary. The target of this revolution is international imperialism, and its objective is to establish a state jointly ruled by the revolutionary popular masses. The principles of People’s Rights and People’s Livelihood for which it calls in no sense represent the tactics employed by a single class for winning over and deceiving the others for its own purposes; they constitute rather the joint political and economic demands of all the revolutionary classes. These principles have been laid down in the program of the political party of the revolutionary classes by their representative (Mr. Sun Yatsen). The result of the revolution will be the achievement of a country ruled jointly by all the revolutionary popular masses, and its final outcome will be to eliminate imperialism throughout the world and to build a genuinely equal and free global union (that is, the equality of the human race and worldwide great harmony 2 advocated by Mr. Sun). Now let us look at the differences between the Revolution of 1911 and the present one. The Revolution of 1911 ought to have been in essence a revolution against international imperialism, but because most party members at the time were not clear about this, and rightist leaders such as Huang Xing, Zhang Binglin, and Song Jiaoren 3 recognized only the Manchu aristocracy within the country as the enemy, the slogan of the revolution became simply “Away with the Manchus.” 322Also, because at the time there were no organized masses of workers and peasants, both the organizational form and substance of the Guomindang were extremely rudimentary, and its fighting ranks extremely isolated and weak. There was then in our country no Chinese Communist Party to represent the interests of the proletariat. In addition, the international situation then was that a few big powers dominated the whole world. There was only the counterrevolutionary alliance of the classes of the oppressors, and no revolutionary alliance of the oppressed classes. There were only bourgeois states, and no proletarian states. For all these reasons, the Chinese revolution in those days was without international support. Compared with 1911, the situation has completely changed today. The target of the revolution has already been shifted to international capitalist imperialism. The party’s organization has gradually been tightened and developed because worker and peasant elements have joined it, and at the same time the worker and peasant classes have taken shape as a social force. There is now a Communist Party. On the international scene there has also suddenly appeared a proletarian state, Soviet Russia, and a revolutionary alliance of the oppressed classes, the Third International, both of which provide powerful backing for the Chinese revolution. For these reasons, among all those who joined the revolution in 1911, only a few whose revolutionary will is strong continue to advocate revolution. The great majority have either given up the revolutionary cause because of their fear of the current revolution, or gone over to the counterrevolutionary ranks and oppose the Guomindang as it is today. This is why, with the development of the revolution and the progress of the Guomindang, old and new rightists have broken away from the party one after another, just as bamboo shoots lose their skins. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the reasons for this split, we must also consider the class nature of the members of our party since the Revive China Society. 4 As we know, Hong Xiuquan, 5 who led the rural proletariat in a peasant revolution against the Qing aristocracy and the landlord class, was the source of Mr. Sun Yatsen’s earliest revolutionary thought. In terms of organization, the Revive China Society was nothing but a secret society recruiting from among the vagrants. 6 The organization of the Tongmenghui was composed in part of overseas Chinese workers, in part of secret societies within the country; another component was made up of students from small landlord families who studied abroad, and students in China from both small landlord and owner-peasant backgrounds. In sum, the composition of the Tongmenghui consisted of a gathering together of 323four classes: the proletariat (the secret societies), the semiproletariat (the overseas Chinese workers), the petty bourgeoisie (part of the home students), and the middle class (students who had gone abroad and another part of the home students). At this time, confrontation took shape between the Society to Protect the Emperor of Kang Youwei and his faction, which led China’s big landlord class, and the Tongmenghui of Sun Yatsen and his faction, which led the proletariat, the semiproletariat, the petty bourgeoisie, and the middle class in China. When the Revolution of 1911 achieved its initial successes, the faction representing the small landlords in the Revolutionary Alliance disapproved of putting into effect Mr. Sun’s equalization of land ownership and control of capital. As a result, the revolutionary Tongmenghui was dissolved, and reorganized as the nonrevolutionary “Guomindang.” 7 Moreover, it came to include many political groups representing the interests of the small landlord class, so that the small landlord class controlled the absolute majority in the party. Although this party then still stood opposed to the Progressive Party, which represented the big landlord class, it had virtually no revolutionary character. (The Progressive Party had its origin in the provincial assemblies at the end of the Qing dynasty, which were organs of the big landlords in each province, just as today’s provincial assemblies in various provinces are organs of the big landlords.) Mr. Sun was extremely indignant at this and decided to reorganize the party as the Chinese Revolutionary Party. He resolutely used the word “revolution” in naming the party, not hesitating to break with the leaders of the small landlord class such as Huang Xing in order to maintain the authentic revolutionary tradition. After Huang Xing and his faction among the leaders of the small landlords refused to join the Chinese Revolutionary Party because of their fear of revolution and broke with Mr. Sun, they established a separate organization, the Society for the Study of European Affairs. This society soon expanded, attracting a large number of both big and small landlords, and formed the Political Study Society. It suffices to note the fact that there is virtually no one in the Political Study Society who is not from the landlord class to understand why they had to break with Mr. Sun; why they had to abandon revolution; why they gradually began to flirt with the Research clique, which was the product of a metamorphosis of the Progressive Party and represented the big landlord class; and why in recent years they have finally organized the Federalist clique (a political party that the landlord class in various southern provinces has been trying in vain to organize for the past four years) to support Zhao Hengti, Chen Jiongming, Tang Jiyao, and Xiong Kewu, 8 the men who have seized political power in all the provinces of Southwestern China and used the armed forces controlled by the provincial and xian assemblies and by the militia offices as their instrument to visit extreme 324oppression on the owner-peasants, tenants, and farm laborers in the countryside, as well as on the workers, students, and small merchants in the towns; and why they stand wholly on the side of counterrevolution. When the Chinese Revolutionary Party was transformed into the Chinese Guomindang, yet another batch of middle class nonrevolutionary elements joined it; at the same time, some elements representing the comprador class sneaked into the party and occupied a commanding position within it, so that Mr. Sun and the minority of revolutionaries were not able to make revolution, even though they held leading posts. So in January of last year, [Sun Yatsen] resolutely called the First National Congress of the Party, which clearly laid it down that the party should uphold the interests of the working class and the peasantry, expand the Guomindang organization drawing from these classes, and allow Communists to enter the party. At the banquet given by Mr. Sun in January of last year to the delegates to the congress at the Changdi Asia Restaurant in Guangzhou, Mao Zuquan raised an objection to the proposal for admitting Communists to the party. Mr. Sun thereupon stood up and delivered a long speech in which he said:
For the past twenty years, party members have persistently obstructed me in making revolution, and have persistently cast aside the principle of the People’s Livelihood. I have a great many followers, but they always think they can make their own decisions. Those who truly follow me in making revolution, like Mr. Wang Jingwei, are no more than twenty. Now today you even want to restrict me in accepting revolutionary youth!
