Li Dazhao

Li Dazhao (1889–1927) was a Chinese intellectual and Marxist theorist who helped found the Chinese Communist Party. He was executed by the Beijing warlord Zhang Zuolin’s authorities.

Chen Duxiu: A Chinese revolutionary and intellectual who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party and served as its first general secretary. Li collaborated with Chen in promoting Marxism and establishing the party.
New Culture Movement: An intellectual and cultural movement in China that challenged Confucian traditions and promoted science, democracy, and literary reform. Li emerged as a political thinker amid its debates over China’s future.
Historical materialism: A Marxist method that explains historical change through material conditions and social relations. Li used this framework to explain China’s social development and political possibilities.
Chinese Communist Revolution: The decades-long revolutionary process that brought the Chinese Communist Party to power in 1949. Li’s organizing belonged to the movement’s early phase, before the party became a governing force.
Mao Zedong: A Chinese communist revolutionary who led the People’s Republic of China from its founding in 1949 until his death in 1976. Mao worked under Li at Peking University and later credited Li with influencing his political development.
May Fourth Movement: A 1919 protest movement sparked by China’s treatment at the Paris Peace Conference and followed by broad cultural and political activism. The protests intensified the anti-imperialist politics Li helped direct and interpret.
Communist Manifesto: A political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, first published in 1848. Li helped translate and publicize the text, making it a key vehicle for Marxist ideas in China.
First United Front: An alliance between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang, formed in 1924 to oppose warlords and imperialist influence. Li supported cooperation with the Kuomintang, a strategy that became central to party politics.
Zhang Zuolin: A Chinese warlord who controlled Manchuria and dominated Beijing from 1926 to 1928. Zhang’s authorities arrested and executed Li during their 1927 crackdown.
October Revolution: The Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia in 1917 that established a Soviet government. Li treated the revolution as evidence that Marxism could guide political change.

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Cai YuanpeiRelated: Cai appointed Li to Peking University’s library, where his political thought gained influence.