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Yoshihiro Ishikawa , translated by Joshua A. Fogel , The Formation of the Chinese Communist Party , New York : Columbia University Press , 2013
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Revising the mythologized history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has become a global trend in the field of China studies. China specialists in Japan have been excavating unknown material hidden in archives all over the world like miners looking for gold. This book written by Yoshihiro Ishikawa, a Professor at Kyoto University and a well-known archival researcher in Japan, takes us back to the early twentieth century and reveals the backstage of the CCP's formation.
Ishikawa's discussion reaches out to some of the most unknown figures, organizations, meetings, and documents, which have been buried behind the orthodox narration of modern Chinese history. By carefully digging out minor pieces of history from materials written in a variety of languages (Chinese, Russian, Japanese, English) and using them to fill in the gaps of the existing puzzle, Ishikawa has recreated the history of the CCP's formation in extreme detail. He has devoted 503 pages to deal just with the events, which took place between 1919 and 1921!
It is a common understanding that the Soviet Union along with the Comintern were the main conductors in the formation of a Communist Party in the Republic of China, where industrial capitalism and urbanization had just taken off. But any conductor needs musicians to form an orchestra. In this case, the Russians needed Chinese intellectuals who nurtured a passion for Marxism.
How were such intellectuals created? This is one of the main questions Ishikawa's book deals with in great detail. Marxism started to flourish in Chinese newspapers and magazines during the May Fourth Movement, which started in 1919. The Russian Revolution of 1917 definitely gave spark to this boom. According to Ishikawa, however, the main provider of Marxist materials during this period was not Russia as many might expect, but actually Japan.
The revival of studies on Marxism in Japan during the Taisho Democracy Movement (1910s-1920s) had a huge impact on many Chinese intellectuals who were studying in Japan at that time. It was mainly these Chinese intellectuals, who constantly travelled in and out of Japan, who provided...