China's urban revolutionaries

Chinese Trotskyism was the most creative and influential opposition to emerge within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) between its founding and its taking power in 1949. It included Chen Duxiu, founder and early leader of the CCP, whose ideas have inspired generations of Chinese youth, including those involved in the events of 1989. Many workers, writers, and veteran revolutionaries who had been alienated from the CCP after 1927 by the policies of Stalin and his Chinese followers were also drawn into the Trotskyist ranks. This study traces the origins and history of Chinese Trotskyism from 1921 through 1952. Based on interviews, letters, archives, memoirs, and published and unpublished sources in many languages, it is organized thematically. Gregor Benton elucidates the complex and novel issues in clear and vigorous language, throwing new light on old questions concerning the Chinese Revolution and the nature of Maoism, as well as China's modern history. The Chinese Trotskyists are worth studying both as powerful mirror to the official party and in their own right, as progenitors of today's tradition of democratic dissent. Their story will interest historians of modern China and of communism, as well as students of radical political movements everywhere.