The entry of the “soviet” concept into China (1918-1928)

ABSTRACT The term “soviet” had two faces in the early twentieth century: on the one hand, a certain form of democratic reform, and on the other, a new development in political power, as established by Vladimir Lenin in the Marxist context of the dictatorship of the proletariat. During the May Fourth Movement, the concept of the soviet, in which specific professions each created its own body for political representation, was introduced into China and recognized by Chinese intellectuals. The Chinese Communists later chose Lenin’s theory and followed the Soviet-Russian path. But there was disagreement within the Comintern in Moscow as to which of the lessons of the Russian path should be transferred to China. Under Stalin’s leadership, the CCP decided to create a soviet shape for the regime it was imagining, rather than a revolutionary organization, but this ran into problems. The Chinese Soviet of Haifeng and Lufeng was often reduced to an empty slogan because it lacked the advantages of a peasant associations and other so-called mass organizations. Thereafter, the CCP had to adjust its Soviet Union orientation and grope for a Chinese way.