Chinese Communist Party

Abstract

The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the world’s largest political organization, with a history approaching one hundred years. Since its foundation it has been distinctly Chinese. Understanding it involves knowledge of its ideology, its political mission, organization, and narratives of history, as well as its complex and evolving internal composition. Key figures throughout the last ten decades since its foundation in 1921 have also shaped phases of its development, from the immense impact of Mao Zedong to the elite leaders who have succeeded him. The different emphasis of these elite leaders has also supplied a means by which to understand the deep differences between the party when it was coming to power before 1949, and operated as a fugitive force, to when it became the governing party after that date. In the Maoist era up to 1976 the focus was on class struggle and the conduct of mass campaigns. These had immensely destructive outcomes. After 1976, the focus became the material enrichment and modernization of the country. Under Xi Jinping, however, since 2012 there has been an increasing shift back to focusing on ideology and party organization. The link between these separate phases is the desire to create a rich, strong, and powerful country, one that has been restored to its centrality in the region and the world and will never again be subject to colonial or foreign aggression. The CPC has many different dimensions—from its narrative of its own history to its internal language, the cultural aspects of its message, and its links to Chinese traditions and society. In many ways, therefore, studying the CPC today is studying the key events and structures that made modern China. The author would like to thank Jana Gorski for her assistance with the compilation of this article.