Chen Duxiu

Chen Duxiu
陈独秀 陳獨秀
Chen in the First Nanjing Prison in the spring of 1937
Secretary of the Central Bureau of the Communist Party of China
In office July 1921 – July 1922
Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
In office July 1922 – January 1925
General Secretary of the Central Committee
In office January 1925 – July 1928
Succeeded by	Xiang Zhongfa
Personal details
Born	(1879-10-08)8 October 1879 Anqing, Anhui, Qing Dynasty
Died	27 May 1942(1942-05-27) (aged 62) Jiangjin, Chongqing, Sichuan, Republic of China
Nationality	Han Chinese
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	Waseda University

Chen Duxiu (Chinese: 陳獨秀; October 8, 1879 – May 27, 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary socialist, educator, philosopher, and author, who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (with Li Dazhao) in 1921, serving from 1921 to 1927 as its first General Secretary. Chen was a leading figure in the anti-imperial Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement for Science and Democracy. Politically, he advocated the Trotskyist theory of Marxism.

Chen's ancestral home was in Anqing, Anhui, where he established the influential vernacular Chinese periodical New Youth (Xin Qingnian).

Chen Duxiu was born in the city of Anqing, in Anhui province. He was born to a wealthy family of officials, the youngest of four children. In his youth, he was described as volatile, emotional, intuitive, non-intellectual, and a defender of the underdog. His father died when Chen was two years old, and he was raised primarily by his grandfather; and, later, by his older brother.

Chen was given a traditional Confucian education by his grandfather, several private tutors, and his elder brother. A thorough knowledge of Confucian literary and philosophical works was the pre-requisites for civil service in Imperial China. Chen was an exceptional student, but his poor experiences taking the Confucian civil service exams resulted in a lifelong tendency to advocate unconventional beliefs and to criticize traditional ideas.