The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Historically it has been composed of five to eleven members, and currently has seven members. Its officially mandated purpose is to conduct policy discussions and make decisions on major issues when the Politburo, a larger decision-making body, is not in session. According to the party's constitution, the General Secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Kang Sheng was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A member of the CCP from the early 1920s, he spent time in Moscow during the early 1930s, where he learned the methods of the Soviet NKVD and became a supporter of Wang Ming for leadership of the CCP. After returning to China in the late 1930s, Kang Sheng switched his allegiance to Mao Zedong and became a close associate of Mao during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and after. He remained at or near the pinnacle of power in the People's Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1975. After the death of Mao and the subsequent arrest of the Gang of Four, Kang Sheng was accused of sharing responsibility with the Gang for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution and in 1980 he was expelled posthumously from the CCP.
Zhang Guotao, or Chang Kuo-tao, was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern, organizing the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Kuomintang. From 1931 to 1932, after the Party had been driven from the cities, Zhang was placed in charge of the Eyuwan Soviet. When his armies were driven from the region, he joined the Long March but lost a contentious struggle for party leadership to Mao Zedong. Zhang's armies then took a different route from Mao's and were badly beaten by local Muslim Ma clique forces in Gansu. When his depleted forces finally arrived to join Mao in Yan'an, Zhang continued his losing challenge to Mao, and left the party in 1938. Zhang eventually retired to Canada, in 1968. He became a Christian shortly before his death in Scarborough, Ontario, in 1979. His memoirs provide valuable and vivid information on his life and party history.
Li Lisan was a Chinese politician, member of the Politburo, and later a member of the Central Committee.
The 28 Bolsheviks were a faction in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The faction was formed among Chinese Communists studying at the Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow during the late 1920s and early 1930s. They received their nickname because of their strong support for the orthodox political positions advocated by Joseph Stalin and Pavel Mif. The leaders of the faction included Wang Ming, Bo Gu, Luo Fu, He Zishu, Wang Jiaxiang, and Shen Zemin. Sun Yat-sen University closed in 1930 and the students made their way back to China.
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing what he saw as Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxist–Leninist lines. According to Mao on the other hand, Wang epitomized the intellectualism and foreign dogmatism Mao criticized in his essays "On Practice" and "On Contradiction". The competition between Wang and Mao was a reflection of the power struggle between the Soviet Union, through the vehicle of the Comintern, and the CCP to control both the direction and future of the Chinese revolution.
Qin Bangxian or Ch'in Pang-hsien, better known by his alias Bo Gu was a Chinese senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the 28 Bolsheviks.
Wang Jiaxiang was one of the senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in its early stage and a member of the 28 Bolsheviks. Wang held a variety of high-level posts in the Party: during the Civil War he was the director of the Red Army's General Office, upon the founding of the People's Republic of China he was the first ambassador to the Soviet Union, and then became the first head of the Party's International Department.
Xiang Zhongfa was a Chinese socialist who was one of the early senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Yan'an Rectification Movement was a political mass movement led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1942 to 1945. The movement took place in the Yan'an Soviet, a revolutionary base area centered on the remote city of Yan'an. Although it was during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the CCP was experiencing a time of relative peace when they could focus on internal affairs.
The leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest-ranking official and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1982, the General Secretary of the Central Committee is considered the party's leader. Since its formation in 1921, the leader's post has been titled as Secretary of the Central Bureau (1921–1922), Chairman, and General Secretary.
The 6th Politburo, formally the Political Bureau of the 6th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee in 1928, in the aftermath of the 6th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 5th Politburo and succeeded by the 7th in 1945.
The 5th Politburo, formally the Political Bureau of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 5th Central Committee in 1927, in the aftermath of the 5th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 4th Central Bureau and succeeded by the 6th Politburo in 1928.
The 8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1956 to 1969. It was preceded by the 7th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It held 12 plenary sessions in this period of 13 years. It was the longest serving central committee ever held by the Communist Party.
The 7th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1945 to 1956. It was a product of the convening of the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. It held six plenary sessions in this 11-year period. It began in June 1945, before the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the resumption of the Chinese Civil War. This committee would be succeeded by the 8th Central Committee.
The 5th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1927 to 1928. It was set into motion by the 5th National Congress. It was followed by the 6th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Ren Bishi was a military and political leader in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The 6th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held from June 18 - July 11, 1928. Because the Nationalist Government of China had recently begun a massive wave of persecution against members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Congress was held in Moscow. Under the direction of the Comintern, the delegates elected the 6th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The 6th Central Committee's First Plenum in turn chose Xiang Zhongfa as General Secretary and elected the 6th Politburo. The five permanent members of the Politburo Standing Committee were Xiang Zhongfa, Zhou Enlai, Su Zhaozheng, Xiang Ying, and Cai Hesen.
The 5th Politburo Standing Committee, formally the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 5th Central Committee in 1927, in the aftermath of the 5th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was succeeded by the 6th Politburo Standing Committee in 1928.
The 6th Politburo Standing Committee, formally the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 6th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee in 1928, in the aftermath of the 6th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was preceded by the 5th Politburo Standing Committee and succeeded by the 7th Secretariat in 1945.
