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{{Short description|Chinese journalist, professor and political theorist}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Chen (surname)|Chen]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Chen Boda
| native_name         = {{nobold|{{lang|zh-Hans|陈伯达}}}}
| image               = Chen Boda c. 1966.jpg
| caption             = Chen Boda in {{circa|1966}}
| office              = Member of the [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
| term_start          = 1966
| term_end            = 1970
| birth_name          = Chen Shangyu
| birth_date          = {{birth-date|29 July 1904}}
| birth_place         = [[Hui'an]], [[Fujian]], [[Qing Dynasty|Qing China]]
| death_date          = {{death-date and age|20 September 1989|29 July 1904}}
| death_place         = [[Beijing]], [[China]]
| alma_mater          = [[Moscow Sun Yat-sen University|Sun Yat-sen University]]
| party               = [[Chinese Communist Party]] (1927–1973)
| children            = 4<ref>[https://www.yidianzixun.com/article/0JwgIFGX yidianzixun.com]</ref>
| alt                 = Black and white headshot of Boda in glasses and a cap with a star
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| s = 陈伯达
| t = 陳伯達
| p = Chén Bódá
| w = Ch'en Po-ta
| poj = Tân Peh-ta̍t
}}
{{Maoism sidebar |expanded=people}}
'''Chen Boda''' ({{zh|s=陈伯达|t=陳伯達|poj=Tân Peh-ta̍t|w=''Ch'en Po-ta''}}; 29 July 1904 – 20 September 1989), was a [[Chinese Communist Party|Chinese Communist]] journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter of [[Maoism]] (or "[[Mao-Zedong-Thought|Mao Zedong Thought]]") in the first 20 years of the [[People's Republic of China]].<ref name="britannica">[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chen-Boda Chen Boda biography] Britannica Concise Encyclopedia</ref> Chen became a close associate of [[Mao Zedong]] in [[Yan'an]], during the late 1930s, drafting speeches and theoretical essays and directing propaganda.<ref name="dictionary">Guo Jian, Yongyi Song and Yuan Zhou, "Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution", pp. 33-35, The Scarecrow Press, 2006</ref>

After 1949, Chen played a leading role in overseeing mass media and ideology; at the start of the [[Cultural Revolution]] in 1966, Mao named him Chairman of the [[Cultural Revolution Group]], entrusting him with the task of guiding the new mass movement. However, his ultra-radical line and close ties with [[Lin Biao]] eventually led to his downfall in 1970.<ref name="britannica"/><ref name="dictionary"/>

==Early life==
Chen Boda was born '''Chen Jianxiang''' ({{zh|s=陈建相|t=陳建相|poj=Tân Kiān-siong|p=Chén Jiànxiāng }}) in 1904 to peasant parents.<ref name="britannica"/> His [[courtesy name]] was '''Shangyou''' ({{zh|s=尚友|poj=Siōng-iú|p=Shàngyǒu}}). During his childhood, his family moved to [[Jimei District|Jimei]], in modern-day [[Xiamen|Amoy]], likely to facilitate young Chen's enrollment at the Jimei Normal School, from which Chen graduated as a [[schoolteacher]] (he taught at various elementary schools until 1927).<ref name="dictionary"/>

In 1925, Chen enrolled at Shanghai Labor University, studying [[literature]], and in 1927 he joined the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. After returning to Fujian, he was hired as the personal secretary of General [[Zhang Zhen (general)|Zhang Zhen]], helping to prepare for the 1926–1927 [[Northern Expedition (1926–1927)|Northern Expedition]] from the CCP side of the [[First United Front]]. When the Front collapsed, Chen fled and was eventually arrested in [[Nanjing]]. He was released after a month on General Zhang's recommendation. Shortly thereafter, Chen was sent by the Party to [[Moscow Sun Yat-sen University]], where he studied politics and [[Marxist]] philosophy for four years.<ref name="dictionary"/><ref name="Leung">{{cite book|last=Leung|first=Pak-Wah|title=Political Leaders of Modern China: A Biographical Dictionary|editor=Pak-Wah Leung|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2002|edition=Illustrated|pages=10–12|isbn=978-0-313-30216-9}}</ref>

In 1931, Chen Boda returned to China, and married [[Sichuan]] native Zhu Yuren, who had also studied in Moscow. Chen became a professor of politics and ancient Chinese history at China College in [[Beijing]]<ref name="britannica"/> while writing articles under the pen names '''Chen Zhimei''' and '''Chen Boda'''. Most of these articles focused on the dispute between advocates of "national defense literature" such as [[Lu Xun]], and more nationalist authors. Chen also did underground work for the Party in [[Tianjin]].

From 1937 on, he taught politics and Marxist philosophy at the [[Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party]] in [[Yan'an]], where he became a leader in the [[Yan'an Rectification Movement]].<ref name="britannica"/> He soon became personal research assistant and chief political aide to [[Mao Zedong]]. Chen published the first collection of Mao's writings in 1937, and an official history of the Party in 1945.<ref name="Leung"/>

==Role in the post–1949 government==
After the Communist victory in the [[Chinese Civil War]] and the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, Mao entrusted Chen with many important tasks. Chen Boda became:<ref name="dictionary"/>

* Deputy Director of the [[Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP Propaganda Department]], overseeing the [[People's Daily]] and the [[Xinhua News Agency]] 
* Director of the Institute of Political Research
* Editor-in-chief of the CCP theoretical organ ''[[Red Flag (magazine)|Red Flag]]'', when it was established in 1958 
* Vice President of the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]], overseeing Social and Political Sciences (these departments later branched out to form the [[Chinese Academy of Social Sciences]])

In 1951, Chen wrote an article with the title ''Mao Zedong's theory of the Chinese Revolution is the combination of Marxism-Leninism with the Chinese Revolution'' and a book entitled ''Mao Zedong on the Chinese Revolution''. These works made him one of the most important interpreters of [[Maoism|Mao Zedong Thought]], and in the 1950s he became one of Mao's closest associates, compiling many of the quotations eventually published in [[Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung|the Red Book]].<ref>[[Maurice Meisner|Meisner, M]]; 'Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic since 1949'; Free Press (2006); p. 151</ref>

In 1950 Chen accompanied Mao to [[Moscow]] to participate in the negotiations with [[Joseph Stalin]] that led to the signing of the 30-year treaty of alliance (February 1950) between China and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="britannica"/>

Following Mao's complaint that "the economic sector is blocking me and Comrade [[Liu Shaoqi|Liu]]," Chen was appointed in 1962 to serve as a vice director of the [[State Planning Commission (China)|State Planning Commission]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Hou |first=Li |title=Building for oil: Daqing and the Formation of the Chinese Socialist State |date=2021 |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |isbn=978-0-674-26022-1 |edition= |series=[[Harvard-Yenching Institute]] monograph series |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=102}}

===Cultural Revolution===

From 1966 until 1969, Chen Boda was to play an important role in the [[Cultural Revolution]]. In May 1966, he was placed at the head of the newly formed [[Cultural Revolution Group]] (CRG), a body established to oversee and direct the course of the Cultural Revolution.<ref>Guillermaz, J; 'The Chinese Communist Party in Power, 1949-1976'; Westview Press (1976); p. 401</ref>  In time, this group would rise to become the most important political body in China, surpassing even the influence of the [[Politburo]].<ref>[[Roderick MacFarquhar|MacFarquhar, R]] and Schoenhals, M; 'Mao's Last Revolution'; Belknap Harvard (2006); p. 155</ref>  Furthermore, Chen Boda was also placed as head of the Communist government's propaganda apparatus alongside [[Jiang Qing]] when the previous leader, [[Lu Dingyi]] (with whom he had often quarrelled),<ref name="dictionary"/> was deposed in 1966.<ref>Meisner, M; 'Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic since 1949'; Free Press (2006); p. 332</ref>  He also became a member of the Standing Committee of the [[Politburo]].<ref>Meisner, M; 'Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic since 1949'; Free Press (2006); p. 403</ref>

According to the Central Committee leadership, the Cultural Revolution Group began to show signs of ultra-leftism during the late 1960s. Boda's reputation began to wane after the [[9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|9th Party Congress]] in 1969 due to his ties with Lin Biao (with whom he had closely collaborated in the publication of the [[Little Red Book]])<ref name="dictionary"/> and his opposition to [[Zhou Enlai]]'s attempt to deescalate the Cultural Revolution and refocus on consolidating the Party.<ref>[[Roderick MacFarquhar|MacFarquhar, R]] and Schoenhals, M; 'Mao's Last Revolution'; Belknap Harvard (2006); p. 156</ref><ref>Joseph, W; 'The Critique of Ultra-Leftism in China, 1958-1951'; Stanford University Press (1984); p. 124</ref> This marked the end of Chen Boda's involvement in the cultural revolution. As the leadership became more moderate in its outlook and the initial aims of the cultural revolution were sidelined, Chen's radicalism caused concern, and he was denounced at the [[10th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|10th Party Congress]] in 1973 as a 'revisionist secret agent' for his associations with Lin Biao.<ref>Guillermaz, J; 'The Chinese Communist Party in Power, 1949-1976'; Westview Press (1976); p. 461</ref>

==Later life==
After the Cultural Revolution, he was tried by the post-Mao government for collaboration with the [[Gang of Four (China)|Gang of Four]].<ref>Meisner, M; ''Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic since 1949''; Free Press (2006); p. 461</ref> He was sentenced to eighteen years in prison, but was released under parole shortly afterwards due to his ill health, and his parole time ended in 1988.  He died on 20 September 1989, at the age of 85.<ref name="dictionary"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{9th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
{{8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
{{Cultural Revolution}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Boda}}
[[Category:Hokkien people]]
[[Category:Politicians from Quanzhou]]
[[Category:People of the Cultural Revolution]]
[[Category:Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fujian]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Anti-revisionists]]
[[Category:People's Daily people]]
[[Category:Maoist theorists]]
[[Category:Historians from Fujian]]
[[Category:People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian]]
[[Category:Moscow Sun Yat-sen University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Chinese historians]]
[[Category:Chinese politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Members of the 9th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Members of the 8th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Alternates of the 7th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Members of the 7th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Members of the 9th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Purged Chinese politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Chinese essayists]]
[[Category:Secretaries to Mao Zedong]]