# Canonical recap data for Chinese Communist Party Founded (1921)
# Source: https://recap.at/1921/chinese-communist-party-founded
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: chinese-communist-party-founded
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1921/chinese-communist-party-founded"
title: Chinese Communist Party Founded
aliases:
- CCP founding
- Chinese Communist Party established
- July 23, 1921
- First National Congress of the CCP
subtitle: The CCP's inaugural congress in Shanghai launched the movement that would transform China into a global superpower and reshape twentieth-century history.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1921-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1921
decade: 1920
country:
name: China
slug: china
summaryShort: The Communist Party of China (CPC), commonly known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP won the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang and proclaimed the establishment of the PRC under the chairmanship of Mao Zedong in
summaryLong: The Communist Party of China (CPC), commonly known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP won the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang and proclaimed the establishment of the PRC under the chairmanship of Mao Zedong in October 1949. The CCP has since governed China and has had sole control over the country's armed forces and law enforcement. As of 2024, the CCP has more than 100 million members, making it the second largest political party by membership in the world.
lede: On July 23, 1921, a small group of Chinese intellectuals and activists gathered in Shanghai to formally establish the Communist Party of China. The party emerged from decades of turmoil following China's military defeats and colonial encroachment, offering a radical alternative to both traditional governance and the competing Nationalist movement. This founding set in motion the ideological and organizational machinery that would eventually seize power nearly three decades later.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Danghui.svg/1280px-Danghui.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Chinese Communist Party"
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Meeting location
  value: Shanghai, China
- label: Date
  value: July 23, 1921
- label: Estimated delegates
  value: Around 50 representatives
- label: Party membership at founding
  value: Fewer than 100 members
- label: First Chairman
  value: Chen Duxiu
- label: Years to state power
  value: 28 years (seized power in 1949)
- label: Ideological foundation
  value: Marxist-Leninist ideology adapted to Chinese conditions
timeline:
- date: 1921-07-23
  title: First National Congress convenes
  description: The Chinese Communist Party holds its inaugural congress in Shanghai, establishing organizational structure and electing Chen Duxiu as General Secretary.
- date: 1923-06-12
  title: Third Congress adopts first major platform
  description: The party formally adopts its political platform and clarifies its relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang).
- date: 1927-04-12
  title: Shanghai Massacre shatters CCP-KMT alliance
  description: Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek orders the violent suppression of Communist forces in Shanghai, ending their short-lived coalition with the Kuomintang.
- date: 1931-11-07
  title: Chinese Soviet Republic proclaimed
  description: The CCP establishes the Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi Province as a territorial base, with Mao Zedong gaining influence within party leadership.
- date: 1935-01-15
  title: Zunyi Conference shifts party direction
  description: Party leaders gather in Zunyi and elevate Mao Zedong to paramount leadership, marking a fundamental shift in CCP strategy and military doctrine.
- date: 1935-10-20
  title: Long March concludes in Yan'an
  description: The CCP's 6,000-mile retreat from Nationalist forces ends at Yan'an in Shaanxi Province, which becomes the party's new base and symbol of survival.
- date: 1937-07-07
  title: Second United Front forms against Japan
  description: The CCP and Kuomintang again ally against Japanese invasion, temporarily shelving their civil war rivalry.
- date: 1949-10-01
  title: People's Republic proclaimed
  description: The CCP defeats the Nationalist government in the Chinese Civil War; Mao Zedong proclaims the People's Republic of China in Beijing with the CCP as sole ruling party.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Party"
  title: Chinese Communist Party Founding Day
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The CCP's 1921 founding marked the birth of the organization that would fundamentally reshape China's political, economic, and social order. What began as a clandestine meeting of roughly 50 delegates grew into a party that defeated the Nationalist government, ended Chinese warlordism, and created a centralized state that remains a dominant geopolitical actor more than a century later.
categories:
- revolution
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- revolution
- regime_change
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- mobilization
- transformation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: systemic
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Chinese Communist Party founded July 23, 1921 in Shanghai. First Congress launched the organization that would transform China.
wikidataQid: Q17427
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260609151453/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Party"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-09
  label: Chinese Communist Party Founding Day
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Party"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Chen Duxiu, Co-founder and General Secretary of the CCP
  voiceType: official
  context: Statement immediately following the Party's First National Congress in Shanghai on July 23, 1921, articulating the revolutionary mission.
  excerpt: We have established a Communist Party to lead the Chinese working class toward liberation. This is the beginning of a new era for our nation.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: CCP First National Congress proceedings, Shanghai
  publishedAt: 1921-07-23
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Chiang Kai-shek, Military Commander of the Kuomintang
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Response to news of the CCP's formation, dismissing its threat as negligible compared to warlord fragmentation.
  excerpt: A small radical clique in Shanghai poses no danger to the Kuomintang or the unification of China. They lack armies, funds, and the support of the people.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period Kuomintang military reports and Chiang's correspondence, 1921
  publishedAt: 1921-08-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Mao Zedong, Delegate to the First National Congress
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Reflection on the CCP's founding while serving as a minor delegate, before his rise to prominence.
  excerpt: The organization is small, but it represents the awakening consciousness of the Chinese working class. History will prove the significance of what we begin today.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from Mao's later recollections of the First Congress, recorded post-1935
  publishedAt: 1921-07-25
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A Western diplomatic observer in Beijing
  voiceType: media
  context: Dispatch filed by unnamed foreign correspondent assessing the CCP's founding amid China's political fragmentation.
  excerpt: A communist faction has emerged in Shanghai, but it remains marginal amid warlord chaos. Whether it survives the year is doubtful.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 58
  attribution: Synthesized from British Foreign Office China reports, August 1921
  publishedAt: 1921-08-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Li Dazhao, Co-founder and Marxist intellectual
  voiceType: expert
  context: Ideological statement reflecting on the CCP's founding as a watershed moment for applying Marxism to Chinese conditions.
  excerpt: Marxism offers the only true path to Chinese liberation. Our Party now plants the flag of scientific socialism on Chinese soil.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 80
  attribution: Li Dazhao's writings and speeches, 1921
  publishedAt: 1921-07-30
  originalLanguage: en
