Bo Gu, the brilliance and tragedy of 39 years

Author: Li Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-10
Features: Since his death in 1946, more than half a century has passed, yet Bo Gu's image has remained obscure, even distorted. The scholar's views hidden behind hesitant words, and those who spoke insincerely or failed to express themselves honestly are numerous. He lost his father at the age of 9, went to Moscow for studies at 19, was appointed as the general leader of the Communist Party of China at 24, relinquished power at 28, and died in a fall at 39. One of the book's compilers, Mr. Li Xin, worked with Bo Gu at Yan'an's Liberation Daily. The "lost writings of Bo Gu" included in the book are mostly reproductions from publications of the Central Soviet Region in the 1930s, for reference by readers.
Bo Gu (1907–1946), originally named Qin Bangxian, served as the general leader of the Communist Party of China at 24. After the Zunyi Conference, he became a standing member of the Central Political Committee and concurrently served as the acting and later director of the General Political Department of the Central Military Commission. In 1941, he founded the Liberation Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, in Yan'an and served as its editor-in-chief, while also concurrently holding the positions of director of Xinhua News Agency and director of the Central Publishing Bureau. On April 8, 1946, he attended the National Consultative Assembly of China as a Communist Party representative and died in a plane crash while returning to Yan'an from Chongqing at the age of 39, leaving everyone deeply saddened. Those who worked with him never forgot his erudition, gentle demeanor, and high moral standing. His character not only embodied the personality and fate of a Jiangnan scholar but also reflected the distressing sentiments of modern Chinese revolutionary intellectuals, as well as the noble integrity of a Communist Party member.