Born on October 9, 1879, in Anqing City, Anhui Province, Chen Duxiu was a pioneering intellectual, revolutionary, and the primary founder of the Communist Party of China. He championed modernization and Western democratic and scientific ideas, launching the influential journal *New Youth*, which galvanized Chinese youth and fueled the landmark May Fourth Movement. This movement critically paved the theoretical groundwork for Marxism in China. However, after the party’s severe 1927 defeat, Chen was held responsible and eventually expelled, yet his initial leadership remains vital to China’s communist history.
Timeline
Category
Element
Year
Chen Duxiu
1879
Birth of Chen Duxiu (Period: October 9, 1879 (Some sources state October 8), Location: Anqing City, Anhui Province, China)
1890
Marriage (Chen Duxiu, Gao Xiaolan, Age: 10 years old, Period: Presumed late 1890s, but exact year varies by source, Location: Details Unknown)
1894
First Sino-Japanese War (Age: 14 years old, Period: 1894–1895, Location: China, Korean Peninsula, and Yellow Sea region)
1900
Marriage (Chen Duxiu, Gao Junman, Age: 20 years old, Period: Early 1900s, Location: China)
1911
Xinhai Revolution (Age: 31 years old, Period: 1911–1912, Location: Various regions in China, especially Wuchang and Nanjing)
1913
Second Revolution (Age: 33 years old, Period: 1913, Location: China, mainly Jiangxi and Nanjing)
1914
World War I (Age: 34 years old, Period: 1914–1918, Location: Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions (Gallipoli, Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Sinai, Palestine, Arabia, etc.))
1915
Launch of Youth Magazine (later New Youth, Age: 35 years old, Period: September 1915, Location: Shanghai, China)
1917
Appointment as Dean of the School of Letters at Peking University (Chen Duxiu, Age: 37 years old, Period: 1917, Location: Beijing, China)
1919
Approach to Marxism and Formation of Communist Groups (Age: 39 years old, Period: 1919–1920, Location: Beijing and Shanghai, China)
May Fourth Movement (Age: 39 years old, Period: May 4, 1919 onwards, Location: Nationwide in China, centered in Beijing)
Arrest after the May Fourth Movement (Age: 39 years old, Period: June 1919, Location: Beijing, China)
1920
Marriage (Chen Duxiu, Pan Lanzhen, Age: 40 years old, Period: Presumed late 1920s, Location: Presumed to be Shanghai, China)
1921
Founding of the Chinese Communist Party (Age: 41 years old, Period: July 1921, Location: Shanghai, and Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China)
1923
First United Front (Age: 43 years old, Period: 1923–1927, Location: Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Wuhan, China)
1927
Revolutionary struggles during the Chinese Civil War and the First Chinese Civil War (Age: 47 years old, Period: 1927 onwards, Location: Various regions in China, especially Shanghai and Wuhan)
Shanghai Massacre (April 12 Incident, Age: 47 years old, Period: April 12, 1927, Location: Shanghai, China)
1929
Expulsion of Chen Duxiu from the Chinese Communist Party (Age: 49 years old, Period: 1929, Location: China)
1932
Arrest and Imprisonment of Chen Duxiu (Age: 52 years old, Period: 1932–1937, Location: Shanghai, China, etc.)
1937
Late Thought Research and Political Isolation (Age: 57 years old, Period: 1937–1942, Location: Jiangjin, Sichuan Province, China)
1942
Death of Chen Duxiu (Age: 62 years old, Period: May 27, 1942)
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