Peng Pai
Encyclopedia
Peng Pai(October 22, 1896—August 30, 1929) born in Haifeng
County (now under Shanwei
Municipality), Guangdong
Province, China
, was a pioneerIn the Preface, the author called Peng Pai "the father of Chinese rural communism". of the Chinese agrarian movement and peasants' rights activist, a prominent revolutionary, and one of the leaders of Chinese Communist Party (CCP
) at its earlier stage . Peng Pai was one of the few Chinese intellectuals who were aware in early 1920s that peasantry and land issues caused the most critical problems for Chinese society. He believed that the success of any revolution in China must depend on the peasants as its base foundation.
Peng Pai’s sociopolitical views were partly influenced by his mother, Zhou Feng (周凤). Zhou Feng came from an impoverished family. At the age of eighteen, she was sold by her parents as a concubine to Peng Pai’s father Peng Xin (彭辛，another first-name Shou-yin 寿殷) . At that time, Peng Xin already had two sons by his first wife. Pai’s mother had three sons of her own: Peng Hanyuan (彭汉垣), Peng Pai, and Peng Shu (彭述) . Hanyuan and Shu later actively joined and assisted Pai in the peasant movement launched and led by Pai . All three brothers lost their lives for this cause. They are officially honored as “Revolutionary Martyrs” by the People’s Republic of China.
In memory of Peng Pai and Yang Yin, the CCP named its military academy the “Peng-Yang Military Academy of the Red Army”.
and Nuclear Power Engineering
in China, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE)
. He is nicknamed as one of the “Founding Fathers of China's Naval Nuclear Propulsion” for his prominent and key contributions to China's Nuclear Submarine project.
Peng Shige (彭实戈), a grandson of Peng Pai's elder brother Peng Hanyuan, is a famed Mathematician
in China and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
. He is noted for his contributions in stochastic analysis and founding of Mathematical Finance
in China. He was invited and gave a one-hour plenary lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians
at Hyderabad, India in August, 2010.
Haifeng
Haifeng County is a county of Shanwei prefecture, southeastern Guangdong province, Southern china.The people there speak a Teochew dialect related to Hoklo and Hakka....
County (now under Shanwei
Shanwei
Shanwei is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong province of Southern China, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and Heyuan to the north, Huizhou to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south...
Municipality), Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
Province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, was a pioneerIn the Preface, the author called Peng Pai "the father of Chinese rural communism". of the Chinese agrarian movement and peasants' rights activist, a prominent revolutionary, and one of the leaders of Chinese Communist Party (CCP
CCP
- Politics :* Canadian Conservative Party, majority government* Chinese Communist Party, the ruling political party in the People's Republic of China* Confederación Campesina del Perú, a peasant organization in Peru- Other :...
) at its earlier stage . Peng Pai was one of the few Chinese intellectuals who were aware in early 1920s that peasantry and land issues caused the most critical problems for Chinese society. He believed that the success of any revolution in China must depend on the peasants as its base foundation.
Background and Early life
Peng Pai was born on October 22, 1896, into the elite segment of society as a landlord offspring (dizhu chushen 地主出身) and an heir to great wealth . The Peng family was of cantonese origin , with about 30 members, owning lands cultivated by peasant tenants who, with their families, numbered more than 1,500; so each one of the Peng family controlled about 50 peasants .Peng Pai’s sociopolitical views were partly influenced by his mother, Zhou Feng (周凤). Zhou Feng came from an impoverished family. At the age of eighteen, she was sold by her parents as a concubine to Peng Pai’s father Peng Xin (彭辛，another first-name Shou-yin 寿殷) . At that time, Peng Xin already had two sons by his first wife. Pai’s mother had three sons of her own: Peng Hanyuan (彭汉垣), Peng Pai, and Peng Shu (彭述) . Hanyuan and Shu later actively joined and assisted Pai in the peasant movement launched and led by Pai . All three brothers lost their lives for this cause. They are officially honored as “Revolutionary Martyrs” by the People’s Republic of China.
- In 1916, as a student in the local Haifeng County High School (now named as “Peng Pai Memorial High School” since 1955) , Peng Pai became rebellious. He protested against the local gentry’s plan to placate a hostile official by building a statue of this local warlord .
Study in Japan (1917–1921)
- Peng Pai went to JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1917 and studied politico-economicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
after admitted into the Waseda UniversityWaseda University, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. At there he experienced several historical events of "Aftermath of World War I" that forever changed China and Sino-Japan relations. He witnessed the “Rice Riot” of 1918Rice Riots of 1918The ' were a series of popular disturbances that erupted throughout Japan from July to September 1918, which brought about the collapse of the Terauchi Masatake administration.-Causes:...
in Japan, and was influenced by impact of the 1917's Russian Revolution. In consequence, Peng Pai converted from a Christian to a Socialist. He believed that only socialism, and only complete social, political and economic revolution in the creation of a socialist system, could ensure China’s survival.
Education Commissioner of Haifeng (1921–1922)
- Peng Pai finished his study in Japan and returned to his hometown Haifeng in the summer of 1921. He was appointed as the Commissioner of the Education Bureau of Haifeng County in October. He created new schools, revised the curriculums, and recruited young teachers and principals with pro-socialist ideals . He organized a May DayMay DayMay Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
celebration parade to the county seat involving his students and “many boys and girls of wealthy families” in 1922 .
Launching and Leading Peasant Movement (1922–1926)
- In the summer of 1922, Peng Pai was dismissed from the Education Commissioner position because of his organizing the May Day parade . Soon after he left that position, Peng Pai launched and led the peasant revolution movement in Haifeng. He advocated socialism by editing a journal Red Heart Weekly (or Sincere Heart Weekly) and using a gramophone to play music and songs to gather the villagers and try to convince them to form peasant organizations . To politically awaken peasants and encourage them to fight for their own rights and to liberate themselves from social injustice, Peng Pai burned all the title deeds of his inherited lands in public, and announced to his peasants that the lands they were cultivating were henceforth belongs to them . After such unusual and sincere efforts, he succeeded in forming the first countywide Peasant Association in China, the Haifeng County Peasant Association. The association campaigned for lower rents, led anti-landlord boycotts, and organized welfare activities. He was elected the Association President on New Year’s Day New YearThe New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
in 1923. By that time, the Association claimed its membership of about 20,000 families covering 100,000 persons, or one-quarter of the population of the entire county .
- In 1924, Peng Pai became a member of KuomintangKuomintangThe Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT or Nationalist PartyKuomintangThe Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
) as individuals and served as the Secretary of Peasant Department of KMT Central Committee, as the KMT-CCP Alliance had been formed since 1923. The KMT was then led by Sun Yat-senSun Yat-senSun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
and carried out the policies of “alliance with Soviet Russia, cooperation with the Communists, and assistance to peasant and worker movements”. Based on Peng Pai’s idea and suggestion, the KMT Central Committee decided to set up Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute (PMTI)Guangzhou Peasant Movement InstituteThe Peasant Movement Training Institute at Guangzhou, also called PMTI was set up in a 14th century Confucian temple and now the site on Zhongshan Road commemorates Guangzhou’s revolutionary past.- History :...
to train young idealists who then went out to educate the masses in rural China. Peng Pai was the director of the 1st and 5th terms of the PMTI, while Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
was the director of the 6th term. Peng Pai finished his famous Report on the Haifeng Peasant Movement there and published it in The Chinese Peasants in 1926 .
A CCP Leader Establishing the 1st rural Soviet in China (1927–1928)
- On April 12, 1927, Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
and his right wing in the KMT lunched the historic incident of “Party purgeShanghai massacre of 1927The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...
” or “Shanghai massacre of April 12 CoupApril 12 IncidentThe April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...
”. Many prominent Communist and left wing members of the KMT along with tens thousands of the masses suspected pro-CCP were imprisoned or slaughtered in this large-scale bloodbath. Peng Pai was elected as a member of the CCP Central Committee on the 5th National Congress held in WuhanWuhanWuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
during April and May. He was lately appointed as a member of the CCP Front Committee led by Zhou EnlaiZhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
for organizing and directing the Nanchang UprisingNanchang UprisingThe Nanchang Uprising was the first major Kuomintang-Communist engagement of the Chinese Civil War, in order to counter the anti-communist purges by the Nationalist Party of China....
launched on August 1 of that year. He was elected as an alternate-member of CCP Politburo on the August 7th Emergency Meeting of the party. Peng Pai returned to Guangdong following the Nachang Uprising troops, and established the Hai-Lu-Feng Soviet Worker-Peasant-Soldier GovernmentHailufeng SovietThe Hailufeng Soviet was the first Chinese Soviet territory, established in November 1927, by Peng Pai with Ye Ting's remnant troops from the Nanchang Uprising...
and Territory Base after successful organizing and launching an armed uprising in Haifeng and LufengLufengLufeng City is a county-level city in the Shanwei municipal region, Guangdong, on the South China Sea coast, east of Hong Kong.Lufeng City is situated next to the county of Haifeng ; the area is sometimes conjointly referred to as Hailufeng.-Demography:It has a population of 1.7 million, the...
counties in mid November. He was the President of the Hai-Lu-Feng Soviet, the 1st rural Soviet in Chinese history. As a reply to the “White TerrorWhite TerrorWhite Terror is the violence carried out by reactionary groups as part of a counter-revolution. In particular, during the 20th century, in several countries the term White Terror was applied to acts of violence against real or suspected socialists and communists.-Historical origin: the French...
” launched on April 12 by Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT, the Hai-Lu-Feng Soviet engaged in a “Red Terror”.
- In the spring of 1928, less than four months after its inauguration, the Hai-Lu-Feng Soviet was crashed by KMT troops with overwhelming superiority. Peng Pai left Guangdong for ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
following CCP Central Committee’s directive.
- In July 1928, on the 6th National Congress of the CCP, Peng Pai was elected as a Politburo member and served as the Secretary of the Central Agrarian Movement Committee and a member of the Central Military Affairs Commission of the CCP.
Jailed and Martyred for his Beliefs (1929)
- In 1929, Peng Pai was betrayed by Bai Xin (白鑫), a meeting secretary and subordinate of Peng. This led to Peng Pai, Yang Yin (杨殷) and three other CCP leaders being arrested by the KMT government when attending a meeting in Shanghai on August 24. Peng Pai firmly refused to surrender or renounce his beliefs, even under torture, during his imprisonment. Zhou EnlaiZhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
, leading the Central Special Task Units (CSTU) of the CCP, organized an action attempting to rescue Peng Pai but this failed. On August 30, Peng Pai was secretly killed at Longhua, Shanghai by the KMT government on the orders of Chiang Kai-shek. On November 11, per Zhou Enlai’s order, Chen GengChen GengChen Geng was a Chinese communist military leader.-Early life:Born in Hunan province, Chen was second of 12 siblings. However, because his elder brother died early due to illness, Chen became the eldest son. His grandfather, Chen Yiqong was an officer in the imperial Chinese army and was rewarded...
(陈赓) and Gu ShunzhangGu ShunzhangGu Shunzhang , also known as Gu Fengming , born in Baoshan, Shanghai, was a Chinese Communist Party leader.In his earlier life worked at Nanyang Tobacco Factory, where he became an active participant of workers' movement, then of the Shanghai Trade Union and finally of the CCP...
(顾顺章) directed the CSTU with its Red Squad to kill Peng's betrayer, Bai Xin, outside of his hidden shelter in Shanghai.
In memory of Peng Pai and Yang Yin, the CCP named its military academy the “Peng-Yang Military Academy of the Red Army”.
Prominent Descendants
Peng Pai’s second son, Peng Shilu (彭士禄), is a famed scientist of Nuclear PropulsionNuclear propulsion
Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that fulfil the promise of the Atomic Age by using some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source.- Surface ships and submarines :...
and Nuclear Power Engineering
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
in China, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE)
Chinese Academy of Engineering
The Chinese Academy of Engineering is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China...
. He is nicknamed as one of the “Founding Fathers of China's Naval Nuclear Propulsion” for his prominent and key contributions to China's Nuclear Submarine project.
Peng Shige (彭实戈), a grandson of Peng Pai's elder brother Peng Hanyuan, is a famed Mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
in China and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences , formerly known as Academia Sinica, is the national academy for the natural sciences of the People's Republic of China. It is an institution of the State Council of China. It is headquartered in Beijing, with institutes all over the People's Republic of China...
. He is noted for his contributions in stochastic analysis and founding of Mathematical Finance
Mathematical finance
Mathematical finance is a field of applied mathematics, concerned with financial markets. The subject has a close relationship with the discipline of financial economics, which is concerned with much of the underlying theory. Generally, mathematical finance will derive and extend the mathematical...
in China. He was invited and gave a one-hour plenary lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians
International Congress of Mathematicians
The International Congress of Mathematicians is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union ....
at Hyderabad, India in August, 2010.