Revolution in China and in Europe

An article by Marx elaborating on the nature and significance of the Chinese Revolution (i.e., the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising). Written on May 20, 1853. The original text was published in the form of an editorial in the New-York Daily Tribune, No. 3794, June 14, 1853. In 1938, the Chinese translation was included in Marx and Engels on China, published by Wuhan China Publishing House, and translated by Fang Naiyi, and in the same year, it was included in the Collection of Reviews on the Chinese Question, compiled by Yang Kezhai and published by Shanghai Zhulin Bookstore.

In the 1840s and 1850s, Europe entered a period of development after the 1848 Revolutions. Meanwhile, China, which was transforming from a feudal society to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, saw the outbreak of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising, the largest and most far-reaching uprising in history. Marx and Engels paid close attention to the struggle of the oppressed nations in the East. They published 10 comments on China in the New-York Daily Tribune, exposing the essence of the opium trade of the Western powers with China, and evaluating the social changes in China as well as the impact of the Chinese revolution on the European revolutions.

Revolution in China and in Europe objectively and historically analysed the characteristics of Chinese society, exposed the aggressive nature and bloody atrocities of the capitalist powers’ war against China, deeply sympathized with and highly praised the struggle of the Chinese people against the invasion of the Great Powers, and scientifically evaluated the Chinese peasants’ uprising and its important impact on the European revolution, and predicted an industrial crisis as well as apolitical upheaval in Europe in the near future. Its main contents and views are: First, it exposed the scourge of British opium importation to China and condemned the imperialist aggression against China. Marx pointed out that in order to change its trade deficit with China, Britain introduced opium into China, which not only made Britain quickly become a trade surplus country with China, plundered a large amount of silver, but also poisoned the Chinese people and undermined the rule of the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, the importation of opium also broke China’s isolation from the outside world and promoted the disintegration of Old China. Second, it analyzed the causes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising and correctly evaluated the historical significance of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolutionary Movement. Adhering to the perspective of the unity of internal and external contradictions, Marx made a scientific analysis and judgment of the Chinese peasants’ uprising. He pointed out that the oppression of feudal despotism and the invasion of European powers were the fundamental causes of the Chinese peasants’ uprising. He held that “the occasion of this outbreak has unquestionably been afforded by the English cannon”, and pointed out that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, which lasted for more than a decade, eventually developed into a thrilling revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, was anti-aggressive and just in nature and of historical significance. Third, it elaborated the reciprocal relationship between the Chinese and European revolutions and predicted that the Chinese revolution would certainly have a significant impact on Europe. Marx believed that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement would not only push forward the disintegration of feudal society in China, but also trigger a general crisis in Europe and political revolutions in various countries. Marx likened the Chinese revolution to a “spark” and the crisis-ridden Europe to an “overloaded mine of the present industrial system”, and predicted that the Chinese revolution would throw the “spark” into the “mine”, which would inevitably ignite the long-prepared general crisis in Europe, and then trigger political revolutions throughout the European continent.

Revolution in China and in Europe analyzed the causes of the Chinese peasant movement and its historical merits, revealed the connection between the Chinese revolution and the European revolution, drew the attention of the international communist movement to the liberation struggle of the oppressed nations, and has an important enlightening significance for the further development of the proletarian movement of all countries.