Eighth National Congress of the CPC
The CPC's Eighth National Congress, held in Beijing from 15 to 27 September 1956, was its first since taking power nationwide. It held that socialist transformation had won a decisive victory and that the principal domestic contradiction was now between the need for rapid economic and cultural development and the inability to meet it; the new Party constitution took Marxism-Leninism as its guide, dropping the 1945 reference to "Mao Zedong Thought", and stressed collective leadership against the cult of the individual. The First Plenum elected Mao Chairman and Deng Xiaoping General Secretary. The congress's view of the principal contradiction was reversed after 1957.
Preparations
On 31 March 1955 Mao Zedong announced at the CPC National Conference that the Eighth National Congress would be held in the second half of 1956; in October the enlarged Sixth Plenum of the Seventh Central Committee adopted a resolution convening it. On 25 April 1956 Mao delivered "On the Ten Major Relationships" to an enlarged Politburo meeting, and according to a CPC News article the drafting of the congress's political report was guided by its spirit. The Seventh Plenum, opening on 22 August, discussed the congress documents and the new leadership; Mao proposed four vice-chairmen and a Secretariat headed by a General Secretary, saying that "for the security of the state and the Party, it is probably better to have a few more people".
The Congress
The Eighth National Congress met in the CPPCC auditorium in Beijing from 15 to 27 September 1956 — the first national congress since the CPC took power nationwide. It was attended by 1,026 full and 107 alternate delegates representing 10.73 million Party members, with representatives of communist and workers' parties from 59 countries and leaders of the democratic parties also present. Mao gave the opening speech and Liu Shaoqi delivered the political report of the Seventh Central Committee; on 16 September Deng Xiaoping reported on the revision of the Party constitution and Zhou Enlai on proposals for the Second Five-Year Plan. Sixty-eight delegates spoke at the plenary and 45 submitted written speeches. Candidates for the Central Committee were first freely nominated by delegates; 97 full and 73 alternate members were eventually elected.
Main Content
The Resolution on the Political Report held that socialist transformation had won a decisive victory, that "the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie has basically been resolved", and that the principal domestic contradiction was now "between the people's demand for building an advanced industrial country and the reality of a backward agricultural country" — "in essence, the contradiction between the advanced socialist system and the backward productive forces". It set the goal of building a basically complete industrial system within three five-year plans or a little longer, warned against both conservatism and "adventurism", and called for collective leadership and inner-Party democracy, allowing "a minority to reserve its opinions" within the bounds of discipline.
The new Party constitution adopted on 26 September stated that "the Communist Party of China takes Marxism-Leninism as its guide to action", dropping the 1945 constitution's description of "Mao Zedong Thought" as "the guide to all its work", and wrote in the principle of collective leadership and a provision allowing for an Honorary Chairman of the Central Committee. In his report on the constitution Deng Xiaoping said the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party had shown "what grave consequences can follow from the deification of an individual", and that the cult of the individual "cannot but be reflected to some extent in our Party's life".
The New Leadership
On 28 September the First Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee elected Mao Zedong Chairman, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Chen Yun Vice-Chairmen and Deng Xiaoping General Secretary; these six formed the Standing Committee of the Politburo. The Secretariat comprised seven members including Deng, Peng Zhen and Wang Jiaxiang, and Dong Biwu became secretary of the Central Control Commission.
Aftermath and Assessments
According to the CPC's 1981 historical resolution, after the 1957 Anti-Rightist Campaign Mao put forward the view that the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie remained the principal contradiction in Chinese society, departing from the Eighth Congress's judgement. The report to the Ninth Congress in 1969 said that soon after the Eighth Congress Mao had developed the theory of "continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat", and attacked Liu Shaoqi, then head of state, for spreading the "theory of the dying out of class struggle". The 1981 resolution, by contrast, says the Eighth Congress "was very successful" and that "its line was correct and pointed the way for socialist construction and Party building in the new period".
Narrative Comparison
| Source | Narrative |
|---|---|
| 1981 historical resolution; CPC News (2022) | Post-1978 official accounts praise the congress highly. The 1981 historical resolution says it "was very successful", that its judgement on the principal contradiction and main task was correct, and that "its line was correct and pointed the way for socialist construction and Party building in the new period"; it also notes that after the 1957 Anti-Rightist Campaign Mao put forward the view that the proletariat–bourgeoisie contradiction remained the principal one, and that at the 1962 Tenth Plenum he made class struggle "broadened and absolute". A 2022 CPC News article calls the congress "a major exploration of the road of socialist construction", whose new policies and ideas were "full of creative spirit". |
| Lin Biao, report to the Ninth National Congress (1969) | The official account during the Cultural Revolution was entirely different. The 1969 report to the Ninth Congress stressed that soon after the Eighth Congress Mao, in "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People" (1957), "put forward the great theory of continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat"; it denounced Liu Shaoqi, author of the Eighth Congress political report, as a "renegade, traitor and scab" who had spread "reactionary fallacies" such as the "theory of the dying out of class struggle" and the "theory of inner-Party peace". |
| Jacques Guillermaz, "The Eighth Party Congress and China in 1956" (chapter abstract) | Guillermaz writes that the congress "gave a good idea of the structure, composition, and internal trends of the Party, which had risen from opposition to power", with a general line driven by the economy — completing socialist transformation step by step and industrialising the country. He notes that the defence budget was cut and "national defense was scarcely mentioned in the texts of the Eighth Congress". |
Key Milestones
- Eighth Congress announced
Mao announces at the National Party Conference that the Eighth Congress will be held in the second half of 1956.
- "On the Ten Major Relationships"
Mao delivers "On the Ten Major Relationships", which guides the drafting of the political report.
- Congress opens
The Eighth Congress opens in Beijing; Mao gives the opening speech and Liu Shaoqi the political report.
- Deng reports on the Party constitution
Deng Xiaoping reports on revising the Party constitution, citing the 20th CPSU Congress against the cult of the individual.
- New Party constitution adopted
The congress adopts a new constitution taking Marxism-Leninism as its guide to action.
- Resolution adopted; congress closes
The congress adopts its resolution on the political report, with a new judgement on the principal contradiction, and closes.
- First Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee
Mao is elected Chairman, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Chen Yun Vice-Chairmen, and Deng Xiaoping General Secretary.
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