The rise of Communism in China is generally regarded as the outcome of the Bolsheveik Revolution of 1917 in Russia. During the initial years of the Revolution only the Chinese intellectuals felt its impact and took great academic interest in communism. In 1918 Prof. Li Ta-Chao founded the society for the Study of Marxism in the face of stiff opposition from Prof. Hu Shih, who continued to expound western democratic ideals.
Lenin also contributed to the popularization of communism in China by emphasizing the point that western financial capitalism was responsible for the sorry plight of the Chinese people. He created a feeling among the Chinese intellectuals that China could achieve modernization and independence through communist’s methods more quickly.
He even offered to abrogate all previous Russian treaties limiting Chinese sovereignty and to abolish Russian concessions and special privileges in China. All this naturally attracted the Chinese towards Communism. But it was only after the May 1919 Movement of the Students in Peking against the western Capitalist Enterprises that Communism gained popularity with the people of China.