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His Excellency
Trường Chinh
TruongChinh1955.jpg
Chinh in 1955
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
In office
14 July 1986 – 18 December 1986
Preceded by Lê Duẩn
Succeeded by Nguyễn Văn Linh
In office
9 November 1940 – 5 October 1956
Preceded by Nguyễn Văn Cừ
Succeeded by Ho Chi Minh
Secretary of the Central Military–Party Committee of the Communist Party
In office
14 July 1986 – 18 December 1986
Preceded by Văn Tiến Dũng
Succeeded by Nguyễn Văn Linh
3rd Chairman of the Council of State of Vietnam
In office
4 July 1981 – 18 June 1987
Preceded by Tôn Đức Thắng
Succeeded by Võ Chí Công
Chairman of the National Assembly
In office
15 July 1960 – 4 July 1981
Preceded by Tôn Đức Thắng
Succeeded by Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
Member of the Politburo
In office
1951–1986
Personal details
Born (1907-02-09)9 February 1907
Xuân Trường District, Nam Định Province, Indochina
Died 30 September 1988(1988-09-30) (aged 81)
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Nationality Vietnamese
Political party Flag of the Communist Party of Vietnam.svg Communist Party of Vietnam (1930–1987)

Trường Chinh (born Đặng Xuân Khu; February 9, 1907 – September 30, 1988) was an important political leader and thinker in Vietnam. He played a big part in Vietnam's fight against French rule. He was like the main planner for the Communist Party of Vietnam, guiding their actions against the French.

After Vietnam declared independence in 1945, Trường Chinh helped shape the new country, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He also helped create its socialist system. From 1941 to 1956, he was the General Secretary of the Communist Party, a very powerful position.

Later, after a land reform program faced problems in 1957, he stepped down from that role. However, he remained an important thinker in the Party. He even served as head of state of Vietnam from 1981 to 1987. After another leader, Lê Duẩn, passed away in 1986, Trường Chinh briefly became the top party leader again. His last major contribution was helping to start the Đổi Mới (Renovation) reforms, which changed Vietnam's economy.

Early Life and Education

Trường Chinh was born as Đặng Xuân Khu. He later changed his name to Trường Chinh, which means "Long March." This new name honored the famous 6,000-mile journey of the Chinese Communist Army led by Mao Zedong. He was born on February 9, 1907, in Hành Thiện village, Nam Định Province.

He was the oldest of five children in an important family. His family followed Confucianism, a traditional Chinese philosophy. His father and grandfather were scholars who wrote many books. His father, Đặng Xuân Viện, even joined a movement against French rule in 1907. This family background greatly influenced Trường Chinh to join the anti-colonial movement.

Becoming a Student Leader

In 1923, Trường Chinh started attending Thành Chung secondary school. This was one of the first schools in Vietnam to teach using the Western system. There, he learned about ideas from French thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the French Revolution of 1789. He also studied the Chinese revolution of 1911.

Living with a poor factory worker family in Nam Định inspired him. He started a student movement with his friends. They published newspapers to share their ideas about fighting French rule.

In 1925, a respected Vietnamese nationalist, Phan Bội Châu, was captured. Trường Chinh joined protests, printing leaflets to demand his release. This was his first direct involvement in politics. A year later, in 1926, the death of another nationalist, Phan Chu Trinh, led to huge protests. Trường Chinh helped organize a memorial, which turned into a large demonstration. More than ten thousand people, including students, farmers, and workers, joined.

Because of his actions, French police watched him closely. He left school in Nam Định but continued to study on his own. He then moved to Hanoi to study at a trade college. In Hanoi, he kept working on political movements and writing for newspapers.

Joining the Communist Party

In Hanoi, Trường Chinh decided his path. In 1928, he joined a movement to save the nation. He read many books by socialist thinkers like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. In 1929, he helped create the Communist Party of Indochina.

He worked on the Party's newspapers, like Búa Liềm, to teach people about socialism. These papers also criticized the French government and encouraged local people to support the Party. In 1930, he became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He was put in charge of propaganda for the Party's Central Committee.

On November 14, 1930, he was arrested. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison but was released in 1936. Even while imprisoned in Hỏa Lò Prison and Sơn La prison, he remained active. He led communist activities inside the prisons, writing poems, articles, and books about socialism. Prisons became like "revolutionary schools" for many intellectuals. After his release, he continued his political work through his writings. He used different pen names like Trường Chinh and Sông Hồng. He was also a key strategist for the Indochinese Communist Party.

Political Roles and Ideas

Trường Chinh's ideas were based on Marxism and Leninism. He was also influenced by Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Communist Party called Trường Chinh "Ho Chi Minh's excellent student."

Trường Chinh was a central figure in building the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP). He helped the Party become strong during the formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). In the 1940s, he was already well-known among Party members.

First Secretary of the Communist Party

In 1941, Trường Chinh was chosen as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Indochina. This was a difficult time, as the French were trying to stop anti-French movements. He became the Party's second-highest leader, after Hồ Chí Minh.

He led the Party's National Conference in northern Tuyên Quang Province. This meeting planned an uprising to take power from the French and Japanese. In the years that followed, the Party fought a war for independence against French colonists.

The August Revolution of 1945

Trường Chinh played a crucial role in the August Revolution (Cách mạng tháng 8) in 1945. He helped develop military strategies that allowed Vietnam to defeat Japanese forces during World War II. He was highly respected by communist supporters.

The August Revolution was a major event that led to Vietnam's declaration of independence in September 1945. On that day, Trường Chinh stood with Hồ Chí Minh at Ba Đình Square in Hanoi as one of the Communist Party leaders.

Land Reform Campaign

One challenging period in Trường Chinh's political life was the Land Reform campaign in North Vietnam. This program took place between 1953 and 1956. As Secretary of the Workers Party of Vietnam, Trường Chinh strongly supported this reform. He wanted to change Vietnam into a new society, free from old feudal systems and colonial rule.

He had developed his ideas for land reform with Võ Nguyên Giáp as early as 1938. They wrote a book called The Peasant Questions, which looked at social problems and farmers' lives in Vietnam. The Party praised this work as important for understanding agriculture and peasants.

The land reform aimed to give land to farmers, who made up most of the country's population. It also sought to manage the landlord class. Trường Chinh believed that land reform was needed to gain support from the peasants and help liberate Vietnam.

The Party accepted advice from China for this reform, as China's leader, Mao Zedong, had similar ideas. Trường Chinh admired Mao's strategies. On December 4, 1953, the Land Reform Act was passed. This law aimed to end the feudal system of landlords.

However, the land reform in Vietnam faced many problems. It led to famine and widespread hunger, causing protests. Many people were wrongly imprisoned or executed. The program was seen as a failure for the Communist Party. Trường Chinh took responsibility and resigned from his post as General Secretary.

Despite the difficulties, the land reform did help some rural peasants own land. It also showed the strong support of over 200,000 peasants who helped the Viet Minh fight the French.

After the land reform's issues, Hồ Chí Minh apologized for the Party's mistakes and held Trường Chinh responsible. This event changed the power balance within the Party. Trường Chinh resigned, and Lê Duẩn became a more powerful leader. However, Trường Chinh remained a member of the Politburo and continued to be an important thinker for the Party.

Cultural Ideas and Strategies

After Vietnam's independence in 1945, Trường Chinh played a key role in shaping the new country's culture. He believed that culture was essential for national liberation and building a new nation. He is seen as the architect of Vietnam's new culture.

His ideas greatly influenced Vietnamese society through works like "Theses on Vietnam Culture" (1943) and "The Marxism and Vietnamese Culture" (1948). In "Theses on Vietnam Culture," he argued that Vietnam needed a new culture to break free from the influences of Chinese feudalism, French colonialism, and Japanese fascists. This new culture would focus on the people and be democratic.

In "The Marxism and Vietnamese Culture," he suggested using a cultural revolution to fight the French. He believed that culture was as important as military and economic efforts. These ideas brought big changes to Vietnamese society after the August Revolution.

Trường Chinh helped create the Cultural Association for National Salvation. This group brought together artists to spread the Party's ideas and gain public support. However, during this time of social change, some villagers who had connections with landlord families became afraid of the communists. This pressure sometimes led to the breakdown of local communities.

The new cultural ideas aimed to make everyone equal and remove symbols of the old feudal system. However, these changes were not always easy. In some areas, people still respected those who had been condemned as feudal. The cultural impact of the land reform led to social unrest in many communities. Party members were sent to communities to remove what they saw as old traditions and beliefs, sometimes violently.

Landlords were accused of exploiting peasants, even if they supported the Communist Party. Some communist supporters, known as Nhân văn giai phẩm, criticized Trường Chinh's radical cultural policies. Many in this group were jailed or forced to do hard labor.

Đổi Mới (Renovation) Reforms

Vietnam became a unified country in 1975. Trường Chinh was chosen as president in 1981. The economic reforms known as Đổi Mới are often credited to Nguyễn Văn Linh, who became General Secretary after Trường Chinh in 1986. However, some believe Trường Chinh started paving the way for these reforms earlier, around 1968.

In the 1980s, Vietnam faced economic problems, including high inflation and social issues. Trường Chinh set up research teams to study these problems in local communities. He also looked at the successes and failures of the old economic system.

After visiting the countryside in 1983, Trường Chinh became open to reforms. He used the research findings to propose new policies at the Sixth National Congress in 1986. He suggested that economic changes alone were not enough. He believed political and social policies also needed reform. He emphasized the need to increase production, especially in agriculture, which he saw as the foundation of Vietnamese society.

The 1986 Đổi Mới reforms were also influenced by global changes, like the weakening of the socialist bloc. Trường Chinh was seen as a new reformer. Another communist leader, Võ Văn Kiệt, praised Trường Chinh for understanding socialism and trying to apply its principles to society.

However, Trường Chinh was replaced by Nguyễn Văn Linh at the Sixth National Congress in December 1986. This leadership change marked the official beginning of the Đổi Mới (Renovation) period.

Later Years and Passing

Trường Chinh dedicated his life to political movements. Even after the land reform faced problems, he remained an important thinker for the Party. He served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 1941 to 1956, and again briefly in 1986. He was also a member of the Politburo from 1951 to 1986.

He was the Chairman of the National Assembly from 1960 to 1981. After President Ho Chi Minh passed away in 1969, Trường Chinh continued to work with other leaders like Lê Duẩn and Phạm Văn Đồng. After Lê Duẩn's death in 1986, Trường Chinh became the highest-ranking leader as President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

He ended his career by starting the successful economic renovation in 1986. He resigned as president in 1987 due to health issues but continued to advise the Communist Party. Trường Chinh passed away on September 30, 1988, at the age of 81. His funeral was held at Ba Đình Hall, and he was buried at Mai Dich Cemetery.

Honors and Awards

Works and Publications

  • 1938: The Peasant Question (Vấn đề dân cày) (Co-author with Võ Nguyên Giáp)
  • 1943: Theses on Vietnam Culture (Đề cương văn hóa Việt Nam)
  • 1946: The August Revolution (Cách mạng Tháng Tám)
  • 1947: The Resistance Will Win (Kháng chiến nhất định thắng lợi)
  • 1948: The Marxism and Vietnamese Culture (Chủ nghĩa Mác và vấn đề văn hóa Việt Nam)
  • 1969: Forward Along The Path Charted By K. Marx

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Trường Chinh para niños

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