The Visit of Chinese Intellectuals to Moscow and Their Experience of the Russian Revolution

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet Russia—often referred to as “Red Russia”—became a focal point of global attention, including in China. In Chinese society, a wave of enthusiasm emerged to travel or study in Moscow, viewing the Russian Revolution as a model to follow. This paper examines and compares travelogues by three Chinese visitors to Soviet Russia: Jiang Kanghu, founder of the early Republican Chinese Socialist Party; Qu Qiubai, a young journalist; and Baopu, a student studying abroad. Their writings represent some of the earliest Chinese travel accounts of post-revolutionary Moscow.<br/> Jiang Kanghu’s New Travels in Russia (新俄游記) presents a largely objective and dispassionate perspective, avoiding idealization and offering a detailed critique of the newly established Soviet regime through the lens of an experienced social activist. In contrast, Qu Qiubai’s A Personal Account from the Red Capital (赤都心史) captures the passionate and optimistic spirit of the new government. He embraced the Soviet experience with the naive enthusiasm of a child from the East. Meanwhile, Baopu’s Travels in Red Russia (赤俄游記) reflects deep disillusionment and hostility toward revolutionary Russia, completely abandoning his earlier expectations as a student heading to study abroad.<br/> These three distinct perspectives highlight the stark contrasts in their experiences of the Russian Revolution. Their observations—ranging from the Third Comintern Congress, the five factions of the Chinese Communist Party, the conflicts between Bolsheviks and anarchists, to the harsh bureaucratic realities, economic policies like War Communism and the New Economic Policy (NEP), and the suffering of the Russian people—reveal the vast gap between revolutionary ideals and reality. Their experiences in Moscow had a significant influence on the early development of the socialist movement in China.