Jian Bozan

Jian Bozan was a prominent Marxist historian.

Biography

Early years and education

According to reports, Jian was a sinicized born in Hubei province. However, other reports identify him as a native Uyghur of , in Hunan province. In 1916, he entered school in Beijing, where he studied and conducted research concerning China's economic history. Believing in the ideal of industry as China's savior, he travelled to the University of California in 1924 to research economics. During this time, he closely read Anti-Dühring, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, The Communist Manifesto, and other famous Marxist works. He returned to China in 1926. He published his first Marxist interpretation of Chinese history during the 1930s, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1937. As a close ally of the Party, Jian became professor of history at Peking University after the party's rise to power in 1949, and later served as dean of the faculty of history and vice-president of the university. These criticisms drove Jian to commit suicide. He, along with his wife, took an overdose of sleeping pills and died on December 18th, 1968.

Abridged list of publications

* ''Treatise on Chinese History''
* ''Discussions of Historical Questions''
* ''Anthology of Historical Works by Jian Bozan''
* ''Historical Data and the Study of History''
* ''Recent Capitalist Economy of the World''
* ''A Course in the Philosophy of History''
* ''An Outline of Chinese History''
* ''History of the Qin and Han Dynasties''
* ''Timeline of Chinese and Foreign History''
* ''General Reference on Chinese History''