Party historian has story untold

Zhang Renya had a finely tuned sense of history and was keen to ensure the ledgers of time were as complete as possible, yet his own story remains surprisingly incomplete.

Among the biggest questions are when, where and how did he die, and where were his remains laid to rest?

With the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in three years, finding the answers have become more pressing, as Zhang, one of the Party's first members, was pivotal in making sure the historical record of that momentous event remained intact.

Zhang was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, in 1898, but in his early teens moved to Shanghai to find work, eventually serving as a clerk in a gold store for nine years. It was during this period he joined the Party, its first member from Ningbo, and he began performing clandestine tasks.

In 1927, the ruling Kuomintang began a crackdown on the CPC, opening one of the darkest chapters in the Party's history. Zhang, aware of the value of the Party's founding documents and fearing they would fall into enemy hands, spirited them to safety in Ningbo.

When he returned to Shanghai, his father built a memorial for him and buried the documents inside, telling neighbors he had received no news of his son and that he must have died.

In fact, his family never heard from him again. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the family dug up the documents and handed them over to the government.

Among this historical treasure trove were the first CPC Constitution, published after the Party's second National Congress in 1922, as well as the Chinese translation of the Communist Manifesto published in 1920.

Both documents are now classified as Grade A national cultural relics and are displayed in a small museum in Shanghai's Xingye Road, the scene of the first CPC National Congress.

The house in Ningbo's Beilun district where Zhang spent his early life was protected in 2011, and last year the city government established the Zhang Renya Academy. The city will mark the 120th anniversary of his birth on May 18.

"The academy is becoming a growing attraction, and we want to upgrade the amenities around it," said Hu Bin, Beilun's Party secretary. Between December and February, nearly 3,000 people visited the academy, Hu said.

The government also plans to renovate a memorial to Zhang where his father secreted the precious hoard.

The local government has commissioned Zhang's granddaughter, Jiang Bibo, a sculptor, to do a life-size figure of her grandfather that will act as a guide to where Zhang lies.

The government has also been working with Zhang's family to locate where Zhang died and to find his remains.