Thirteen major figures in the history of the world's largest political organization

In 1921, 13 delegates from the CPC's 50 members around China participated in the last meeting of the Party's first national congress, which took place on a boat on Nanhu Lake, Zhejiang province. The delegates, who came from a wide range of backgrounds, paved the way for the generations of Party members who would follow them.

Bao Huiseng:Born in Hubei province in 1894, Bao was the son of a landlord. Before he joined the CPC, he worked as an investigative journalist in Hubei. He joined Kuomintang in 1930 and died in Beijing in 1979.

Chen Gongbo:Born in Guangdong province in 1892, Chen renounced Marxism shortly after the first national congress. In 1923, he left the CPC and moved overseas to study. He joined the Kuomintang in 1926 and then collaborated with the Japanese army during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). In 1946, Chen was convicted of treason and executed.

Chen Tanqiu:Chen was born in 1896 in Hubei province, the son of a respected local teacher. As one of the founders the CPC, he organized students to support a strike by rail workers in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei. He was murdered by a warlord in 1943.

Deng Enming:A member of the Shui ethnic group, Deng was born into a poor farming family in Guizhou province. He organized many strikes in Shandong during the early years of the CPC, but was arrested and executed in 1931 at age 30.

Dong Biwu:Born in Hubei province in 1886, Dong studied in Japan. He devoted his life to the CPC and was vicepresident of the People's Republic of China. He died at age 90.

He Shuheng:Born in Hunan in 1876, He gave up a career as a teacher and joined the CPC. In 1935, he was killed in battle in Jiangxi province at age 59.

Li Da:Li was born into a farming family in Hunan province in 1890. At age 23, his good academic record resulted in his being offered the opportunity to study science in Japan. Instead, he decided to stay in China and learn about Marxism, which he believed could save the country from wars and poverty.

Li Hanjun:As the son of an intellectual in Hubei province, Li developed an ambition to rejuvenate China when he was a teenager. One of the founding members of the CPC, he was murdered by a warlord in 1927 at age 37.

Liu Renjing:Born in Hubei province in 1902, Liu was the youngest participant at the first CPC national congress. He was killed in a car accident in 1987.

Mao Zedong:Born in 1893 to a farming family in Hunan province, Mao was one of the founding fathers of the People's Republic of China. Time magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Wang Jinmei:Born in Shandong pro-vince in 1898, Wang was a student when he became a founding member of the CPC. He died from a lung-related illness in 1925 at age 27.

Zhang Guotao:Zhang was born in Jiangxi province in 1897. Although he was a founder member of the CPC, he defected to the Kuomintang in 1938. He died in Canada in 1979 at the age of 82.

Zhou Fohai:Born in Hunan province in 1897. After studying in Japan, Zhou joined the CPC in 1921, but left to join the Kuomintang in 1924. After the war, he was imprisoned for collaborating with the Japanese. He died in prison in 1948 at age 51.