On the CPC’s Public Opinion Mobilization during the Great Revolution through Slogans and Posters—A Case Study of *The Workers’ Road*

Slogans and posters were an important means of propaganda and mobilization for the Communist Party of China. During the Great Revolution, the CPC made full use of slogans and posters to advance its propaganda and mobilization work. *The Workers’ Road* was first published in Guangzhou on June 24, 1925. Its predecessor was the weekly *The Workers’ Road*; after the outbreak of the Canton-Hong Kong Strike, it was converted into a daily newspaper, with Deng Zhongxia serving as editor-in-chief. As the first workers’ daily newspaper under the leadership of the CPC, it made extensive use of slogans and posters to actively conduct public opinion mobilization among the working class. These slogans and posters not only effectively mobilized and guided the worker masses to participate in the revolutionary struggle but also accumulated experience for the CPC’s propaganda work during the revolutionary period.

标语口号是中国共产党重要的宣传方式和动员手段。大革命时期，中国共产党充分利用标语口号推进宣传动员工作。《工人之路》于1925年6月24日在广州创刊，该报前身为《工人之路》周刊，省港大罢工爆发后改为日报，由邓中夏任主编。作为中国共产党领导下的第一份工人日报，该报广泛使用标语口号，积极面向工人群体进行舆论动员。这些标语口号不仅有效动员和指导工人群众参与革命斗争，也为中国共产党做好革命时期的宣传工作积累了经验。

Characteristics of the Slogans and Posters in *The Workers’ Road*

《工人之路》中标语口号的特点

*The Workers’ Road* took “being the mouthpiece of the working class” as its journalistic mission, making full use of positions such as the margins of pages, the ends of articles, and columns in supplements to publish a large number of slogans and posters, forming distinctive features in both form and content.

《工人之路》以“做工人阶级的喉舌”为办报宗旨，充分利用版面边缘、文章结尾及副刊专栏等位置，刊载大量标语口号，在形式与内容上形成鲜明特色。

The use of large-character slogans was a major innovation in the layout design of *The Workers’ Road*. Starting from issue No. 20, published on July 14, 1925, *The Workers’ Road* began to publish anti-imperialist and patriotic slogans on the left and right margins of the fourth page. For example, issue No. 20 printed slogans such as “Avenge our murdered compatriots; do not rest until the goal is achieved” and “Abolish all unequal treaties; overthrow all imperialism.” Starting from issue No. 21, the font size of the slogans on the left and right margins was enlarged and bolded to make them more eye-catching. On important commemorative days, *The Workers’ Road* would also publish large-character slogans at the center of the page, with blank space left around them and decorative line borders. For example, issue No. 29 set up a column titled “Monthly Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Shaji Massacre,”[1]1 The Shaji Massacre (沙基惨案) occurred on June 23, 1925, when British and French troops opened fire on a demonstration in Guangzhou supporting the Canton-Hong Kong Strike, killing over 50 Chinese. publishing slogans in a prominent position in the middle of the second page: “Avenge the martyrs! Persist in the strike to the end! Down with imperialism! Long live the national liberation of China!” The small-character slogans of *The Workers’ Road* were mainly used at the ends of articles, often starting on a new line with an exclamation mark at the end, highlighting the editor’s stance and orientation. For instance, at the end of the article “The Demands of the Canton-Hong Kong Strikers to the National Government” in issue No. 8, six slogans were published, including “Long live the national liberation of China!” and “Down with the barbaric imperialists of Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Portugal!”

大字号标语的使用是《工人之路》版面设计的一大创新。从1925年7月14日出版的第20期起，《工人之路》开始在第四版左右两侧边缘处刊登反帝爱国标语口号，如第20期就印有“为被杀同胞复仇 不达目的则不休”“取消一切不平等条约 打倒一切帝国主义”等。从第21期开始，对左右两侧的标语字号进行放大及加粗处理，使其更加醒目。每逢重要纪念日，《工人之路》还会在版面中心处刊登大字号标语口号，四周留白，并使用线条围框装饰。例如在第29期开设“沙基死难烈士周月纪念”专栏，在二版中间醒目位置刊登标语口号：“为死难烈士复仇！坚持罢工到底！打倒帝国主义！民族解放万岁！”《工人之路》的小字号标语口号主要用于文章结尾处，往往会另起一行，末尾处加上感叹号，突出编者的立场与导向。例如第8期《省港罢工工人对国民政府的要求》一文结尾刊登了“中国民族解放万岁！”“打倒英美日法葡各野蛮帝国主义者！”等6条标语口号。

Another type of slogan combined images with text. Starting from issue No. 123, *The Workers’ Road* added cartoons to the “Workers’ Club” column, enriching the language of the layout. Issue No. 134’s “Workers’ Club” column published a cartoon depicting a group of workers holding axes, hammers, and the like in a parade, shouting “Workers! Down with the warlords! Down with imperialism!” On the right side of the cartoon, a figure with “imperialism” printed on his clothes was shown falling to the ground. The cartoon echoed the slogan on the right side of the page, “Eliminate the running dogs of imperialism; guard against scabs who sabotage the strike.” Visual symbols and textual symbols complemented and interpreted each other. This expressive structure was clear at a glance, vivid and lively, and easily accepted by worker readers.

另一类标语是将图像与文字结合。从第123期开始，《工人之路》在“工人俱乐部”栏目中增加漫画，丰富了版面语言。第134期“工人俱乐部”栏目刊登漫画，描述工人群体拿着斧头、锤子等在游行，高呼“工友们！打倒军阀！打倒帝国主义！”漫画右侧衣服上印有“帝国主义”的人物摔倒在地。漫画与版面右侧的“铲除帝国主义的走狗 防范破坏罢工的工贼”口号呼应，图像符号与文字符号相互补充、彼此阐释。这种表述结构一目了然，生动形象，容易被工人读者接受。

*The Workers’ Road* published a relatively large number of slogans and posters. According to the author’s statistics and classification, they can be roughly divided into political, economic, organizational, and other categories. Political slogans and posters took “Down with all imperialism” and “Long live the national liberation of China” as their core expressions. According to statistics, this type of slogan accounted for over 70% of all slogans. Economic slogans and posters were characterized by expressions such as “The imperialists’ losses from the strike to today have reached X million yuan,” calculated at four million yuan per day and accumulated daily, to illustrate the results achieved by the strike struggle. The number of economic slogans increased noticeably during the peak period of the strike in 1926, with slogans such as “Workers strike for a wage increase” expressing the specific demands of the striking workers. High-frequency words used in organizational slogans and posters included “unity,” “alliance,” and “solidarity,” for example, “Workers, peasants, merchants, and students of all circles unite,” which concentratedly reflected the Party’s organizational principles in the strike movement. In different periods of the strike movement, the content of the slogans was also adjusted in a timely manner to match the continuous development of the revolutionary situation.

《工人之路》刊载标语口号数量较多，据笔者统计分类，大致可将其分为政治类、经济类、组织类以及其他类。政治类标语口号以“打倒一切帝国主义”“中国民族解放万岁”等为核心表达。据统计，该类标语数量在所有标语中占比超过70%。经济类标语口号以“帝国主义者的损失自罢工到今天已至X万元”为特色，以每天四百万元计算，天天累计，说明罢工斗争取得的成果。经济类标语在1926年罢工高潮期数量明显增加，如“工人罢工要求加薪”等标语口号，表达罢工工人的具体诉求。组织类标语口号使用的高频词汇有“团结”“联合”“一致”等，例如“工农商学各界联合起来”等，集中体现了党在罢工运动中的组织原则。在罢工运动的各个时期，标语口号的内容也适时调整，以配合革命形势的不断发展。

Mobilization Strategies of the Slogans and Posters in *The Workers’ Road*

《工人之路》中标语口号的动员策略

The resolution on the labor movement adopted at the Fourth National Congress of the CPC pointed out: “In the labor movement, when we should guide the actions of the masses, we must pay attention to the slogans we put forward, so that they can suit the organizational strength, needs, and sentiments of the local masses, and spur the masses to make more practical and further struggles.” (Selected Documents of the CPC Central Committee, Vol. 1, Central Party School Press, 1989, pp. 348–349) This became the practical guideline for the CPC’s use of slogans and posters to carry out propaganda and mobilization among workers. Overall, *The Workers’ Road* mainly employed two practical strategies:

党的四大通过的职工运动决议案指出：“职工运动中我们应当指导群众的行动的时候，必注意于提出的口号，使能适合当地群众的组织力量，需要及情绪，而促起群众做切实的更进一步的奋斗。”（《中共中央文件选集》第1册，中共中央党校出版社1989年版，第348~349页）这成为中国共产党利用标语口号对工人开展宣传动员的实践指针。总体来看，《工人之路》主要运用了两种实践策略：

On the one hand, it used revolutionary propaganda to awaken class consciousness. *The Workers’ Road* employed simple and easy-to-understand slogans and posters to propagate basic Marxist theories and knowledge, mobilizing workers’ enthusiasm for participating in the movement. For example, the slogan “Labor is sacred” highlighted the subject status and struggle mission of the working class. Slogans such as “Great unity of the proletariat” and “Long live the victory of the working class” encouraged the working class to fight for its own legitimate rights and interests by emphasizing political identity symbols like “proletariat” and “working class.” At the same time, it exposed the exploitation of workers by capitalists. Slogans such as “Down with imperialism” and “Abolish the running dogs of imperialism” transformed abstract colonial aggression into the workers’ personal pain, reinterpreting individual suffering as a class contradiction with universal significance. The repeatedly appearing revolutionary discourse symbols with a class struggle coloring, such as “down with” and “liberation,” transformed daily wage disputes into a collective indictment of capitalist “exploitation,” awakening the class consciousness and fighting spirit of the working class, ultimately prompting workers to participate in the practical actions of the strike struggle.

一方面，以革命宣传启发阶级意识。《工人之路》运用浅显易懂的标语口号宣传马克思主义基本理论和知识，调动工人参与运动的积极性。例如“劳工神圣”这一口号，凸显了工人阶级的主体地位和斗争使命。“无产阶级大联合”“工人阶级胜利万岁”等口号则通过强调“无产阶级”“工人阶级”等政治身份符号，鼓励工人阶级为争取自身合法权益而斗争。同时，揭露资本家对工人的剥削。如“打倒帝国主义”“废除帝国主义的走狗”等口号，使抽象的殖民侵略转化为工人群体的切身之痛，个体的苦难被重新阐释为具有普遍意义的阶级矛盾。反复出现的“打倒”“解放”等带有阶级斗争色彩的革命话语符号将日常的薪资纠纷转化为对资本家“剥削”的集体控诉，启发了工人阶级的阶级意识与抗争精神，最终促成工人们参与罢工斗争的实践行动。

On the other hand, it used emotional mobilization to stimulate struggle actions. In the labor movement, the stimulation and mobilization of emotions gave slogans and posters more power. Deng Zhongxia specifically analyzed the slogan “Oppose the Japanese beating workers” used in the strike at Japanese-owned cotton mills in Shanghai, arguing that “this slogan can be said to have simply and clearly depicted the workers’ hidden pain” (Complete Works of Deng Zhongxia, Vol. 1, People’s Publishing House, 2014, p. 515). The Second National Congress of the CPC, held in Shanghai in July 1922, for the first time put forward a clear democratic revolutionary program of opposing imperialism and feudalism, and explicitly proposed the revolutionary slogan “Down with international imperialism” (Selected Documents of the CPC Central Committee, Vol. 1, p. 117). This slogan was simple and direct, becoming the central slogan of the labor movement. During the Canton-Hong Kong Strike, “Down with imperialism” and “Down with the running dogs of imperialism” were widely disseminated through various media such as newspapers and leaflets, arousing the patriotic sentiments of the people across the country. In addition, slogans such as “Avenge the martyrs” and “March forward on the bloodstained path of ‘February 7’ and ‘May 30’!”[2]2 “February 7” refers to the February 7 Massacre of 1923, when warlord forces suppressed a Beijing-Hankou Railway workers’ strike, killing dozens. “May 30” refers to the May 30th Movement of 1925, sparked by the killing of Chinese protesters by British police in Shanghai. fully aroused the people’s grief and indignation, coordinating with the strike’s action slogans to set off a new wave of struggle.

另一方面，以情感动员激发斗争行动。在工人运动中，情感的激发与调动使得标语口号更有力量。邓中夏曾专门分析上海日商纱厂罢工中使用的“反对东洋人打人”口号，认为“这个口号可说是将工人身受的隐痛简单明了地描写出来了”（《邓中夏全集》上册，人民出版社2014年版，第515页）。1922年7月在上海召开的党的二大，第一次提出了明确的反帝反封建的民主革命纲领，并明确提出“打倒国际帝国主义”的革命口号（《中共中央文件选集》第1册，第117页）。该口号简单直接，成为工人运动的中心口号。省港大罢工期间，“打倒帝国主义”“打倒帝国主义的走狗”更通过报刊、传单等各种载体广泛传播，激发全国民众的爱国主义情感。此外，“为死难烈士复仇”“踏着‘二七’‘五卅’的血迹前进！”等标语口号更是充分激发起民众的悲愤情绪，与罢工的行动口号相配合，掀起新一轮斗争浪潮。

The Leading Role of Slogans and Posters in the Labor Movement

标语口号对工人运动的引领作用

*The Workers’ Road*, by means of colloquial and rhythmic slogans and posters, combined Marxist theory with the workers’ practical demands, was welcomed by the working class, and played an important leading role in the strike.

《工人之路》借助口语化、韵律化的标语口号，将马克思主义理论与工人现实诉求相结合，受到工人群体欢迎，在罢工中发挥了重要引领作用。

In terms of political leadership, *The Workers’ Road* persisted in propagating and implementing the policies of the CPC and the Canton-Hong Kong Strike Committee. Through concise slogans and posters, it elevated the workers’ economic demands into the political struggle goals of the Chinese nation—from economic propositions such as “Persist in the strike to the end,” to political demands such as “Down with all imperialism; abolish unequal treaties” and “Long live the national liberation of China,” and then to “March north on the Northern Expedition; long live the success of the National Revolution.” *The Workers’ Road* adjusted its central slogans in a timely manner to suit the revolutionary needs of different periods. Before the Northern Expedition set out, *The Workers’ Road* took the lead in publishing slogans such as “Prepare for the Northern Expedition to unify China” and “Urge the government to launch the Northern Expedition; long live the success of the National Revolution,” clarifying the targets and objectives of the revolution. From issue No. 327 to issue No. 383, the newspaper continuously published these slogans in a fixed format, forming a sustained propaganda momentum and creating a public opinion atmosphere for the smooth progress of the Northern Expedition.

在政治引领方面，《工人之路》坚持宣传、贯彻中国共产党和省港罢工委员会的政策，通过言简意赅的标语口号，将工人阶级的经济诉求升华为中华民族的政治斗争目标，从“坚持罢工到底”等经济主张，到“打倒一切帝国主义 取消不平等条约”“中国民族解放万岁”的政治诉求，再到“出师北伐，国民革命成功万岁”，《工人之路》适时调整中心口号，契合不同时期的革命需求。北伐出师之前，《工人之路》便率先刊载了“准备北伐统一中国”“督促政府出师北伐，国民革命成功万岁”等标语口号，阐明革命的对象与目标。自第327期起至第383期，该报将这些口号以固定形式连续刊登，形成持续的宣传声势，为北伐的顺利推进营造了舆论氛围。

In terms of organizational leadership, during the early period of the Canton–Hong Kong Strike, the organizational situation of workers in the Guangdong region was complex, and various trade union groups frequently had conflicts and disputes, which to a certain extent weakened the fighting strength. To cope with this situation, the CPC made full use of the public opinion platform of *The Worker’s Road* to provide guidance, actively disseminating the political proposition of “the great alliance of workers, peasants, merchants, and students.” The slogans and posters it published, such as “Unity is the strength of the workers” and “The great alliance of the proletariat,” directly addressed the ills of the time, and further called for “the alliance of industry and commerce to ensure the victory of the strike.” These slogans unified ideological understanding, strengthened internal unity within the working class, and effectively promoted the formation and development of the anti-imperialist united front.

在组织引领方面，省港大罢工初期，广东地区工人组织状况复杂，各类工会团体经常发生矛盾纠纷，这在一定程度上削弱了斗争力量。为应对此局面，中国共产党充分利用《工人之路》这一舆论阵地进行引导，积极传播“工农商学大联合”的政治主张。其刊载的“团结即是工人的力量”“无产阶级大联合”等标语口号直指时弊，并进一步号召“工商联合起来，务使罢工胜利”。这些口号统一了思想认识，强化了工人阶级内部团结，有效推动了反帝联合战线的形成与发展。

In terms of action guidance, the slogans and posters of *The Worker’s Road* used plain and easy-to-understand language to provide specific struggle strategies and methodological guidance. Deng Zhongxia proposed: “We should temporarily put away those previously grandiose and impractical slogans, and replace them with currently practical and useful ones, so as to be of actual benefit.” For example, slogans such as “Suppress strike-breakers, strictly arrest running dogs!” and “Intercept enemy goods, blockade the port!” were simple, practical, and highly targeted, playing a positive role in maintaining strike order and ensuring the consistency of strike actions. The circulation of *The Worker’s Road* reached up to 10,000 copies at its peak, “almost one copy for every four or five striking workers” (*Handbook of Trade Union Work*, Workers’ Publishing House, 1986 edition, p. 133), demonstrating its influence among the worker masses. Thus it can be seen that slogans and posters, as an important means and method of the CPC’s early political communication, made an indelible historical contribution in policy propaganda, mobilizing the masses, and expanding the ranks through their characteristics of being intuitive, clear, extensive, and penetrating.

在行动引领方面，《工人之路》的标语口号用通俗易懂的语言，提供具体斗争策略与方法指导。邓中夏提出：“应把从前那样大而无当的口号暂为收藏起来，把目前切实有用的口号代之，方于实际有益。”例如“镇压工贼、严拿走狗！”“截留仇货、封锁港口！”等口号简单实用、针对性强，对维持罢工秩序、确保罢工行动的一致性发挥了积极作用。《工人之路》发行量最多时达到一万份，“几乎每四、五个罢工工人就有一份”（《工会工作手册》，工人出版社1986年版，第133页），彰显出其在工人群体中的影响力。由此可见，标语口号作为中国共产党早期政治传播的重要方式和手段，以其直观明了、广泛深入等特点在政策宣传、动员群众、壮大队伍中作出了不可磨灭的历史贡献。

(Author: Tang Juan, Associate Professor at the School of Media, Guizhou University)

（作者：唐娟，系贵州大学传媒学院副教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧