Three Principles of the People Youth Corps

The Three Principles of the People Youth Corps (Chinese: 三民主義青年團) was a nationalist paramilitary youth organization founded by Chiang Kai-shek in Wuchang in 1938. Chiang served as its leader, with Chen Cheng (1938–1940, 1946–1947) and Zhang Zhizhong (1940–1946) served as its secretaries-general. Established during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Corps aimed to mobilize and train young people for the war effort. It was also widely regarded as an instrument for Chiang to counterbalance the influence of the civilian-dominated CC Clique within the Kuomintang, consolidating support among Whampoa Military Academy protégés, particularly members of the Blue Shirts Society.

Chiang Kai-shek sought to use the Blue Shirts Society’s organizational base and manpower as the foundation for the Three Principles Youth Corps, aiming to stimulate the Kuomintang and expand the party's social support, particularly among youth nationwide. With Chiang's backing, the Youth Corps enjoyed a degree of operational autonomy, not being directly controlled by the CC Clique-dominated party apparatus, and was quickly presented as a new generation for the National Revolutionary movement. However, the combination of Chiang's design and factional infiltration led to immediate tensions: party leaders, especially from the CC Clique, questioned the Corps’ nature and status, while a sense of organizational independence grew within the Corps itself. Both sides pursued dual-track development, with activities overlapping into political spheres, resulting in conflict rather than cooperation. Within a year of its founding, Chiang, the Kuomintang, and the Youth Corps’ leadership began issuing policy statements and implementing regulations to adjust the party–corps relationship, but these measures proved insufficient to bridge the emerging divide.^[1]

The training program of the Youth Corps extended beyond political education. According to the "Training Plan for Youth Corps Members" adopted by the Central Executive Committee in May 1940, members were required to develop technical skills such as driving, horsemanship, swimming, reconnaissance, and mechanical repair, as well as engage in rural outreach, public health work, relief, first aid, and propaganda activities. In addition, the Corps demanded proficiency in military science, standardized drills, and combat training.^[2]

The Youth Corps was not an extension of traditional Chinese institutions but was instead modeled on foreign youth organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the Soviet Komsomol, and the Italian Fascist Youth. Its creation reflected the global environment of the 1920s and 1930s, when states sought to consolidate political authority through youth mobilization. Like the Scouts, the Young Pioneers, and other mass youth movements in China, the Corps combined recreational elements with strict political indoctrination. The requirement that all members remain loyal to Chiang Kai-shek exemplified the authoritarian character of the party-state, a tendency also visible in the Youth Corps’ official oath of membership.^[3]

History

The origins of the Three Principles of the People Youth Corps can be traced to Chiang Kai-shek’s dissatisfaction with the lack of discipline and corruption within the Kuomintang (KMT), as well as the intense factional struggle between the civilian-based CC Clique and the military-oriented Blue Shirts Society, both of which were loyal to Chiang.^[4] At the Fifth National Congress of the Kuomintang in 1935, Chiang delivered a sharp denunciation of the party's weaknesses, declaring: "The most important problem is that party members are irresponsible, lack spirit, and are unwilling to exert themselves to study and create in service of the Party and the State. At such a critical time for the nation, I dare say the Party and the State cannot endure for three more years; soon others will shake the foundations of our Party-State, and our Party and nation will perish." ^[5]

The outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War accelerated efforts to create the Youth Corps as a mechanism for comprehensive integration of the Party-State. In 1937, Chiang even proposed merging all political parties—including the Chinese Communist Party, the Young China Party, and the State Socialist Party—into a single body called the "National Revolutionary League."^[6][7][8] On 5 February 1938, in a speech in Wuhan, Chiang first referred to the Youth Corps, describing it as a new organizational "center" for the Kuomintang.^[9][10][11]

In October 1937, Chiang Kai-shek tasked Kang Tse and Liu Chien-chun, both co-founders of the Blue Shirts Society, with preparing for the establishment of the Youth Corps. They were also instructed to liaise with the Kuomintang's other major factions, including the CC Clique and the Reorganization Group.^[12] Within this process, Chen Lifu sought to claim the position of secretary-general and urged Chiang to formally place the Youth Corps under the Party's direct control. But the proposals were ultimately rejected by Chiang.^[13][14]

On 9 July 1938, the Youth Corps was officially established with Chiang Kai-shek as its leader. Wang Jingwei was named chairman of the Advisory Council, while the supreme executive staff included Chen Cheng, Zhu Jiahua, Chen Lifu, Ho Chung-han, Chang Li-sheng, Chen Bulei, T’an Ping-shan, Ku Cheng-kang, and Tuan Hsi-peng. Chen Cheng was appointed secretary-general, with Yuan Shouqian and Zheng Yanfen as deputy secretary-generals, and Yeh Su-chung as chief secretary. The Corps was organized into several departments:

• Organization: Hu Zongnan (permanently represented by Kang Tse)
• Training: Wang Tung-yuan, Ni Wen-ya
• Propaganda: Huang Chi-lu, Zheng Yanfen
• Social Service: Lu Zuofu
• General Affairs: Chen Liang
• Youth Work Management: Chen Hsueh-ping
• Women's Work: Chang Ai-chen

Among the Youth Corps’ core leadership were prominent members of the Blue Shirts Society, including Hu Tsung-nan, Kang Tse, Ho Chung-han, and Ni Wen-ya. Some former members of the CC Clique, such as Chang Li-sheng and Tuan Hsi-peng, also broke away from the faction to support Chen Cheng, further consolidating Blue Shirt influence at both the leadership and grassroots levels.^[15]This development was viewed negatively by CC Clique leaders. Chi Shi-ying, a close associate of Chen Lifu, criticized the Corps as “the Blue Shirts’ resurrection under another name, which fundamentally altered its character.”^[16] In his memoirs, Chen Lifu likewise remarked that “Kang was highly ambitious—he hoped to make the Youth Corps into an organization outside to the Party.” ^[17]