Abstract
A contradictory situation existed for the spread of Marxism in China on the eve of the birth of the Chinese Communist Party. On the one hand, Marxism was required to be accepted as a revolutionary party's guiding thought; on the other hand, there appeared multiple explanations of Marxism in the absence of a comprehensive understanding of the relationship of Marxism and contemporary conditions in China. Then, the method of historical criticism and comparison became the sole tool in explaining Marxism, just as orthodox Marxism defined historical explanations.