The 28 (and a half) Bolsheviks (simplified Chinese: 二十八个半布尔什维克; traditional Chinese: 二十八個半布爾什維克; Russian: Группа 28 большевиков) were a faction in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The faction was formed among Chinese Communists studying at the Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow during the late 1920s and early 1930s. They received their nickname because of their strong support for the orthodox political positions advocated by Joseph Stalin and Pavel Mif. The leaders of the faction included Wang Ming, Bo Gu, Luo Fu, He Zishu, Wang Jiaxiang, and Shen Zemin. Sun Yat-sen University closed in 1930 and the students made their way back to China.

In January 1931, several members of the 28 Bolsheviks were elevated to the Central Committee of the CCP at its Fourth Plenary session. Later that same year, Bo Gu began a four-year term as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. Bo ended Li Lisan's aggressive policy of assaulting the cities and attempted to bring the far-flung Chinese soviets under stricter central control. This latter policy brought several of the 28 Bolsheviks into conflict with Mao Zedong, especially once the CCP's central leadership was forced to flee to Mao's Jiangxi Soviet in late 1931. Mao eventually won over the majority of the party and removed the 28 Bolsheviks from power at the Zunyi Conference in January 1935.

The Soviet Union devoted a significant amount of resources to encouraging revolution in China. It maintained a network of universities to train Chinese revolutionaries, the most important of which was the Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow. Sun Yat-sen University was founded in 1925 as part of the First United Front agreement that the Soviets had brokered between the CCP and the KMT. The university had an important influence on modern Chinese history by educating many prominent Chinese political figures. From the beginning, the university was riven by factional struggles between supporters of Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin, which eventually led to the university's closure in 1930.

Although several allusions to the "28 Bolsheviks" can be found in Mao's speeches and a few early works about CCP, a full list of the 28 did not appear until decades later. There are several rival lists of the 28. All agree on twenty-three of the members, while thirteen names appear on some but not all lists. The twenty-three agreed-upon members were Bo Gu, Wang Ming and his wife Meng Qingshu, Chen Changhao and his wife Du Zuoxiang (杜作祥), Shen Zemin and his wife Zhang Qinqiu, Wang Shengrong [zh], Wang Shengdi [zh], Zhang Wentian, Zhu Zishun (朱自舜, female), Zhu Agen, Sun Jimin [zh], Wang Jiaxiang, Yang Shangkun, Xia Xi, He Zishu, Sheng Zhongliang, Wang Yuncheng, Chen Yuandao, Li Zhusheng, Yin Jian, Yuan Jiayong.

The thirteen who are included on some but not all lists are Kai Feng, Chen Weimin [zh], Du Ting, Guo Miaogen, Li Yuanjie (李元杰), Wang Baoli (王宝礼), Song Panmin, Xiao Tefu (肖特甫), Xu Yixin, Yun Yurong, Wang Xiu, Shen Zhiyuan, and Liu Qunxian (female).

The Sun Yat-sen University closed in 1930. Although the members of the faction were thereafter scattered and never reunited as a group of twenty-eight, upon their return to China a significant minority would play a major role in the politics of the CCP. Those who reached Shanghai in 1930 joined the rising tide of criticism against Li Lisan, who at that time dominated party leadership. Li had been advocating immediate attacks on major cities, a policy that failed with disastrous consequences for the soviet bases. However, contrary to what many early western sources assumed, the 28 Bolsheviks did not play a significant role in ousting Li Lisan. Li was removed largely through the intervention of the Comintern, which sent Central Committee members Zhou Enlai and Qu Qiubai back from Moscow to moderate Li. When this plan failed, the Comintern summoned Li to Moscow in October 1930.

In January 1931 the Central Committee of CCP held its 4th Plenary Meeting, and with the presence and direct support of Pavel Mif, Wang Ming and his group won a landslide victory. Wang was elected to the Communist Party's politburo, while Bo Gu and Zhang Wentian took up other equally important positions.^{[citation needed]}

As a result, the conflict between the Central Committee and Mao Zedong's fledgling Chinese Soviet Republic began once again. Although Wang Ming returned to Moscow after a short stay in Shanghai, Bo Gu and Zhang Wentian both took the position of General Secretary of Central Committee of the Party in turn, and led the Chinese Communist Revolution in a radical/pro-left manner.^{[citation needed]}