Depth Study 1: Why did China become a Communist State in 1949? Flashcards
What was the Long March?
The Long March refers to the relocation of the Chinese Communist Party and its Red Army, from their base in the Jiangxi to the northern province of Shaanxi, in 1934-1935. Driven from Jiangxi by an expanded Nationalist army, the Red Army and the CCP leaders undertook a treacherous year-long journey through western and northern China. During this trek, they encountered dangerous terrain, perilous climate, starvation, disease, harassment and hostile tribes.
How many casualties were caused by the Long March?
Approximately 160,000 Red Army soldiers and CCP cadres embarked on the Long March, with fewer than 15,000 making it to Shaanxi. Ultimately, the enormity of these losses suggest that the Long March was a failure, but CCP propagandists manufactured their own account of the Long March, portraying it as a tale of inspiring heroism, human endeavour and self sacrifice.
What happened during the Battle of Xiang River?
By November, the Red Army had crossed into the Hunan province, where they encountered a sizeable force of Nationalist troops. In the Battle of Xiang River, which followed, the Communists lost 40,000 soldiers in just two days - its heaviest defeat during the Long March. By mid-December, the Red Army, which had set out from Jiangxi with around 86,000 men, was down to around 30,000.
What was the Zunyi Conference?
Following the CCP’s disastrous losses at Xiang River, the Party was forced to review its tactics and, thus, held the Zunyi Conference in January 1935. The Zunyi Conference was a monumental event in the CCP’s history, with Red Army commanders being replaced with a new trio of Mao Zedong and his allies, Zhou Enlai and Wang Jiaxiang.
What was wrong with the routes that Mao led Red Army soldiers on?
Mao, sometimes, ordered unlikely or circuitous routs to evade or confuse the Nationalists and their warlord allies. Traveling through Yunnan and into Sichuan, the Red Army crossed the Great Snowy Mountains, where they faced mountainous heights of up to 5,000 metres and low oxygen concentration, causing soldiers to die from altitude sickness, exposure, frostbite, avalanches, falls and other devastating injuries. Thousands more were killed while moving through the dreaded ‘grasslands’ and, also, from ethnic groups that the Red Army encountered along the way. Many soldiers died of malnutrition or starvation and were, often, brought to boil boots, gun straps and other leather to make ‘beef soup’. Nonetheless, the Communists did benefit from the support of sympathetic farmers, who welcomed the Red Army into their villages, gave them food and tended to the sick and wounded.
What happened at Luding Bridge?
One significant point of contention surrounding the Long March is the events at Luding Bridge, a crossing over the Dadu River (just west of Yan’an). According to official Communist histories, Luding Bridge was the scene of a fierce battle with Nationalists in May 1935. Under heavy fire from the other side, regiments of the Red Army stormed across the fragile chain bridge, defeating the Nationalists and securing the area. Eyewitness accounts collected recently suggest that the bridge was manned by a handful of disorganised warlord soldiers, who turned tail and fled after seeing the approaching Red Army.
How successful was the Long March, overall?
Accounts of the Long March highlight Mao Zedong’s brilliance as a tactician and military strategist, but there is also evidence to suggest that the Red Army’s heavy losses and the Long March’s meandering route through western China were the result of Mao’s blundering and poor planning. Almost 80 years later, historians continue to debate the Long March and its true meaning.
Why did Mao and his companions choose to live amongst the peasantry in the Yan’an Soviet?
In Yan’an, Mao and his companions chose to live in small caves, which, in northern China, were traditional dwellings. Living in Yan’an caves saw an improvement in the standard of living following the Long March and, thus, nurtured feelings of camaraderie and achievement for many members of the Red Army. Mao, also encouraged his companions, along with other intellectuals, to live and work among the peasants, which helped Mao to rally up support; the way in which the CCP received followers was through the way in which they were treated, in oppose to through idealogical conversion. While some growth was driven by coercion, the Communists’ victory was largely caused by propaganda and efforts to offer support.
How did Mao recruit for the Red Army in the Yan’an Soviet?
As the Red Army soldiers were now living amongst the peasants, they were able to develop relationships and, thereby, acquire support. Mao was, also, able to utilise the fact that the peasants’ lives had been improved to recruit for the Army; only when they join the Red Army - and, thus, attain control - will this improvement in their lives be maintained.
What opportunities was Mao provided with to crystallise his ideas in Yan’an?
Mao sought to win over both factions with his own ideas, which later evolved into Mao Zedong Thought (the belief that the Marxist-Leninist theory must be adapted to suit Chinese conditions, to win the hearts of the peasantry so that they might become the driving force of the revolution). When the situation had reached a state of relative stability in Yan’an, Mao spent a lot of time writing, which allowed his authoritarian methods to flourish.
What were the Rectification Movements?
In 1941, Mao initiated the Rectification Movement, which lasted around three years. Beginning as a program for study and discussion of Mao’s writings, Rectification soon involved self-criticism and ‘struggle sessions’, where comrades were expected to publicly denounce their own failings. With the help of Kang Sheng, Rectification spiralled into a sweeping purge of Party members, many of whom were tortured, imprisoned or executed. Although Mao was confronted by a backlash, by 1944, his leadership was undisputed and Mao Zedong Thought was cemented into official ideology.
How did Mao increase his credibility with the international community?
Many visitors contributed to the promotion of the ‘Yan’an Spirit’, by reporting utopic visions of Yan’an. Edgar Snow and George Hatem, for example, were the first Americans to visit the Red Army base in 1936 and remained there for several months. When Snow’s influential Red Star of China was published, in 1937, it shaped American perceptions of the time, painting the Communists as austere and patriotic. For the next three years, around 19 visitors made the trek and most returned with glowing reports, increasing Mao’s credibility with the international community. Among them was the writer, Agnes Smedley, who taught Communist leaders to dance, and the Canadian surgeon, Norman Bethune, who established mobile operation theatres in Yan’an. As few of these visitors spoke any Chinse, they were only able to see what the CCP hierarchs wanted them to see.
What do the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention tell us why the Red Army was successful?
Abiding by the Three Rules and Eight Points provided a sense of structure within the Red Army, which heightened the Army’s strength and, thus, enabled them to overcome the GMD. Mao believed that, in order to win over the peasantry, he must treat them with respect. When, at a later point, it came to fighting the GMD, the Army’s relationship with the people was rather important as it allowed the Red Army to carry out its guerrilla warfare tactics.
Why was Mao Zedong Thought so popular?
Having spent a lot of his time reading and thinking about Communist ideas, Mao, famously, decided that he disagreed with the conventional Marxist thinking and, instead, believed that China had to have its own path to revolution which reflected the situation in China. Mao Zedong Thought emphasised the importance of the peasantry, mass mobilisation, art and literature and continuous revolution. Mao, unlike other Communists across the world, understood that he must mobilise the peasantry to win.
What challenges did Mao face while at Yan’an?
In January 1937, the Communists moved to Yan’an, where they stayed for the next 10 years. Although Mao was a dominant leader in the CCP, he was challenged by Zhang Guotao, whom, in 1938, defected to the GMD. He, also, faced the threat from a newly arrived Bolshevik, Wang Min. Mao agreed that unity was needed but, too, knew that he needed to keep the CCP separate from the GMD. Mao also recognised the importance of the Soviet Union but he was a Han Chinese foremost, which gave him huge popularity in China. Mao’s status, by the time of the Politburo meeting in 1941, was almost secure, with the exception of opposition from Wang.
