Editing Mao Zedong (section)

== Civil War ==
{{Main|Chinese Civil War|Chinese Communist Revolution}}

=== Nanchang and Autumn Harvest Uprisings: 1927 ===
[[File:中國工農紅軍軍旗.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[History of the People's Liberation Army#From the founding of the People's Liberation Army to the Korean War|Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army]]]]

Fresh from the success of the Northern Expedition against the warlords, Chiang turned on the Communists, who then numbered in the tens of thousands across China. Chiang ignored the orders of the [[Wuhan Nationalist government|Wuhan-based leftist KMT government]] and marched on Shanghai, a city controlled by Communist militias. As the Communists awaited Chiang's arrival, he loosed the [[White Terror (mainland China)|White Terror]], massacring {{formatnum:5000}} with the aid of the [[Green Gang]].{{sfn|Feigon|2002|p=42}}<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=106}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=61–62}}</ref> In Beijing, 19 leading Communists were killed by [[Zhang Zuolin]].{{sfn|Schram|1966|pp=106–109, 112–113}}{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=62}} That May, tens of thousands of Communists and those suspected of being communists were killed, and the CCP lost approximately {{formatnum:15000}} of its {{formatnum:25000}} members.{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=62}}

The CCP continued supporting the leftist KMT government in Wuhan, a position Mao initially supported,{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=62}} but by the time of the [[5th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP's Fifth Congress]] he had changed his mind, deciding to stake all hope on the peasant militia.{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=63}} The question was rendered moot when the Wuhan government expelled all Communists from the KMT on 15 July.{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=63}} The CCP founded the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army of China, better known as the "[[History of the People's Liberation Army#From the founding of the People's Liberation Army to the Korean War|Red Army]]", to battle Chiang. A battalion led by General [[Zhu De]] was ordered to take the city of [[Nanchang]] on 1 August 1927, in what became known as the [[Nanchang Uprising]]. They were initially successful, but were forced into retreat after five days, marching south to [[Shantou]], and from there they were driven into the wilderness of [[Fujian]].{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=63}} Mao was appointed commander-in-chief of the Red Army and led four regiments against Changsha in the [[Autumn Harvest Uprising]], in the hope of sparking peasant uprisings across Hunan. On the eve of the attack, Mao composed a poem—the earliest of his to survive—titled "Changsha". His plan was to attack the KMT-held city from three directions on 9 September, but the Fourth Regiment deserted to the KMT cause, attacking the Third Regiment. Mao's army made it to Changsha, but could not take it; by 15 September, he accepted defeat and with 1000 survivors marched east to the [[Jinggang Mountains]] of [[Jiangxi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=64}}; {{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=122–125}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=46–47}}</ref>

=== Base in Jinggangshan: 1927–1928 ===
[[File:Mao1927.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Mao in 1927]]
{{Quote box| quote = {{lang|zh|革命不是請客吃飯，不是做文章，不是繪畫繡花，不能那樣雅緻，那樣從容不迫，文質彬彬，那樣溫良恭讓。革命是暴動，是一個階級推翻一個階級的暴烈的行動。}}<br /><br />[[Revolution is not a dinner party]], nor an essay, nor a painting, nor a piece of embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.|source= — Mao, February 1927<ref>{{cite web |url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1900_mao_war.htm |title=Mao Zedong on War and Revolution |work=Quotations from Mao Zedong on War and Revolution |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |access-date=12 November 2011}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=41}}</ref>
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The CCP Central Committee, hiding in Shanghai, expelled Mao from their ranks and from the Hunan Provincial Committee, as punishment for his "military opportunism", for his focus on rural activity, and for being too lenient with "bad gentry". The more orthodox Communists especially regarded the peasants as backward and ridiculed Mao's idea of mobilizing them.<ref name="Mair_2013_p211"/> They nevertheless adopted three policies he had long championed: the immediate formation of [[workers' council]]s, the confiscation of all land without exemption, and the rejection of the KMT. Mao's response was to ignore them.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=125}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=68}}</ref> He established a base in [[Jinggangshan City]], an area of the Jinggang Mountains, where he united five villages as a self-governing state, and supported the confiscation of land from rich landlords, who were "re-educated" and sometimes executed. He ensured that no massacres took place in the region, and pursued a more lenient approach than that advocated by the Central Committee.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=130}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=67–68}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=48}}</ref> In addition to land redistribution, Mao promoted literacy and non-hierarchical organizational relationships in Jinggangshan, transforming the area's social and economic life and attracted many local supporters.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karl |first=Rebecca E. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/503828045 |title=Mao Zedong and China in the twentieth-century world : a concise history |date=2010 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8223-4780-4 |location=Durham [NC] |pages=36 |oclc=503828045}}</ref>

Mao proclaimed that "Even the lame, the deaf and the blind could all come in useful for the revolutionary struggle", he boosted the army's numbers,<ref name="Carter1976 p69">{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=69}}</ref> incorporating two groups of bandits into his army, building a force of around {{formatnum:1800}} troops.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=126–127}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=66–67}}</ref> He laid down rules for his soldiers: prompt obedience to orders, all confiscations were to be turned over to the government, and nothing was to be confiscated from poorer peasants. In doing so, he moulded his men into a disciplined, efficient fighting force.<ref name="Carter1976 p69" />

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敵駐我騷，
敵疲我打，
敵退我追。}}

When the enemy advances, we retreat.
When the enemy rests, we harass him.
When the enemy avoids a battle, we attack.
When the enemy retreats, we advance.</poem>
| source = — Mao's advice in combating the Kuomintang, 1928<ref name="Carter1976 p70">{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=70}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=159}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=47}}</ref>
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[[File:Bare foot revolutionary.jpg|thumb|Chinese Communist revolutionaries in the 1920s]]
In spring 1928, the Central Committee ordered Mao's troops to southern Hunan, hoping to spark peasant uprisings. Mao was skeptical, but complied. They reached Hunan, where they were attacked by the KMT and fled after heavy losses. Meanwhile, KMT troops had invaded Jinggangshan, leaving them without a base.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=131}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=68–69}}</ref> Wandering the countryside, Mao's forces came across a CCP regiment led by General [[Zhu De]] and [[Lin Biao]]; they united, and attempted to retake Jinggangshan. They were initially successful, but the KMT counter-attacked, and pushed the CCP back; over the next few weeks, they fought an entrenched guerrilla war in the mountains.<ref name="Carter1976 p70"/>{{sfn|Schram|1966|pp=128, 132}} The Central Committee again ordered Mao to march to south Hunan, but he refused, and remained at his base. Contrastingly, Zhu complied, and led his armies away. Mao's troops fended the KMT off for 25 days while he left the camp at night to find reinforcements. He reunited with the decimated Zhu's army, and together they returned to Jinggangshan and retook the base. There they were joined by a defecting KMT regiment and [[Peng Dehuai]]'s Fifth Red Army. In the mountainous area they were unable to grow enough crops to feed everyone, leading to food shortages throughout the winter.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=133–137}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=70–71}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=50}}</ref>

In 1928, Mao met and married [[He Zizhen]], an 18-year-old revolutionary who would bear him six children.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/232503.htm |title=Memorial opened to commemorate Mao's 2nd wife |date=20 November 2007 |website=www.china.org.cn |access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ni |first=Ching-ching |date=27 March 2007 |title=Death illuminates niche of Mao life |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-27-fg-mao27-story.html |url-status=live |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |location=Beijing |publication-place=Los Angeles, California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011132708/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-27-fg-mao27-story.html |archive-date=11 October 2020 |access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref>

=== Jiangxi Soviet Republic of China: 1929–1934 ===
[[File:Mao Zedong in Yan'an.jpg|thumb|Mao in [[Yan'an]] (1930s)]]

In January 1929, Mao and Zhu evacuated the base with 2,000 men and a further 800 provided by Peng, and took their armies south, to the area around [[Tonggu County|Tonggu]] and [[Xinfeng County, Jiangxi|Xinfeng]] in Jiangxi.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=138}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=71–72}}</ref> The evacuation led to a drop in morale, and many troops became disobedient and began thieving; this worried [[Li Lisan]] and the Central Committee, who saw Mao's army as ''[[lumpenproletariat]]'', that were unable to share in proletariat [[class consciousness]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=138, 141}}</ref><ref name="Carter1976 p72">{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=72}}</ref> In keeping with orthodox Marxist thought, Li believed that only the urban proletariat could lead a successful revolution, and saw little need for Mao's peasant guerrillas; he ordered Mao to disband his army into units to be sent out to spread the revolutionary message. Mao replied that while he concurred with Li's theoretical position, he would not disband his army nor abandon his base.<ref name="Carter1976 p72"/>{{sfn|Schram|1966|p=139}} Both Li and Mao saw the Chinese revolution as the key to [[world revolution]], believing that a CCP victory would spark the overthrow of global imperialism and capitalism. In this, they disagreed with the official line of the Soviet government and Comintern. Officials in Moscow desired greater control over the CCP and removed Li from power by calling him to Russia for an inquest into his errors.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=146–149}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=75}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=51}}</ref> They replaced him with Soviet-educated Chinese Communists, known as the "[[28 Bolsheviks]]", two of whom, [[Bo Gu]] and [[Zhang Wentian]], took control of the Central Committee. Mao disagreed with the new leadership, believing they grasped little of the Chinese situation, and he soon emerged as their key rival.{{sfn|Carter|1976|p=75}}{{sfn|Schram|1966|pp=149–151}}

[[File:1931 military parade of formation of Chinese Soviet Republic.jpg|thumb|left|Military parade at the founding of a Chinese Soviet Republic in 1931]]
In February 1930, Mao created the Southwest Jiangxi Provincial Soviet Government in the region under his control.{{sfn|Schram|1966|p=149}} In November, he suffered emotional trauma after his second wife Yang Kaihui and sister were captured and beheaded by KMT general [[He Jian]].<ref>{{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=50}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=75}}; {{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=153}}</ref> Facing internal problems, members of the Jiangxi Soviet accused him of being too moderate, and hence anti-revolutionary. In December, they tried to overthrow Mao, resulting in the [[Futian incident]], during which Mao's loyalists tortured many and executed between 2000 and 3000 dissenters.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=152}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=76}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=51–53}}</ref> The CCP Central Committee moved to Jiangxi which it saw as a secure area. In November, it proclaimed Jiangxi to be the [[Soviet Republic of China]], an independent Communist-governed state. Although he was proclaimed Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Mao's power was diminished, as his control of the Red Army was allocated to [[Zhou Enlai]]. Meanwhile, Mao recovered from [[tuberculosis]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=77}}; {{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=154–155}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=54–55}}</ref>

The KMT armies adopted a policy of [[Encirclement campaigns|encirclement and annihilation]] of the Red armies. Outnumbered, Mao responded with guerrilla tactics influenced by the works of ancient military strategists like [[Sun Tzu]], but Zhou and the new leadership followed a policy of open confrontation and conventional warfare. In doing so, the Red Army successfully defeated [[First encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet|the first]] and [[Second encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet|second encirclements]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=155–161}}</ref><ref name="Carter1976 p78">{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=78}}</ref> Angered at his armies' failure, Chiang Kai-shek personally arrived to lead the operation. He too faced setbacks and retreated to deal with the [[Mukden Incident|further Japanese incursions into China]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=77}}; {{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=161–165}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=53–54}}</ref> As a result of the KMT's change of focus to the defence of China against Japanese expansionism, the Red Army was able to expand its area of control, eventually encompassing a population of 3 million.<ref name="Carter1976 p78"/> Mao proceeded with his land reform program. In November 1931 he announced the start of a "land verification project" which was expanded in June 1933. He also orchestrated education programs and implemented measures to increase female political participation.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=166–168}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=55}}</ref> Chiang viewed the Communists as a greater threat than the Japanese and returned to Jiangxi, where he initiated the [[Fifth encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet|fifth encirclement campaign]], which involved the construction of a concrete and barbed wire "wall of fire" around the state, which was accompanied by aerial bombardment, to which Zhou's tactics proved ineffective. Trapped inside, morale among the Red Army dropped as food and medicine became scarce. The leadership decided to evacuate.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=175–177}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=80–81}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=56–57}}</ref>

=== Long March: 1934–1935 ===
[[File:Map of the Long March 1934-1935-en.svg|thumb|250px|An overview map of the Long March]]
[[File:Mao Zhou Zhu.jpg|thumb|right|[[Zhou Enlai]], Mao Zedong, and [[Zhu De]] during the [[Long March]].]]
On 14 October 1934, the Red Army broke through the KMT line on the Jiangxi Soviet's south-west corner at Xinfeng with {{formatnum:85000}} soldiers and {{formatnum:15000}} party cadres and embarked on the "[[Long March]]". In order to make the escape, many of the wounded and the ill, as well as women and children, were left behind, defended by a group of guerrilla fighters whom the KMT massacred.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=180}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=81–82}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=57}}</ref> The {{formatnum:100000}} who escaped headed to southern Hunan, first crossing the [[Xiang River]] after heavy fighting,<ref>{{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=57}}; {{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=180–181}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=83}}</ref> and then the [[Wu River (Yuan River, north)|Wu River]], in [[Guizhou]] where they took [[Zunyi]] in January 1935. Temporarily resting in the city, they [[Zunyi Conference|held a conference]]; here, Mao was elected to a position of leadership, becoming Chairman of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|Politburo]], and ''de facto'' leader of both Party and Red Army, in part because his candidacy was supported by Soviet Premier [[Joseph Stalin]]. Insisting that they operate as a guerrilla force, he laid out a destination: the Shenshi Soviet in [[Shaanxi]], Northern China, from where the Communists could focus on fighting the Japanese. Mao believed that in focusing on the anti-imperialist struggle, the Communists would earn the trust of the Chinese people, who in turn would renounce the KMT.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=181}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=84–86}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=58}}</ref>

From Zunyi, Mao led his troops to [[Loushan Pass]], where they faced armed opposition but successfully crossed the river. Chiang flew into the area to lead his armies against Mao, but the Communists outmanoeuvred him and crossed the [[Jinsha River]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=183}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=86–87}}</ref> Faced with the more difficult task of crossing the [[Tatu River]], they managed it by fighting a battle over the [[Luding Bridge]] in May, taking [[Luding County|Luding]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=184–186}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=88–90}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=59–60}}</ref> In Moukung, Western Sichuan, they encountered the {{formatnum:50000}}-strong CCP Fourth Front Army of [[Zhang Guotao]] (who had marched from the mountain ranges around [[Ma'anshan]]{{sfn|Carter|1976|pp=90–91}}), and together proceeded to Maoerhkai and then [[Gansu]]. Zhang and Mao disagreed over what to do; the latter wished to proceed to Shaanxi, while Zhang wanted to retreat west to [[Tibet]] or [[Sikkim]], far from the KMT threat. It was agreed that they would go their separate ways, with [[Zhu De]] joining Zhang.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=186}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=91–92}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=60}}</ref> Mao's forces proceeded north, through hundreds of kilometres of [[Mongolian–Manchurian grassland|grasslands]], an area of quagmire where they were attacked by [[Manchu people|Manchu tribesman]] and where many soldiers succumbed to famine and disease.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=187–188}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|pp=92–93}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=61}}</ref> Finally reaching Shaanxi, they fought off both the KMT and an Islamic cavalry militia before crossing the [[Min Mountains]] and Mount Liupan and reaching the Shenshi Soviet; only 7,000–8,000 had survived.<ref>{{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=61}}; {{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=188}}; {{harvnb|Carter|1976|p=93}}</ref> The Long March cemented Mao's status as the dominant figure in the party. In November 1935, he was named chairman of the Military Commission. From this point onward, Mao was the Communist Party's undisputed leader, even though he would not become party chairman until 1943.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barnouin |first1=Barbara |last2=Yu |first2=Changgen |title=Zhou Enlai: A Political Life |location=Hong Kong |publisher=[[Chinese University of Hong Kong]] |date=2006 |isbn=9629962802 |access-date=12 March 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NztlWQeXf2IC&q=zhou+enlai |page=62 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>