Many of Chairman Mao’s doctrines and strategies deviated from Marxism-Leninism; they were also against liberal and democratic Western values that some intellectuals in China were advocating in the first decades of the 20th century. Explain why Mao and his followers were eventually successful in achieving power in 1949.
The Success of the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong
The success of the Chinese Communist Party over the Chiang Kai-shek Party and its dominion over the Chinese mainland which led to the eventual establishment of the People’ Republic were enormous changes in the modern history of China. Its effects were profoundly felt by its own people and by other foreign countries in the Asian region. These events were unanticipated and it brought forth the charismatic leadership of Mao Zedong to the forefront of Chinese history and the controversial applications of the Communist concepts.
While the sucess of the Communist Party in 1949 is usually attributed to Mao Zedong, several important factors and special contexts were crucial to this historic change and triumphant revolution. This paper shall explore the important factors in the success of Mao Zedong’s party in 1949 and its significant implications in Chinese history and politics. However, this shall not include the rethoric discussion about how Mao Zedong or the Chinese Communist Party deviated from the Marxism or Leninist or even Stalinist communist principles. Thus, we shall not discuss the different deviations of Chairman Mao’s doctrines and strategies from Marxism-Leninism or how his programs deviated from the liberal and democratic Western values being advocated by the Chinese intellectuals during the first decades of the 20th century.
Instead, this paper shall focus on the leadership of the most famous Chinese leader the and the potent social, economic and political forces during this historic turn. Mao Zedong’s leadership shall also include the historical context in which he became a leader, the ways by which he attained his powers and the nature of his rule (Teiwes, p. 3).
Most leadership theories presuppose that leaders make a difference in one organization. They try to prove its point by showing how leaders affect the organizations by their own innate skills, personalities and experiences. They attempt to define leadership by the unique traits and skills leaders have (Northouse, p. 4). According to Teiwes (p. 5), Mao Zedong was considered as the “core” of the so-called “First Generation” of Chinese revolutionaries which toppled the puppet government and created the People’s Republic of China. Hence, the success of this historic revolution was attributed to the vision of Mao Zedong and his all-powerful symbolism of leadership and change as he was constantly being followed and obeyed by the masses. (Stutje, p. 3).
Meanwhile, we cannot also dismiss the historic social and political contexts by which the revolution has emerged. This consisted of all the difficulties China was facing at that historical juncture. To cite, the poor, Chinese peasants were landless and were heavily indebted to their landlords. They were very vulnerable to economic problems, health conditions, natural calamities, famine, among others. The civilians were also very tired of the warlords and the civil war. Hence, they turned to the Communist ideologies even when they saw some aberrations and wrong applications of its principles. (Benton, p. 1). All these factors were significant reasons why the Communist powerfully emerged.
This paper shall explain why the Communist Revolution succeeded in China in 1949 even when it was considered a deviation of the real communist principles. It shall mainly attribute the success to the personality and leadership of Mao Zedong and the ripe, social and political elements present in the Chinese society during that important stage in their history.
Mao Zedong’s Famous Contributions to the 1949 Communist Revolution
This section will try to explain how Mao Zedong has used Chinese politics to advance his communist ideas. His knowledge, skills and his inherent personal traits enabled him to win the people and support his cause and his vision. According to Schram (p. 204), the formation of the Chinese Communist Party in 1920 did not automatically ushered Mao Zedong’s political leadership. He was not given any significant powers yet. He only became a significant communist leader in the 1935 Zunyi Conference, when he was recognized as the Chinese Communist Party’s de facto leader (p. 205). However, in the short period of time, he was able to win the masses and he was bestowed by a formal supremacy. Mao was then blindly abided by his followers.
As a strong and charismatic leader, he believed in the importance of military strength in the accumulation of power. He also prioritized his own ideology, material abundance and organized human energy (p. 242). He knew how to think and apply tactical strategies to fight the enemies and obtain more power. His famous travels through Chinese rural areas and his formulation of special ideals of communism applicable to his own country in 1927 helped in his future career as CCP leader. By 1949, he established himself as a rightful Chairman of the CCP and the father of the Chinese nation (Pye, p. 220).
The CCP managed all the administrative aspects of the nation. There were no other political parties outside it. There was not right of suffrage nor external checks and balances. The CCP monopolized the country. It controled all aspects of health, justice, education, civil service, commerce, among others (p. 219).
According to Frederick Teiwes, Mao's primary contribution to the success of the Chinese Communist Party was his being the "Father of the Country” (Tang, p. 262). This stature became the major foundation of Mao’s prestige. Various political analysts believe that Mao's personal mandate was forcefully strengthened by his symbolic success in establishing a fortified and unified China for the first time after so many years (Apter, p. 194). The industrial success of the Communist Party as determined by the First Five Year Plan of 1953 also boosted his image as a political leader (p. 194). Hence, the recorder annual production of 5.2 million tons of steel and 5.8 million tons of iron were accrued to his leadership. In the international circles, acclaims of the development of China were also attributed to Mao as this was enhanced by the state visits of distinguished international leaders like Cambodia’s Prince Sihanouk and India’s Nehru.
Teiwes further confirmed this charismatic leadership as the underlying factor why Mao Zedong maintained his power. He received tremendous following because of the ancient dimension of China’s political culture (p. 142). The faith in their leader’s power and strength made people favor him, even when he purged political opponents. Mao was very successful in managing public opinion (Liu, p. 277). Hence, he was able to use the masses to channel his many political campaigns. This has also allowed him to effectively mobilize the Chinese youth. They became Mao’s "Red Guards" and they devoted their lives in studying Mao. They also became significant shock troops during the Cultural Revolution (p. 278).
Other Factors that Contribute to the Success of the 1949 Uprising
The primary reason for the success of Mao Zedong’s Communist Party in 1949 can be attributed to the collapse of the Chiang Kai Shek’s regime (Teiwes, p. 1). This regime was very hostile and unpopular with the people. It exploited the Chinese masses. The regime was also defined by its imperialistic character and foreign support. Its collapse can be illustrated by its failures in administration and political reforms. For instance, it failed to deliver any social reform in the country. Its bureacracy and warlords enriched themselves while deserting the masses. These actions stirred up a deep frustration and bitterness among the Chinese peasants and led to their unrest during the end of the war period (p. 2).
Chiang Kai Shek’s despotism, corruption, and weaknesses reached its climax after the Japanese colonialization (p. 3). Their abuses and extortion inflamed the hatred of the masses and broke out into various massive protests and demonstrations. The regime tried to surrpress these by violence such as massacres, kidnappings and assassinations by their military personnel.
Another important development was the loss of financial resources by the regime. It has been depleted by their engagement in the civil war. There was a rapid inflation that beat up the stability of the government and fell into the collapse of their currency and the unprecedented economic depression by the end of 1948.
People got starved and work became scarce. The fury, hatred, violence and hardships turned the people to trust the revolutionary actions of Mao Zedong. As they all saw the inevitable fall of the present regime, they turned to the leadership of Mao Zedong. It was an easy situation for the Communist Party to take over, to call upon the people to resign from their present travails and revolt against the Chiang Kai Shek government. The only thing left for the government was its militarty might. A significant part of this army was equipped with the most modern weapons from the United States (p. 3). Hence, it was also propitious that Mao Zedong, in his wisdom, asked the people to remain calm and wait for their liberation army to assail the military (p. 3).
Another weakening factor for the Chaing Kai Shek government was the loss of its imperial support. Before World War II, China was under the heavy influence of the powerful countries such as Japan, United States, Great Britain, etc. After the end of the war, it was completely deserted by these imperialists. Britain only maintained its support of its Hong Kong colony. The American supporters were frustrated by the grave corruption of the Chiang Kai Shek government (p. 4). The outcome was the forceful abandonment of the Chiang Kai Shek administration by the US imperialist as it applied a wait-and-see attitude towards the CCP. The lack of international support became a death blow to the Chinese regime and its ultimate defeat by the CCP.
As the Chinese regime weakened, the strength of the CCP had fortified. Its fundamental strength depended on its peasant armed forces. These led to the peasant revolts in the country’s southern parts, which continued even after they failed during the second revolution (p. 4). These peasant army was trained to carry out a strong peasant warfare. The CCP seriously trained these peasant armies and also overturned their economic helplessness and poor social conditions. This army even grew stronger after the war against Japanese imperialism. This army became a strong militray force available for the CCP.
The resistance of the CCP against the Chaing Kai Shek government was unified by the resentment and hatred of the Chinese people. These have become political capital for the CCP to advance its political and military motives. Togetehr with the peasant army’s strength, these have been potent forces for the CCP’s subjective power.
The success of the CCP woul dnot be made possible if it was not backed up by the Soviet Union (International Marxist Tendency, p. 1). This political support was enhanced by its own motive of finally controlling the CCP. The Soviet’s control of Manchuria, where the heavy Chinese industries were located, became a death blow to the Chiang government (p. 1). Soviet Union blew all the most vital industries in this region. Hence, it crippled the Chiang’s financial administration and economy. The Soviets also supplied the CCP with great amounts of various weapons which they seized from the Japanese soldiers (p. 1). This allowed the CCP to control the Manchurian villages, cities and towns and besieged the industrial districts which were manned by the Chiang Kai Shek Army. The supplies of sophisticated arms from the Japanese soldiers and the Chiang Army also benefitted the CCP. It enabled the strategic change in the Communist attack, moving from guerrilla warfare to positional warfare and an offense toward the Chinese industrial cities. This change was certaintly the most evident factor in the success of the 1949 revolution (Teiwes, p. 1).
Conclusion
The confusion over the success of the 1949 Chinese Communist Revolution should not be complicated by the utter popularity of the Chinese charismatic and legendary leader, Mao Zedong. Instead, this must be a focal factor taken together with other significant factors contributing to the popular success during the modern history of China. Leadership, power and hositroic circusmtances must be viewed in a new perspective.
While Mao Zedong’s inherent knowledge, skills and leadership were crucial in the foundation of the Chinese Comunist Party, this success needs to be consider under the social and political contexts of his time. It was evident that the social conditions in the country, most especially in the Chinese countryside, were ripe for social revolution and reforms. Mao can be seen as the most prominent figure of this important phase of Chinese history. However, this success must be contextualized in the situation that he found himself within China (Pye, 220).
The famine, economic depression and the relentness of the people were variables ready to strike for change. Hence, it is more important to conclude how certain societies possess their disntinct and unique combinations of elements to realize this change. In the case of China, the prominence of the father figure in Mao Zedong remains very symbolic and highly patronized.
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