To what extent was the rise to power of Mao due to personal appeal and ability?
Abhishek Puri
IB History HL
18.02.2008
Mao Zedong had mastered the military and political councils of the Chinese Communist Party. He recognized that the peasant majority of China had to be on his side and political emphasis on the countryside was necessary for him to rise to power. Mao and the CCP successfully spread communist ideology outside their southern base with the help of the Long March. His activeness in the political affairs bought him support even from the Kuomintang when both the parties were allied in 1926. Zedong had also developed Guerilla tactics that not only won the Party the fight for power against the Kuomintang when ties between the parties had become turbulent, but also earned respect from the peasants. Therefore, the combination of Mao's popularity with the masses and his tight grip of the CCP helped him to rise to power.
The Long March of 1934 marked the time when Mao "achieved effective control of the CCP". Even though the Long March was a retreat from Southern China to escape the wrath of Chiang Kai-shek's troops, it was not only a major propaganda victory for the CCP by spreading communist revolutionary ideas to northern parts of China but it also proved to be a platform for Mao Zedong to show his leadership abilities. This included crossing through rough terrain such as mountains and rivers, covering a massive 8000 miles of land by foot and avoiding frequent conflict with Chiang's hostile forces. Mao had already become a popular member of the Party by winning support from the Kuomintang and the CCP when both the parties were allied in 1926 and becoming the director of the Peasant Commissions. Adding to his support, at the end of Long March in 1936, the surviving members of the march were full of praise for Mao's leadership abilities and he was later hailed as a hero by party members and supporters. This laid a platform for Mao to accumulate more power within the party and created a new era of leadership in the Chinese Communist Party.
Abhishek Puri
IB History HL
18.02.2008
Mao Zedong had mastered the military and political councils of the Chinese Communist Party. He recognized that the peasant majority of China had to be on his side and political emphasis on the countryside was necessary for him to rise to power. Mao and the CCP successfully spread communist ideology outside their southern base with the help of the Long March. His activeness in the political affairs bought him support even from the Kuomintang when both the parties were allied in 1926. Zedong had also developed Guerilla tactics that not only won the Party the fight for power against the Kuomintang when ties between the parties had become turbulent, but also earned respect from the peasants. Therefore, the combination of Mao's popularity with the masses and his tight grip of the CCP helped him to rise to power.
The Long March of 1934 marked the time when Mao "achieved effective control of the CCP". Even though the Long March was a retreat from Southern China to escape the wrath of Chiang Kai-shek's troops, it was not only a major propaganda victory for the CCP by spreading communist revolutionary ideas to northern parts of China but it also proved to be a platform for Mao Zedong to show his leadership abilities. This included crossing through rough terrain such as mountains and rivers, covering a massive 8000 miles of land by foot and avoiding frequent conflict with Chiang's hostile forces. Mao had already become a popular member of the Party by winning support from the Kuomintang and the CCP when both the parties were allied in 1926 and becoming the director of the Peasant Commissions. Adding to his support, at the end of Long March in 1936, the surviving members of the march were full of praise for Mao's leadership abilities and he was later hailed as a hero by party members and supporters. This laid a platform for Mao to accumulate more power within the party and created a new era of leadership in the Chinese Communist Party.
