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.
By outmaneuvering and removing opposition to his own adaptation to Marxist theory, Mao established an unmatched authority in the Party. He tightened his political grip by the use of his informers and special police. Thus, Mao was able to apply his Sino-Marxist theory especially in the countryside to win support of the Chinese masses in the form of a revolution. Mao believed that a Proletariat was more of a form of attitude than a social class. Adding to this, Mao despised a purely intellectual approach to the revolution because it emphasized theoretical concepts without taking actual account of the conditions in China. He also believed that the peasant rising would be sufficient to the proletariat revolution. Mao and the CCP capitalized on the fact that the Kuomintang’s army was treating the peasants in the Jiangxi province badly. He emphasized his loyalty to the peasants by applying the tactics he had learnt in the Jiangxi province, that of waging a Guerilla warfare against the Kuomintang. Mao and the Red Army earned a “Robin Hood” reputation among the peasants as the guerilla fighters paid for their food and lodgings, unlike the GMD who stole it. Through his revolutionary emphasis on the countryside, Mao was able to gain a tremendous amount of support through the peasant and lead the peasant proletarian revolution.
Plenty of support for Mao and the CCP came from victories against the Kuomintang in mainland China. The Nationalist Government lead by Chiang Kai-shek devoted their time and resources to fighting the communists in a civil war instead of the battling the Japanese, as a result, the Kuomintang lost its supporters to the Communists. Adding to this, the CCP had kidnapped Chiang in 1936 and forced him to form a second United Front against the Japanese which was known as the Xian Incident. Furthermore, by not assassinating Chiang and taking advantage of his capture for their own party’s sake, the CCP were able to promote themselves as the true nationalists who loved china much more than the Kuomintang. This was a major propaganda victory for Mao; it won him many more supporters as his Red Army was able to deter the Japanese invasion and save China. Thus, making him the most respected leader in the country. Mao and the CCP had gained so much popularity by the end of 1949 that the Kuomintang couldn’t carry out any more assaults on the Communists. Mao’s moral victory over the Kuomintang by manipulating their strategic failures was the final nail in the coffin for the Nationalists who ultimately fled to Taiwan.
In conclusion, it was Mao Zedong’s personal appeal which won him a lot of support in the political sphere. By being extensively involved in Party Affairs, Mao was able to showcase his tremendous leadership capabilities. Furthermore, Mao’s guerilla tactics not only had a big hand in weakening the Kuomintang’s forces but they also won support from the majority Peasant population on which he applied his Sino-Marxist ideals to create a Peasant Run Proletariat. The overwhelming amount of support for Mao generated through the Proletariat and the manipulation of the major tactical flaws of the Kuomintang prevented them to take any further action against the Party. Mao Zedong then went on to become the first chairman of the Communist Party of China in 1943, which was followed by him being named the President of the People’s Republic of China in 1958. Thus, Mao’s rise to power was due to his personal appeal and his ability to a great extent.
