In 1937 Japan attacked China. Instead of resisting the Japanese attack, the Kuomintang government retreated. Long wars had weakened China. The prices of things skyrocketed and the life of common people was hard.
Rural China faced two crises:
a) Environmental crisis: Soil fertility was lost, there was deforestation and there were floods.
b) Social and economic crisis: Exploitative land-owning system, debt, primitive technology, very poor exchange system.
Following the Russian Revolution, in 1921 the CPC (Communist Party of China) was established. The success of the Russian Revolution had a big impact on the world. Soon the Russian leaders Lenin and Trotsky established the Comintern (Community International) or Third International. Its aim was to end exploitation and establish a world government. If supported all the Communist Parties all over the world. But they had the traditional Marxist view that only an urban labour class could bring about a revolution. Soon Comintern became a means of protecting only Soviet interests, it was disbanded in 1943.
Mao Zedong was the leader of CPC. In the strategy of the Communist Party, Mao brought a big change. He saw the peasants as a great power. He believed that only peasants could bring about a revolution. Thus he moved away from the traditional Marxian view. The success of Mao made CPC very strong and it was helpful in bringing victory over the Kuomintang.
When the attacks from the Kuomintang became intense, Mao and his followers retreated to the Jiangxi Mountain. From 1928 to 1934 he camped here. There he formed a strong Peasant Council. By conscating land the distributing them to people, he made the Council very strong. Mao wanted to establish an independent government and army. He was aware of the problem of women. He encouraged the formation of organizations of village women. He objected to the traditional system of marriage and brought a new marriage law. It made divorces simple.
In 1934, Mao and his followers left their camps to escape from the attacks by Kuomintang. Their destination was Yanan, 6000 miles away. This march became a historical event and is called the Long March. The Communists who reached Yanan formulated their plans. They gave importance to suppress the warlords, bring land reforms and fight against the foreign imperial powers. This helped them to make a strong social base.
In 1937 when Japan attacked China, the Communists cooperated with the Kuomintang to fight against the common enemy, Japan. But when the war ended, this cooperation ended and the civil war between Kuomintang and Communists restarted. The Communists led a final assault against the Kuomintang and captured the capital Nanjing. Chiang Kaishek and his army escaped to Taiwan. On 1st October 1949, the new Chinese Republic under Mao was proclaimed.
