Revolution and the Countryside: From Uprising to Rural Dominance: 1927~~1929

Author: Huang Kun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Although the dust settled long ago from the revolution, its tracing and exploration are far from over. On the vast rural land, the Communist Party of China was able to be born, develop, and grow strong. Without the participation and support of the peasants, the revolution could never have succeeded—this is without a doubt. Why did the peasants join the revolution? The tradition of "writing for the victors" has caused history and the truth to diverge. As the main force of the revolution and the legal masters of the new China after its victory, the peasants should have had a proactive revolutionary consciousness, and the overwhelming tide of peasant revolution also swept away their initial cowardice, hesitation, and retreat. At the same time, the exploration of an inevitable causal link has led people into a quagmire, where they and are unable to break free. For this reason, this issue, which was once self-evident and settled, is now controversial, with differing opinions and conflicting views. From raising the banner of armed resistance in 1927 to the end of 1929, the Communist Party had already established 15 revolutionary bases of varying sizes in remote mountainous areas and firmly rooted itself. There were gains and losses, and the path was winding and. In the comparison of gains and losses, and of twists and turns, "loss" and "gain" became two isolated sides, with "loss" being empty and "gain" being far-sighted. Mao Zedong later provided a systematic theoretical explanation for the path taken, but when he abandoned the attack on Changsha, led his troops to the mountains, and began to forge a path of rural autonomy, was this supported by such theory? If not, what logic guided this revolutionary operation? The strength of military forces was the key to whether autonomy could succeed, and its development was also a concentrated reflection of the Party's political, economic, and cultural work in the autonomous regions. At the beginning, peasants were willing to join local peasant associations or Red Guards but were reluctant to join the Red Army. This was undoubtedly influenced by strong localism, but the Red Army's insufficient connection with the local society was also an important reason. Just as peasants needed time to accept the rural elites who emerged from the revolutionary movement, as the Red Army's connection with the local society grew closer, their reluctance to join the Red Army also gradually changed. When a hierarchical structure of armed organizations, composed of main force Red Army, local armed forces, and militia, was gradually formed, it also marked the success of the Communist Party in gaining a deep foothold in the countryside.