Empire: World History 339. Chairman Mao: China's Communist Uprising (Ep 2)
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Mar 5, 2026 
Rana Mitter, historian of modern China and author of A Bitter Revolution, gives a scholarly tour of the Chinese Civil War and the Long March. He explains Soviet involvement and the Comintern’s strategy. He describes Chiang Kai-shek’s 1927 purge, Mao’s shift to rural struggle, the brutal Long March logistics, and the Zunyi meeting that boosted Mao’s authority.
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Communist Party Began As Small Urban Study Groups
- The early Chinese Communist Party began as small student study groups in cities like Beijing and Shanghai rather than a mass revolutionary force.
- Rana Mitter notes these groups read Russian anarchists and Marx, showing intellectual roots but little organisation in 1920–21.
Comintern Sewn Unity Turned Strategy Into Military Training
- The Comintern actively intervened in China, pushing Soviet advisors to fuse the tiny CCP with Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang to build a united front.
- Rana Mitter explains Soviets provided training, cash and the Huangpu Academy to militarise the movement in 1923.
White Terror Pushed CCP From Cities To Countryside
- The 1927 breakup with Chiang Kai-shek forced communists out of cities into the countryside, shifting strategy from urban proletariat to rural bases.
- Rana Mitter ties this pivot to Chiang's purge and the Nationalists' violent White Terror in Shanghai and Canton.