1.2 Being trained in the countryside and stemming from the rural to urban areas

The Communist Party of China took such a revolutionary road as building rural base areas first, encircling the cities from the countryside then. At its founding, it has declared explicitly to be a party for the working class. In accordance with the positioning, it naturally had to lead the working class in the cities to wage revolutions, but as a matter of fact, it finally chose to rely on the peasants in the vast countryside; according to the experience learned from the successful communist revolution in Russia, it should firstly attack and occupy big cities to overturn the reactionary government in a stroke before spreading the revolution to the countryside. The Communist Party of China chose to launch revolution firstly in the countryside, accumulate power, establish bases, and develop gradually to finally occupy the cities. It's mainly based on the recognition of China's national conditions that the Communist Party of China did not follow its usual example of theoretical logics and practices, formulated the strategy of developing in the countryside first and then in cities. It held that China was first and foremost an agrarian country where the deeply-oppressed and revolutionary peasants were in the overwhelming majority and may thus become the main force of revolution; that the predominated self-sufficient natural economy instead of the integrated urban and rural economy in China made the vast rural areas independent of the cities; that the forces of the ruling class in China were mainly in cities, making it barely possible for the Chinese working class to launch riots or occupy big cities, whereas the vast countryside was a weak link in the reactionary ruling; and that the conflicts and contradictions in the Chinese ruling class, especially the confrontation and war among the warlords provided an opportunity for the growth and expansion of the revolutionary forces in China. Against such national conditions, the Communist Party of China could totally establish before gradually developing and expanding its revolutionary army, open before gradually expanding its revolutionary bases, and finally encircle and occupy cities and take national power. Nevertheless, to ensure the final success of this revolutionary strategy, it had to try and make efforts in a number of aspects.

Firstly, to launch agrarian revolution or land reforms to give the peasants material interests. About 50% of the land in rural China was held by the minority less than 10% of its population. A fairly large part of the peasants had little or no land, being exploited by land rent, etc. The so-called agrarian revolution means to classify the rural residents into landowners, rich peasants, middle peasants (i.e., yeomen) and poor peasants,according to how much land they occupied, and then confiscated the land occupied by the landlord class and the extra land occupied by the rich peasants with a compelling force so as to eliminate the concentration of land in the countryside and give every tiller the land. Through land reforms, the vast peasants with little or no land got land and some other basic means of production, i.e., real material interests, so they stood by the side of the Communist Party of China sincerely and their revolutionary enthusiasm was fully mobilized. There were supporters and followers everywhere the Communist Party of China reached.

Agrarian revolution

Secondly, to construct democratic politics and give peasants their political discourse right. The Communist Party of China believed what's between it and the peasants was not just a relationship between the ruler and the ruled, but both stood together through thick and thin and were closely tied up with each other. The Communist Party of China, a representative of the lasting and fundamental interests of the poor, launched the revolution, struggled and made sacrifices all for the workers, the peasants and the masses, making it logical that the power established under its leadership is the one to speak for the people. So it once implemented universal suffrage in the countryside. Expect the small number of dissidents who had been deprived of their political rights, all men and women in the countryside, old and young, had a vote if they reached the legal election age. During the anti-Japanese War, to unite to the greatest extent all anti-Japanese forces, the Communist Party of China established the “three thirds” power, under which its members took 1/3, the non-Party leftist advanced elements another 1/3 and the centrists 1/3 in terms of the power composition. The trial to construct a democratic power opened multiple channels for interest expression while integrating the requirements of all aspects through consultation, strengthening the consensus, bringing together the anti-Japanese forces, and consolidating the governance of the Communist Party of China in the countryside.

Thirdly, to set great store by constructing a clean and honest government and maintain the usual fine work style and image of struggling arduously. As early as in August, 1926, it had issued a document To Resolutely Rinse the Degraded and Corrupt Elements, after which it had been fighting against corruption in the revolutionary base. To maintain its fine style of work and image of governing for the people, being honest and self-constrained and struggling arduously, it did not rest with empty political theories or principle norms in its documents, but went deeper to touch each and every detail. For example, it's said in Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Strictly Building a Fiscal and Economic System in 1939, “All schools, government organizations and army units are not allowed to hold dinner parties for one another (excluding treating foreign guests), but they may hold parties for themselves with the money self-saved. No wine, dishes or cigarettes are allowed to be served in usual meetings.” In November, 1947, after it took Shijiazhuang, the first big city in North China, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a special order, demanding that “no cadres and soldiers going to work in Shijiazhuang are allowed to take anything from the locals, or to make new clothes or to be extravagant in eating and drinking, but must maintain the working style of being pure and arduous. Anyone who violates the provisions herein must be sent away from Shijiazhuang immediately.” The majority of Party members, from Mao Zedong, Zhu De and the other senior leaders on the top to the ordinary cadres, military officers and soldiers at the bottom, could consciously maintain the working style of struggling arduously. In a sharp contrast, the Kuomintang was seriously corruptive and its officials at all levels corrupted, abused the law, and taxed the people to the bone. As a result, the Chinese people were sinking deeper into dire circumstances. Even during the 8-year-long anti-Japanese War, at the critical moment for national survival, some the Kuomintang military and government officials did not forget to make fortunes out of national crises. At the joint meeting of the magistrates in border areas held in 1939, Mao Zedong said, “Our county, district and township heads each receive a monthly subsidy of 2 yuan, but it helps us maintain our democracy and fine style of struggling arduously and help the civilians. What about the county heads of the Kuomintang? They each receive a monthly salary of 180 yuan,and know only marrying concubines, playing Mahjong, blasting opium, corrupting, exploiting and oppressing the civilians.” It's safe to say that maintaining an image of being clean, honest and affectionate to the civilians is a powerful weapon for the Communist Party of China to defeat the enemies in the revolution.

Displaced people under the Kuomintang(KMT)’s rule

Lastly, to start from people's livelihood and launch effective social mobilization to fully unite the forces in the countryside. The Communist Party of China established a variety of social organizations like mutual aid, agricultural cooperatives, production teams, militia, peasants' associations, women's associations and children's corps in the countryside, through which it managed all aspects of the rural political and economic life in production, circulation, distribution, military affairs and political participation, formed a new set of social operating mechanisms. The key to run the “machine” was people's livelihood, i.e., the peasants' immediate interests and demands. Peasants in the Soviet Area once sang, “the Kuomintang brings to us no food, the Communist Party of China makes us all fed.” “The poor are happy for they have food even at the turn of the spring and summer, new clothes in cold winter.” Once their immediate needs were satisfied, the peasants would surely and sincerely support the Communist Party of China, took the initiative in joining the social organizations established under the leadership of the Communist Party of China; while by eradicating the backward and ignorant ideas and concepts, the Communist Party of China broke the former clan forces, family authority and confines to women, and helped the peasants to “get independent” spiritually, which facilitated it to efficiently manage the social life in the rural society and to unite the separated rural forces together in economic production, political participation and military drills, having very significant effects. The organized rural areas and peasants closely followed the Communist Party of China and became the source of power for its victory in the revolution.