Mao Zedong ascended to power in China in 1949, at the conclusion of a civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Kuomintang Party. The victory of the CCP and the political ascension of Mao Zedong was the result of decades of complex political maneuvering, combined with a focus on Mao-led social reform movements, including land redistribution and industrialization.
Mao Zedong began his political activity while a student in Beijing in the 1920s, when he joined the revolutionary May Fourth Movement. In 1921, Mao Zedong joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and was an active participant in the development of the party’s early ideology and strategy. During this period, Mao became increasingly critical of the Nationalist Kuomintang Party’s policies and ambitions, and expressed his preference for a communist-led revolutionary movement. However, the CCP lacked the organizational infrastructure and popular support to compete with the KMT for control of the country.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Mao Zedong attempted to build the CCP’s strength through the mobilization of peasant support. In 1927, Mao led a failed revolt against the KMT in Hunan which gained the CCP the support of peasants in the region but alienated them from the more moderate leadership of the CCP in Shanghai. This violent peasant uprising led to Mao’s purge from the CCP’s central committee and his eventual exile from China.
Mao was in exile from China until 1935, when he returned to the CCP and proposed a new strategy that would focus on building a strong base in rural areas. This strategy was known as the “Red Army Long March.” It involved organizing small teams of armed guerillas and establishing Communist strongholds in remote rural regions throughout China. This strategy resulted in a series of successful engagements with KMT forces, allowing Mao to gain control of formerly KMT-held territories in the north and east of China.
At the same time, Mao had begun to promote his ideologies of social reform and communist ideals. In particular, he argued for the redistribution of land from wealthy landowners to resource-poor peasants, as well as the nationalization of major industries. These policies were very popular in rural areas of China and helped the CCP to gain further support among the peasant population.
Mao’s career as leader of the CCP and China rose quickly during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), when the CCP formed an effective alliance with the KMT to fight against Japanese imperialist forces in China. Following the victory of the Allied Powers in World War II, the KMT and CCP resumed their civil war in 1945, with both factions claiming victory over the Japanese. Mao and the CCP were initially at a disadvantage to the KMT, who controlled large sections of the country and had more financial resources.
However, the CCP’s superior strategy, organization and popular support enabled them to slowly regain control over many regions. In 1949, the CCP captured Beijing and effectively gained control of most of mainland China. On October 1st, 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China, with himself as its first Chairman.
Mao Zedong’s ascension to power in 1949 marked the end of decades of civil war and established the CCP as the ruling party of mainland China. Mao’s policies of land redistribution, industrialization, and collectivization had been crucial to the victory of the CCP and have defined the course of Chinese history since 1949. Mao’s legacy has been complicated by the subsequent events of his rule, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which led to millions of deaths due to famine and persecution. Nevertheless, it is clear that Mao Zedong’s strategic and ideological vision of a unified and socialist China under the CCP’s rule was the driving force behind his ascension to power.