Mao
and the Peasant Option
nMao was a committed revolutionary
who understood the
importance of peasant support.
nSun died in 1925 and was replaced
by Chiang Kai-shek who, with
Western approval, quickly
turned against the Communists,
most brutally in Shanghai.
nMao led his supporters in the Long
March and regrouped.
nBy this time, Japan was the more
imminent threat to China as
a whole, and the Nationalists under
Chiang had to ally with the
Communists to fight the invaders.