The Kuomintang Fought the Battles, the Communists Stirred the Countryside

6-6: The Retreat of Provincial Autonomy and the Eve of the First United Front

In the wake of the Expel Zhang Campaign (驱张运动) in 1920, Hunan briefly became a symbol of the provincial autonomy movement. Mao Zedong’s call for “Hunan governed by Hunanese” was not merely a localist sentiment—it was a political experiment to break away from the warlord-controlled central system. However, this attempt at autonomy failed to gain sustained support. Under pressure from Beijing, Zhao Hengti grew increasingly conservative, and radicals like Mao were gradually marginalized.

From late 1921 to early 1922, Hunan saw several “order rectification” campaigns that targeted farmers’ associations (农协), student groups, and critical publications. Xiangjiang Review (《湘江评论》), Mao’s radical journal, was shut down in August 1921, signaling the shrinking space for political experimentation. Mao could no longer find a foothold in Hunan.

On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was secretly convened in a residential building in the French Concession of Shanghai. After the French patrol became suspicious, the meeting was moved to a boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. By then, Mao—already disillusioned with the limitations of provincial reform—was heavily influenced by the ideas of Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao.

Between 1919 and 1921, Marxist study groups known as Communist Cells (共产主义小组) began emerging across China. These served as ideological and organizational forerunners to the CCP. The first group was formed by Li Dazhao at Peking University; the Shanghai group was led by Chen Duxiu. Mao played a leading role in the Changsha cell and was selected as a delegate to the First Congress.

The congress was attended by 13 delegates representing just over 50 members. It formally adopted the name Communist Party of China, declared its goal as the overthrow of the bourgeois regime and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat, and laid the groundwork for monthly dues, political discipline, and anti-reactionary policies.

Notably, the congress was attended by a Comintern (Communist International) representative, Maring from the Netherlands, who urged the CCP to align with the global communist movement. The Comintern, headquartered in Moscow and launched by Lenin in 1919, aimed to promote global proletarian revolutions. Though the CCP did not formally vote on joining, it effectively accepted Comintern guidance.

Still a minor political force, the early CCP lacked resources and organizational power. Mao traveled frequently between Shanghai, Changsha, and Beijing in search of political opportunities. While attempting to preserve local power structures in Hunan, he also began envisioning broader strategies for grassroots mobilization.

By 1922, though the First United Front between the KMT and CCP had yet to formally begin, internal CCP discussions were already exploring a strategy of infiltration and cooperation with the KMT. Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen, leader of the KMT, was actively reconsidering his stance toward both the Communists and the Soviet Union, seeking Soviet aid to rebuild his party and extend influence among the lower classes.

6-7: The Northern Expedition Era

As discussed in 5-1: The Northern Expedition, the KMT launched its military campaign from Guangzhou in July 1926, securing rapid victories throughout the summer and fall. The surge of peasant and worker movements coincided with the CCP’s rise in influence. The Communist Party began seizing land, organizing strikes, and challenging traditional authority. Workers and peasants were urged to oppose landlords and capitalists and to form self-governing councils. During this period, Mao served as Acting Director of Propaganda for the Hunan Provincial KMT Committee.

As the National Revolutionary Army advanced through Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Fujian, local warlords fled or surrendered, leaving a vacuum of authority—especially in rural areas. Communist organizations and unions expanded swiftly. In provinces like Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong, peasant associations (农民协会) and labor organizations mushroomed.

With local bureaucrats, militias, and gentry gone, landlords continued to collect rent while peasants remained exploited. This created a power vacuum that the CCP moved quickly to fill. As early as 1925, the Party had begun establishing peasant associations in rural regions, led by Party members, Socialist Youth League activists, and radicals who had studied abroad. They organized night schools, public lectures, theatrical performances, and film screenings to promote anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ideas. Initially formed for education and mutual aid, these associations evolved into militant political organizations.

Following the breakdown of the baojia (保甲) system—a traditional method of rural surveillance and mutual responsibility where households were grouped into units of 10 (jia 甲), then 100 (bao 保)—the CCP dispatched teams of organizers to villages. Associations quickly spread, starting in villages with poor peasants and active Party presence. Local branches were formed, complete with elected leaders, propaganda teams, and militia squads.

The baojia system had long been a tool of control, with local gentry serving as jiazhang (甲长) and baozhang (保长), enforcing taxes, recruiting conscripts, and suppressing dissent. After the system collapsed in the wake of the Northern Expedition, CCP cadres rapidly replaced it with peasant-controlled structures.

By early 1927, Hunan’s peasant association had grown to over 2 million members, capable of mobilizing more than 10 million people. In some counties, more than 90% of the rural population had joined. These associations began expropriating landlord property, redistributing land, undermining clan structures, and forming provisional rural governments.

In areas with strong CCP presence, land reform began in earnest. Large estates owned by landlords and warlords were confiscated and redistributed to poor peasants and tenant farmers. Revolutionary supporters were allowed to retain their land, while moderate landlords were taxed, with revenues supporting the association’s operations—purchasing supplies, arming militias, and funding schools and welfare projects.

In March 1927, on the eve of Chiang Kai-shek’s betrayal of the CCP, Mao penned his Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan. Just a month later, the April 12 Purge began, signaling the violent collapse of the First United Front.