Chinese Communism’s Urban Beginnings

Following the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, Marxism emerged in the city of Shanghai. A study
group was formed under the leadership of Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao in 1918, which provided the leadership for the
beginning of an urban-based revolution, starting with the incitement of the workers. Even after the establishment of
the CCP in 1921, the revolution continued to be urban-based, as illustrated by the increase in Communist-led trade
unions in comparison with the neglected agrarian centers. The All-China Labor Federation (ACLF) convened in
1927, boasting 3 million workers and revealing the party’s focus on the labor movement, as shown in the increase in
number of strikes. This came to an end, however with the split of the United Front when Nationalist forces started
to attack the Communist forces in the ‘White Terror’ of 1927. The structural characteristics of the city, i.e. the high
concentration of population and the functional differentiation of socioeconomic life9 led to their downfall, as
infiltration proved too difficult and the Nationalists found the purge relatively easy to perform. This era shows
remarkable similarities to that of Lenin’s experience, in that it supports the Marxist assumption that the revolution
would start in the cities. The end result, however, shows the CCP flourishing in the countryside because they were
able to implement their ideals rather than simply propagate their doctrines.
The city was determined by Mao to be an unsuitable setting for a revolution, another reason for the relative
increase in the revolutionary potential of the peasants as compared to the proletariat. As in Russia, the city was
considered to be a convenient location for the attainment of the revolution, yet its sociological and structural
characteristics made this difficult. The successful and rapid establishment of the CCP in 1921 was partially due to
its access to a wealth of intellect, transport facilities and mass media, which was vastly improved during the May
Fourth Movement. However, Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalists used these same facilities against the Communists, and
the embryonic movement was thus suppressed because the GMD had infiltrated the city to the extent that even the
covert movements of the CCP were immediately noticed. The CCP was forced to the countryside where it became
a revolutionary threat with its naturally defensive environment and the establishment of autonomous bases. In the
countryside the CCP no longer had to deal with outside forces that undermined the party’s development, was able to
achieve mass mobilization by implementing social and economic reforms without interference, and succeeded in
establishing the Red Army, which proved to be immensely important in the success of the revolution.