In what ways did support for Mao and the Communist Party change in the years

1934-70?
- The Civil War, 1945-49
- The Great Leap Forward, 1958-62

At the beginning of the civil war, the CCP seemed unlikely to win, however the PLA, which was the CCP’s army,
were a disciplined army that was motivated by its belief in communism. When it passed through villages, the PLA
treated the local population with respect. This developed support for communism and encouraged men to join the
Reds and villagers to give supplies to the army. By contrast, the NRA was a conscript army that was poorly
supplied and cruelly treated. Poor treatment led to a high number of deaths and desertions, which reduced the
strength of the army. This meant that many people who were forced to join the NRA and were mistreated, grew
resentful of the GMD, and some, therefore became more supportive of the CCP. During the Civil War, the CCP
also introduced land reforms that took away land from the richer peasantry and gave it to the poorer villagers.
This often involved poorer peasants criticising their richer neighbours and frequently involved the use of violence.
The peasants who took part in such actions had much to fear from a return of the GMD. They were committed to
supporting the CCP because they risked the revenge of the landlords if the GMD took back the village.

The Great Leap Forward massively damaged support for the GMD. Mao believed that China would be able to
increase its agricultural production and industrial production at the same time. However, overall the Great Leap
Forward was a terrible failure. Collectivisation, which was a system in which around fifty different families worked
together in communes to produce crops, failed and 50 million people died in the resultant famine. Production in
businesses decreased, as there was no profit motive under communism, so there was no reason to work hard. In
1959, even Mao admitted that the Great Leap Forward had failed, when he commented on his own limitations as
an economic planner. The failure of the Great Leap Forward, and Mao’s poor judgement of China’s ability to
function independently, had resulted in millions of deaths. This seriously damaged Mao’s political popularity, and
the popularity of the party as a whole. He resigned as head of state and for the next few years was rarely seen in
public.

The Cultural Revolution had a very significant impact on Mao’s own position. He had always believed that
transforming China into a communist country required absolute obedience to the leader, and the Cultural
Revolution largely achieved this. Mao had removed his opponents, making him an unchallenged leader. The CCP
was firmly under Mao’s control. Those party members who had questioned Mao in the past had been replaced by
loyal members who were devoted to him. The population gave their absolute support to him, and people were
forced, by the Red Guard, to carry his Little Red Book, as proof of their devotion to Mao. Those who did not carry
the book, were often killed and tortured by the Red Guard. The establishment of prison camps known as laogi,
where opponents were ‘re-educated’ to support Mao and the ideals of communism, also helped to increase
support for Mao, and to prevent any opponents from speaking out. The very difficult conditions, the planned
starvation and use of torture ensured that those who survived the experience and were released would never
criticise the regime again. The events of the Cultural Revolution increased the public support for Mao, and further
established him as an unchallenged leader.