Founded in 1921 by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, the CPC held its first Congress in July 1921 at Shanghai and has had a turbulent history ever since. Soon after its founding, the CPC was embroiled in a civil war with the Nationalist forces led by Chiang Kai-shek. The Red Army—today referred to as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—was formed in 1927 as the armed forces of the CPC. So, though the PLA became China’s army after 1949, its first loyalty lies with the CPC, of which it is an integral and indivisible part.
From their early beginnings, the Chinese Communists realised that power did indeed flow from the barrel of a gun. Through the early 1930s, the Red Army suffered a string of military setbacks at the hand of the Nationalist military which eventually led to the Long March, essentially a military retreat to a safer and more remote base in Shaanxi Province from October 1934 to October 1935. Thousands of members of the CPC, including the Red Army, perished during this arduous Long March. It was during this period that Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai emerged as leaders of the CPC. Eventually, the battle-hardened PLA turned the tables on the Nationalists and took power in Beijing while Chiang Kai-shek and his followers were only able to find refuge in Taiwan.
This story is from the July 12, 2021 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 12, 2021 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Mamata Pushback
The West Bengal Chief Minister Faces A BJP Onslaught On Issues Like Corruption And Women's Safety. Unwilling To Yield An Inch, The TMC Is Building A Narrative That The Saffron Party Is 'Anti-Bengali'
Who Will Win The Mahayuddh?
In Maharashtra's Most Complex Political War Ever, Shifting Alliances Fuel A Gripping Saga Of Power Struggles And Betrayals In The Pursuit Of Votes
Grand Young Master
Seventeen-yearold D. Gukesh has become the youngest player to win the Candidates chess tournament
SPORTING SPIRIT
BADMINTON PLAYER ASHWINI PONNAPPA, 34, IS OFF TO HER THIRD OLYMPICS, THIS TIME WITH A NEW PARTNER, TANISHA CRASTO
PORTRAITS OF A PEOPLE
Etchings by the colonial Flemish artist F. Baltazard Solvyns are getting a new lease of life in an exhibition at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai
Centennial Man
A seminal exhibition of K.G. Subramanyan's works in his birth centenary year at Emami Art, Kolkata takes an imaginative and immersive curatorial approach
Rhythms of Nature
ARTIST AND MUSIC COMPOSER GINGGER SHANKAR'S LATEST SINGLE COMBINES SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC WITH INUIT THROAT SINGING
SEARCHING FOR THE SOUND
Kashmiri musician Faheem Abdullah’s debut album Lost; Found is a collaborative effort
FOUND IN TRANSLATION
With its excellent translations, Songs of Tagore makes Rabindrasangit accessible to the non-Bengali reader
Of Freedom and Friendship
T.C.A. RAGHAVAN'S CIRCLES OF FREEDOM FOLLOWS THREE YOUNG MUSLIMS DRAWN INTO THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE