Chapter 36 Chiang Kai-shek purging the party, The KMT and CCP engage in a deadly struggle 1927

Journalist: “I heard that the peasant movement in Hunan had a decisive influence on you?”

Mao: “Yes. From January 4 to February 5, 1927, I conducted investigations on the peasant movement in five counties of Hunan: Xiangtan, Xiangxiang, Hengshan, Liling, and Changsha. In March, I published the ‘Investigation Report on the Hunan Peasant Movement’ and attended the Third Plenum of the Kuomintang in Wuhan. In April and May, I attended meetings of the Kuomintang Land Committee and repeatedly expressed my opinions on land confiscation and distribution.

My previous moderate views underwent a tremendous change during my tour of rural areas in Hunan. Before arriving in Changsha, I had no grounds to oppose the party’s stance in favor of the landlords and couldn’t provide an answer to this question. It wasn’t until I stayed in Hunan for 30 days that my attitude completely changed. From the ‘Investigation Report on the Hunan Peasant Movement’ that I wrote after my tour, it can be seen that I discovered my fondness for violence, chaos, and cruelty. I found myself. This discovery had a decisive influence on my future direction.

I saw that most of the officials in the peasant associations were ruffians, idlers, gamblers—people who were looked down upon by the gentlemen in the past—but now they held power. They acted like kings in the peasant associations, turning them into fierce entities. They arbitrarily passed judgments, saying, ‘To have land means to be a tyrant, and none of landlords are not inferior.’ In some places, even someone with just 50mu of land (1mu = 0.0667 acres) was called a tyrant, and wearing a long robe made one an inferior landlord. They would beat the landlords to the ground, trample them underfoot, and without any reason, accuse people and force them to wear the ‘hat of shame’ while parading through the villages. They did whatever they pleased, creating a terrifying atmosphere in the countryside.

I enjoyed watching these ruffians play with their victims, forcing them to wear the ‘hat of shame’ and making the tyrant landlords tremble. Once someone had worn the ‘hat of shame,’ their reputation was ruined and they couldn’t hold their heads up high again. I felt an unprecedented delight. I exclaimed loudly, ‘It’s great! It’s great!’”

Journalist: “Was it because of your promotion that during the Cultural Revolution, various individuals were labeled and paraded through the streets?”

Mao: “Yes, that’s correct. I particularly admired a brutal weapon called the suobiao, which made all the tyrant landlords tremble when they saw it. I demanded that the authorities in Hunan popularize the suobiao among over 20 million peasants in 75 counties. During my inspection, the peasant association reported to me that some people had been beaten to death and asked me what to do. I said, ‘If a few people are beaten to death, it’s nothing.’ Later, more people were beaten to death.

Before my inspection, the leaders of the Hunan peasant movement had attempted to restrain violence and had arrested some individuals responsible for killings. I ordered their release and criticized them, saying, ‘The revolution is not a dinner party, not an embroidery or painting class. Every village must create a short-term atmosphere of terror.’ The leaders of the peasant movement made self-criticisms and carried out my orders.

What attracted me was the savage violence, the violence that shattered the existing order and social structure. This was the model of the Russian Social Revolution. I not only believed in this model theoretically but also resonated with it on a personal level. Moscow took notice of me, and my ‘Report’ was first published in the magazine of the Communist International. Although I was somewhat vague in theory, I intuitively aligned with Lenin. Leaders like Chen Duxiu believed in communism in theory, but when they heard about mobs beating and killing people, they were furious and insisted on stopping it. They were not true adherents of Soviet-style communism, but I was. That’s why the Communist Party expelled me from its leadership circle for two years but later readmitted me. In May 1927, during the 5th Congress, I once again became an alternate member of the Central Committee.”

Journalist: “Oh, you perfectly match Stalin’s taste. Chen Duxiu disagreed with mobs beating and killing people and was removed?”

Mao: “Yes. I accompanied the Northern Expedition Army to Wuhan. I am currently the overall manager of the Kuomintang peasant movement. In Wuhan, I trained peasant movement personnel, and wherever the Northern Expedition Army went, violence spread. In my training materials, there were discussions on how to deal with tyrant landlords: if they were unyielding, cut their tendons and ears, make them wear the ‘hat of shame’ while parading, or simply beat them to death.

Under my influence, rural violence spread everywhere, causing strong opposition from Kuomintang officers. In June 1927, Chen Duxiu reported to the Communist International, ‘Ninety percent of the National Revolutionary Army officers come from Hunan. The military personnel are extremely disgusted with the excesses of the peasant movement.’ The properties of officers’ families were confiscated, relatives were arrested, businessmen were punished, and even the meager money soldiers sent back home was confiscated. The soldiers realized that the revolution, instead of bringing benefits to their families, was causing them disaster. The majority of the Kuomintang members were already dissatisfied with following the path of the Soviet Union. Their anger reached its peak during the Kuomintang’s Second National Congress in 1926. Among the 256 delegates, approximately one-third were Communist Party members, another one-third were pro-Communist, and there were many secret Communist Party members. In the future, when the Communist Party seizes power, they will play a significant role. Many prominent Kuomintang figures rose up and strongly denounced rural violence, calling for a break from Moscow’s control and a rupture with the Chinese Communist Party, who they saw as Moscow’s agents in China.”

Journalist: “Did the rural violence offend Kuomintang officers? Will the Kuomintang and the Communist Party split?”

Mao: “Yes. On April 6, 1927, the Beijing government raided the Soviet embassy and found a large number of documents indicating that the Soviet Union was plotting to overthrow the Beijing government. The documents exposed the secret relationship between the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. Communist Party leader Li Dazhao and over 60 party members were living in the buildings of the Soviet embassy. Li Dazhao was soon strangled to death.

The documents found in the Soviet embassy were widely reported in national newspapers, and the scale of the Soviet subversion plan angered public opinion and shocked the Western powers. At this time, the Kuomintang was fully committed to the Northern Expedition, aiming to overthrow the Beijing government, and the Soviet Union was providing financial and military support. The Communist Party was fighting alongside the Kuomintang. People believed that the Kuomintang was part of the Soviet subversion plan and that overthrowing the Beijing government would turn China into a puppet of the Soviet Union. If the Kuomintang didn’t change its policy, it could lose popular support, and the Western powers would support the Beijing regime at all costs.

Therefore, on April 12, 1927, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kuomintang Army, Chiang Kai-shek, ordered a break with the Communist Party and initiated the ‘purge of the party.’ A wanted list was issued with 197 names, headed by the Soviet advisor Borodin, and I was also on the list.”

Journalist: “So Chiang Kai-shek began the purge of the Communists like that?”

Mao: “Yes. Chiang Kai-shek was six years older than me. In 1923, Sun Yat-sen sent him to lead a delegation to visit the Soviet Union. At that time, he was considered by the Russians to be part of the left wing of the Kuomintang. However, after a three-month visit and investigation, he saw through the Soviet Union, particularly disliking how the Soviet Union divided Chinese society into classes and promoted class struggle.

Chiang Kai-shek did not publicly express his view of the Soviet Union.

On the contrary, he appeared very friendly towards the Soviet Union, full of enthusiasm. With the support of the Russians, Chiang rose to become the second most important figure in the Kuomintang, second only to Wang Jingwei. Chiang concealed his true intentions in order to obtain Soviet military aid. At the same time, he quietly prepared to break away. In March 1926, he removed some Communist Party members from key positions. The Soviet advisors noticed this and considered eliminating Chiang Kai-shek. However, they temporarily accommodated him to buy time and make preparations to eventually get rid of him. One year later, Borodin secretly ordered the arrest of Chiang Kai-shek.”

Journalist: “Oh, Borodin ordered the arrest of Chiang Kai-shek?”

Mao: “Yes, but Chiang Kai-shek acted first. After the documents exposing Soviet subversion were announced in Beijing, on April 12, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12 Incident in Shanghai, issuing a wanted list for 193 Communist Party members, and I was also on the list. Chiang Kai-shek issued a proclamation and began arresting Communist Party members. The action started in Shanghai, and in a matter of days, over 300 Communist Party members were killed. The Communist Party in Shanghai was forced to go underground.”