ABSTRACT
In the Chinese communist political culture, the military's involvement in the political process was seen as necessary and essential to the maintenance and consolidation of party rule. The intraparty factional conflicts that were a major byproduct of the system were therefore seen as an inevitable price to pay for the ultimate survival of the party regime. The Maoist political-military system laid the structural foundations for the military's involvement in politics. However, in each particular case, military leaders participated in the political struggles with various combinations of motives. The Maoist civil-military coalition soon faced a significant challenge. The vested interests in the communist status quo soon emerged in the form of the February Adverse Current at the center, and a powerful opposition to the Red Guard movement in the provinces.
