ABSTRACT
Consolidation of Power: 1949-1955 Mao Zedong was under no illusions that the revolution had been won when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power on the mainland: He explicitly compared the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the first step on a new Long March. Victory had come more quickly than even the optimists had predicted. During the later stages of the war, the communist troops’ main challenge was not fighting the Kuomintang (KMT) troops, who were in full retreat, but running after them. Some soldiers jokingly referred to this as “the battle with the feet.” Still, CCP leaders were aware that they had not won the hearts and minds of the majority of the population. The next few years may be characterized as the party’s efforts to legitimize its power.
