ABSTRACT
Mao Zedong's experiences in Jiangxi had convinced him that if he wished to dominate the Party at top level it was vital that he first secure control over the lower echelons. By the autumn of 1930, two competing groups within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had developed in Jiangxi: the Southwest Jiangxi Special Committee, led by Li Wenlin, in opposition to Mao's General Front Committee. What enabled Mao to veil the unpalatable details of the Futian incident was that the events became merged with a genuine victory over the Guomindang (GMD). For Mao, the Jiangxi period was one of struggle on two fronts, one military, and one political. Jiangxi was subjected to five encirclement campaigns between 1930 and 1934. Mao was uninvolved in the planning of the CCP's breakout from Jiangxi that began in October 1934, the event that was to take its place in Chinese history as the Long March.
