ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes post-1949 civil-military relations in China by studying the role played by the People's Liberation Army in various post-1949 political crises. Two traits characterize Chinese civil-military relationships. First, it is difficult to differentiate the Chinese civilian elite from the Chinese military elite. Second, the Chinese political system has oscillated back and forth between favoring moderate policies and pushing for radical reforms. The birth of the Chinese Red Army in 1927 signified a major policy shift in the Chinese Communist party. Prior to that time, the Chinese Communist party was a purely political movement with no military backing. The Shanghai Massacre, more than any other historical event, hastened the birth of a regular Chinese Communist army, the Chinese Red Army. The new Red Army, under the command of Mao Zedong and Zhu Teh, established a strong hold for the rural wing of the Chinese Communist party in rural Jiangxi in 1927.
