ABSTRACT
The Taihang region as a whole had been predominantly rural on the eve of the War of Resistance, though far from a subsistence economy. The middle peasant strategy that emerged from these events and that was to prove eventually successful in mobilizing support, came to focus on a highly variable middle peasant, differentiated by their earlier class status and political behaviour during the War years. Discussions within the base area CCP in the first few months of 1940 led to a 'theory of the unique influence of class status' which reached even beyond the ideological formulations of November 1939. The 'theory of the unique influence of class status' was more than simply an application of a set-class analysis. The formal process of party consolidation in which members were required to re-apply and be re-assessed meant that the impact of the 'theory of the unique influence of class status' on the composition of the local CCP was dramatic.
