Mao Zedong and the Strategic Choice of the CPC Central Committee: The Long March Landed— The Historical Logic and Practical Enlightenment of Northern Shaanxi

Xuanyi Shen

Show Less

¹ Xi’an Xianyang International Airport, Xianyang 712035, China,

ssr 2025 , 7(8), 84–89; https://doi.org/10.26689/ssr.v7i8.11966

Abstract

This study systematically examines the strategic decision-making process between Comrade Mao Zedong and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China during the Long March, analyzing the multiple motivations behind choosing northern Shaanxi as the final destination and its profound historical impact. As an extraordinary strategic relocation in the history of the Chinese Communist Party, the Long March not only demonstrated the tenacious resilience of revolutionary forces but also became a pivotal turning point, influencing modern China’s historical trajectory. The decision by Comrade Mao Zedong and the Central Committee to establish northern Shaanxi as the Long March endpoint was a critical choice rooted in profound strategic considerations, laying solid political, military, and popular foundations for subsequent revolutionary victories and the establishment of the New China. Through historical retrospection, this paper aims to reveal the intrinsic logic and practical implications of this strategic decision.

References

Zuo JC, Yang XH, Dou YL, 2023, Historical Facts and Academic Theories: Re-examining the Decision-making Place of the Red Army’s Long March Landing in Shaanxi. Silk Road, 2023(1): 78–84.

Shi ZQ, 2022, The Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Establishment of the Guiding Position of Mao Zedong Thought. Journal of Ideological and Theoretical Education, 2022(9): 4–16. https://doi.org/10.16580/j.sxlljydk.2022.09.001

Fan XL, 2022, The Three Historical Resolutions and Mao Zedong Thought. Mao Zedong Studies, 2022(3): 23–31. https://doi.org/10.14130/j.cnki.mzr.2022.03.003

Zhu ZQ, 2014, Geographical Environment and the Red Army’s Long March Settlement in Northern Shaanxi. Heilongjiang Annals of History, 2014(14): 116–118.

Wang XS, 2018, The Inevitability and Contingency of the Red Army’s Long March Settlement in Northern Shaanxi. Military Historical Research, 32(5): 45–51.

Li DL, 2016, Debates on Strategic Guidelines and the Final Decision During the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s Long March. CPC History Studies, 2016(7): 30–40.

Xu ZQ, Xu J, 2015, A Critical Link in the Red Army’s Long March Settlement in Northern Shaanxi: On the Hadapu Conference. Military History, 2015(2): 12–17.

Huang DX, 2019, The Formation of the Northern Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Area and the Arrival of the Central Red Army. Modern Chinese History Studies, 2019(4): 4–22 + 160.

Luo PH, 2015, On the Establishment of Mao Zedong’s Leadership Position at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Party Literature, 2015(3): 96–101.

Jin CJ, 2021, From the Zunyi Conference to the Seventh National Congress: The Process of Establishing the Guiding Position of Mao Zedong Thought. Historical Research, 2021(1): 4–21 + 190.

Chen J, 2020, Systematizing the Core Content of Mao Zedong Thought: From the Perspective of the Party’s Historical Resolutions. Mao Zedong Thought Studies, 37(6): 1–9.

Feng H, 2011, The Resolution on Certain Historical Issues and the Elaboration of Mao Zedong Thought. CPC History Studies, 2011(7): 33–40.

Jiang JN, 2022, New Perspectives on Mao Zedong Thought in the Third Historical Resolution. Marxist Studies, 2022(2): 63–71 + 159.

Zhang SJ, 2017, The Role of Geographic Factors in the Red Army’s Long March Strategic Choices. Military History, 2017(4): 18–24.

Yu HM, 2020, The Geographical Environment of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and the Consolidation of Revolutionary Bases. Journal of Chinese Historical Geography, 35(3): 5–15.

Wang QS, 2018, Intelligence, Geography, and the Red Army’s Strategic Shifts During the Long March. Modern Chinese History Studies, 2018(5): 4–19.

Huang ZL, 2013, The Survival and Development of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Revolutionary Base from a Social-Ecological Perspective. CPC History Studies, 2013(8): 58–69.

Yang KS, 2015, The Selection and Realization of the Central Red Army’s Long March Settlement. Modern Chinese History Studies, 2015(1): 4–27 + 160.

Qi XL, 2019, From Settling in Northern Shaanxi to Rooting in Northwest China: Adjustments in the CPC’s Strategic Plan During the Early War of Resistance Against Japan. Journal of Chinese Studies on the War of Resistance Against Japan, 2019(2): 5–21 + 158.

Previous article in this issue

Next article in this issue