people flocked to the red army because they didnt know any better. very generally speaking, the nationalist army was corrupt in officials and structure, and thats the reason people gave increasing support for the communist party. in reality, they blindly did this, displeased with their current leadership. in fact, the nationalists were screwed either way during the japanese invasion.
communists suggested that the nationalists+communists cease fighting and fight the japanese together. nationalists felt their first priority was to eliminate the communists, and then fight the japanese after. later, with no choice (china in ruins), they actually did this (lot of people dont realize it). after the japanese left, communists became stronger and eventually drove the nationalists out of the mainland.
Actually, if you read any good account of "Nationalist" cooperation with U.S. forces during WWII you will find that Chiang Kai Shek refused to fight the Japanese unless put under extreme pressure by his U.S. allies, and even then it was always half hearted. Even during WWII, years after Japan invaded Manchuria, Chiang was taking U.S. weapons and equipment and using them against the Communists. Chiang was ALWAYS more intereted in fighting the Commies because he knew that Japan was only interested in Manchuria and some cities, whereas the communists wanted the entire country. The only problem, though, was that Manchuria was the industrial center of China, which meant that its occupation by foriegn troops exasperated China's poverty epidemic even further, thereby improving the commies' attractiveness.
The communist revolution in China, imho, was an outgrowth of western imperialism that eventually brought China to its knees. China in the 1820's was a self contained cultural, political, and economic entity that had little to gain from the west, it could even produce textiles cheaper than the British with their machines. The brits came in and hated the conditions they had to trade under (among other things they COULDN'T SELL OPIUM!!) and so, after the chinese destroyed a huge amount of conviscated opium, they fought the First Opium War. After that they and the french fought a second. There were a couple of more interventions, some of which the U.S. was involved in. After each little war the Chinese had to accept further indignities: The Europeans established municipal governments into segments of key trading cities that they had full soverienty over, European and American warships could patrol Chinese RIVERS, incredably high reparations, etc. Japan was only getting in on the looting. It's no wonder why Chinese society colapsed, with warlordism (effictively the absence of civil government) growing out of control.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen started the nationalist movement to get rid of the warlords, get the foriengners out of China and to restore stability to the chaotic mess created by our ancestors, but he died a hero, leaving a judas as successor. Chiang Kai Shek sold out to the Europeans and Americans, and somewhat to the Japanese. He killed hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) in his quest for power and the destruction of the communists.
That opened up the door for the Communists to claim to be the saviors of China. The peasents were tired of being screwed by the landlords, so they joined. The intellectuals were sick of Chiang and his betrayal of chinese nationalism, so they went communist (providing the backbone of the party). They took the countryside, were driven to the northwest, solidified, and retook the country after WWII.
After Mao's amazing accomplishment he went nuts. It's kind of understandable, he had done what every leader of China since the appearance of the European traders had failed to do, kick the foreigners out and restore the national borders. He developed a god complex to compete with his messiah complex and started all these huge projects that ended up with millions of deaths. Only now is China reemerging from the darkness it found itself in during the 19th century.
Much of the blame should fall on him, but it also should fall on Chiang as well as the Europeans, Americans and Japanese that imploded Chinese society. They brought a civilization to its knees in order to loot and pillage, and the communist revolution was a backlash against the foreigners that had dramatic effects on the chinese populaiton.
This is an object lesson in why you don't fvck up a civilization beyond repair. It just creates some ideology/religion/movement that repairs the social/economic/political framework. The problem is that it is done in defiance of us, and therefore in a manner that we do not condone.
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