"The spectacular expansion of the Communist forces during the Sino-Japanese War is represented as a demonstration of the effectiveness of 'Maoist strategy.' Mr. Kataoka shows that, in reality, the Chinese Communist movement had been rurally oriented as early as 1928, and that the Communists' flight from Kiangsi to Yenan therefore constituted an indictment of 'Maoism.' ... Drawing on captured Communist documents that he studied in Taiwan, Mr. Kataoka details the process of land distribution and construction of military bases behind the protection afforded by the war. He ends his account in 1943, when Yenan was preparing for armed insurrection against Chungking."--Dust jacket