Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow and the Chinese Revolution - KU ...

Chang Wen-t'ien, a man of literary bent and a man of prudence and
amiable disposition, was not at heart a political creature. He was
therefore an ideal choice to nominally head the Party during the period
of transition from Ch'in Pang-hsien's leadership until Mao felt able
to formally proclaim his own leadership.
Then, too, Ch'en Shao-yu, who, after a seven-years' sojourn in
Moscow, had attained a considerable international reputation and the
support of the Russian Communist leaders, still remained an important
potential political rival to Mao Tse-tung. Besides, the 28
Bolsheviks still exercised a considerable influence in the Party. Some
of them were members of the CC of the CCP, while others were
members of the powerful Central Politburo as well. In order to
maintain a friendly relationship with the Comintern and the CPSU,
while consolidating his own leadership in the Party, Mao Tse-tung
did not want to undertake drastic measures against the 28 Bolsheviks,
which might have alienated the Comintern and the Russians. Furthermore,
an open assault on the 28 Bolsheviks might have offered an opportunity
to the anti-Mao faction headed by Chang Kuo-t'ao, Mao's
old rival, to form a united front against him with the 28 Bolsheviks.
History proved the correctness of Mao's strategy. The 28 Bolsheviks,
really, were no more than a handful of intellectuals who were better
at writing articles and slogan-shouting than at practical work. Their
threat to Mao Tse-tung was far less than the threat of Chang Kuo-t'ao,
who was backed by troops. When the Red Army headed by Mao
Tse-tung and the Fourth Front Army commanded by Chang Kuo-t'ao
met at Mao-kung in western Szechwan Province on June 16, 1935,
they both proceeded to move northward. But when they reached
Mao-er-kai, southwest of Sung-pan, Chang Kuo-t'ao and Mao Tsetung
had a serious dispute. Mao wanted to continue their march northward,
but Chang wanted to move westward. To dramatize his opposition
to Mao, Chang formed a rival CC of the Party. As one Communist
historian put it:
A serious dispute thus arose between him [Chang Kuo-t'ao] and the CC of the
Party. The CC held that the Red Army should march north and open up a base
in the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia area to coordinate with the daily growing nationwide
anti-Japanese movement. But Chang Kuo-t'ao opposed this policy and advocated
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