Civil War, the Long March and Japanese Invasion as Revolutionary Catalysts (1927–1945)

What this note covers

1. The Shanghai Massacre (April 1927): Fracture and Forced Underground
2. Nationalist Weakness: The GMD's Structural Contradictions (1927–1937)
3. The Long March (1934–1935): Catastrophe Transformed into Myth
4. The Yan'an Period (1935–1945): Building the Revolutionary State-in-Waiting
5. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945): Accelerating the Nationalist Collapse
6. Mao Zedong as Revolutionary Leader: Ideology, Tactics, and the Cult of Personality
7. Assessing the Turning Points: A Comparative Framework

7 sections · 14 key terms & formulas · 6 common mistakes