These essays present fresh insights into the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), from its founding in 1920 to its assumption of state power in 1949. They draw upon considerable archival resources which have recently become available.

Part I Early Organizational Trends; Chapter 1 The Emergence of the Text-Centered Party, Hans J. van de Ven; Chapter 2 The Politics of Gender in the Making of the Party, Christina Gilmartin; Chapter 3 What Is Wrong with Li Dazhao?, Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik; Part II Regional Variations; Chapter 4 The Origins of the Futian Incident, Stephen C. Averill; Chapter 5 Under Arms and Umbrellas: Perspectives on Chinese Communism in Defeat, Gregor Benton; Chapter 6 Fits and Starts: The Communist Party in Rural Hebei, 1921-1936, Kathleen Hartford; Chapter 7 Peasant Responses to CCP Mobilization Policies, 1937-1945, Lucien Bianco; Part III The Making of Victory; Chapter 8 Discourse as Power: Yan'an and the Chinese Revolution, David E. Apter; Chapter 9 The Honorable Vocation: Intellectual Service in CCP Propaganda Institutions in Jin-Cha-Ji, 1937-1945, Timothy Cheek; Chapter 10 The Blooming Poppy under the Red Sun: The Yan'an Way and the Opium Trade, Chen Yung-fa; Chapter 11 Writing or Rewriting History? The Construction of the Maoist Resolution on Party History, Tony Saich; Chapter 12 From a Leninist to a Charismatic Party: The CCP's Changing Leadership, 1937-1945, Frederick C. Teiwes, Warren Sun; Chapter 13 Conclusion, John Dunn;