Evaluate the role of Mao Zedong’s leadership in the rise of Communism in China to 1935.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the role of Mao Zedong’s leadership in the rise of Communism in China to 1935, weighing up its strengths and limitations. Candidates may offer equal coverage of Mao’s roles or they may emphasize their evaluation of one or more of them. Candidates may refer to Mao’s ideological role as a nationalist who set Marxism in a Chinese context, with the peasantry central to the provocation of revolution. There may be evaluation of his military role; already a successful commander by 1934 he further enhanced his reputation by adopting effective guerrilla tactics during the Long March. Both strengths and limitations (such as his poor oratory) must be clearly indicated but there does not need to be an equal focus on each. While other relevant factors, for example Jiang Jieshi’s miscalculations, may be referred to, the bulk of the response will remain on the issue raised in the question.

Candidates were required to make an appraisal of the role of Mao Zedong’s leadership in the rise of Communism in China to 1935. A very popular question that was not responded to very well for the most part. Many candidates went way beyond the time frame in the question and others dismissed Mao's leadership and instead chose to discuss Jiang's weaknesses as a leader. Few candidates knew accurate and detailed knowledge about Mao's leadership in these years with many incorrectly assuming he was leader from 1921.