Evaluate the importance of the Jiangxi Soviet (1931–1934) to the rise of communism in China.

The question requires that candidates consider the interrelationship between the Jiangxi Soviet and the rise of the Communist Party (CCP). Following Jiang Jieshi’s purge of the CCP, they fled to Jiangxi and established a community there. Candidates may examine the ways in which the Jiangxi Soviet enabled the party to formulate and implement key policies such as land reform. It was also during the Jiangxi Soviet that the Red Army developed guerrilla tactics to respond to Jiang’s Encirclement Campaigns. These tactics would prove essential to their survival in the Sino-Japanese War and the second Chinese Civil War. Candidates may also consider the significance of the Jiangxi Soviet in the rise of Mao’s leadership of the party and in determining future relations with the USSR. Candidates may argue that the party’s inability to defend Jiangxi in the 5^th Encirclement Campaign nearly decimated the party. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates consider the interrelationship between the Jiangxi Soviet and the rise of the Communist Party (CCP). A very popular question that was responded to very well for the most part. There were many excellent responses that demonstrated an in-depth understanding of this time period. A few weaker responses quickly dismissed the Jiangxi Soviet as not being important and instead wrote about a whole range of other factors that impacted the CCP's development. These responses failed to meet the specific demands of the question so did not score highly.