Blog Post #2

Hello all,

It’s 1943 and both the Japanese invasion and the Second World War is among us. My brother has joined the CCP in the fight in Yenan. He says he is fighting for a better world than he was born into. He believes in the social justice reform that Mao has the troops and honestly, most of the country believing in. My family and I have been nothing but supportive of him in this choice to fight for communism but we are scared of the uncertainty that is the life of a soldier in this chaos of a country. One reason why we are supportive of his decision is the leadership in the CCP. Yenan is serving as the wartime headquarters for the CCP and Mao and his cohort of leaders excel in organizing and mobilizing the masses. Their grassroots networks, land reforms, and rural cooperatives, empowering ordinary people eventually has paid off in the gain and trust of the majority of the population standing with the CCP. Yenan and the CCP has attracted a large amount of support from people all over the country even though Yenan is such a rural and remote place. A big reason for this is because its location is a relatively safe distance from the march of the Japanese army. This is a big attraction for those seeking refuge from the Japanese. More reason that Yenan is such a big destination for citizens looking to join the communist party is plain and simply the ideals of the communist party. The anti-corruption efforts, community spirit, educational opportunities, land reform, and economic opportunity all are reasons for China’s initial downfall referenced in my earlier posts. The Nationalist Party has fallen victim to corruption and mismanagement over the years of its control but the CCP’s commitment and promise to dig out this corruption in addition to actively not being corrupt (who knows if they will) has appealed to many of the CCP members. The situation in the camps in Yenan is fostering a really unique community environment. The leaders of the party are in the same sleeping arrangements as the peasants and workers. This has led to seemingly egalitarianism among the entirety of the party as my brother feels as if he can talk to Mao and other leaders because they are treated like equals. Lastly, the educational opportunities being awarded are also unique. There are schools, cultural institutions, and other ways to intellectually stimulate the residents. One other way is by the opportunity to learn to be a wartime medic. My brother has written to me that a girl he knows in Yenan came from Shanghai to join the revolution to care for the soldiers but she has never provided medical service before. The group at Yenan taught her how to care for soldiers and now she is able to provide medical attention when needed. There are plenty of reasons why Yenan, despite being such a rural desolate place, is being run to by so many in this dangerous time and I understand why my brother did.