This thesis examines how the Chinese Communists organized themselves to propagate the Party rule and meet a variety of challenges from imperialist Japan as well as the Guomindang (GMD) in their ShaanGanNing (SGN) Border Region during the significant Yan’an era. It regards propaganda, as the Communists did, not as pure deception, but rather containing some concrete information for the target audience. It argues that the Chinese Communists had developed a variety of propaganda and organization skills at that time that were central in their rise to be the rulers of the new China after the War of Resistance period....[ Read more ]

This thesis examines how the Chinese Communists organized themselves to propagate the Party rule and meet a variety of challenges from imperialist Japan as well as the Guomindang (GMD) in their ShaanGanNing (SGN) Border Region during the significant Yan’an era. It regards propaganda, as the Communists did, not as pure deception, but rather containing some concrete information for the target audience. It argues that the Chinese Communists had developed a variety of propaganda and organization skills at that time that were central in their rise to be the rulers of the new China after the War of Resistance period.

From the above perspective, this thesis discusses the central institutional structure of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda as a background for this study. As the CCP claimed that it was a Party of workers, peasants and soldiers, this thesis also examines the Communist propaganda concerned with these people. It first analyzes the propagation of the CCP of the slogan and image of “ample food and clothing” for its SGN Border Region. Second, it analyzes the blossoming of labor heroes and the related labor hero movement which reached its apex in 1943. It identifies that these propaganda projects laid the groundwork for the construction of the new Communist life and leaders for the Party’s use. Furthermore, it discusses the military propaganda which was conducted both by and for the soldiers. Through a series of campaigns, the Communists constructed a heroic and benevolent image of the “people’s army.” This study finally turns to the GMD side for a more in-depth examination of the significance of propaganda for the CCP. Although it is only a preliminary attempt, it evaluates the conflicts between the CCP and the GMD in propaganda during the War of Resistance period (1937-1945). It reveals that at that time the CCP unleashed several propaganda attacks against the GMD undermining its rule in the Chinese hinterland. Therefore, the seeds of success and failure were planted not in the Chinese civil war (1945-1949) but earlier during the War of Resistance period.