Sugarcoated Bullets

The political debates of the period 1945–49, although spanning a variety of subjects, were underpinned by the question of how to comprehend the imminent realisation of power by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) within the larger historical frame of the Chinese Revolution. By 1949, the victory of the Communists was no longer in doubt, and yet Mao and other leaders showed themselves curiously resistant to any premature triumphalism. They were, rather, concerned about how the Party might maintain the élan and heroic commitment of the war period after the beginning of socialist construction. It was against this historical and