Communist Party of China

State · 1932–1949 CE · at its largest around 1949 CE

The base areas where Mao Zedong's revolution took shape, from the Jiangxi hills through the epic Long March to the cave dwellings of Yan'an. Land reform and guerrilla war against Japan won the party peasant support, and with it the civil war.

On its lands while it lasted

Lu Xun (1881 CE – 1936 CE): Writer of modern Chinese literature, author of "A Madman's Diary" and "The True Story of Ah Q".
Mao Zedong (1893 CE – 1976 CE): Communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China and led it until his death.
Zhou Enlai (1898 CE – 1976 CE): First premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from 1949 until his death.
Deng Xiaoping (1904 CE – 1997 CE): Paramount leader of China from 1978 who launched market reforms and opening to the world.
Kim Il Sung (1912 CE – 1994 CE): Founding leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death.
Park Chung Hee (1917 CE – 1979 CE): Military ruler of South Korea (1961–1979) whose export-led policies drove rapid industrialisation.
Chinese Civil War (1927–1949 CE): Intermittent war between the Nationalists and the Communists, ending with Communist control of mainland China.
Nanjing Massacre (1937–1938 CE): Japanese troops killed large numbers of civilians and prisoners and committed mass rape after capturing Nanjing.
Marco Polo Bridge incident (1937 CE): Clash between Chinese and Japanese troops near Beijing that began full-scale war between China and Japan.
Battles of Khalkhin Gol (1939 CE): Soviet and Mongolian forces under Georgy Zhukov defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army on the Mongolia–Manchukuo border.
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima (1945 CE): On 6 August 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the first use of a nuclear weapon in war.
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki (1945 CE): On 9 August 1945 the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
People's Republic of China founded (1949 CE): Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Gate on 1 October 1949.