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What happened during the communist-led coup in Guangzhou in 1927?

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Central Guangzhou — Guangzhou Nighttime view of central Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China.

In December 1927, communist leaders in Guangzhou initiated a revolt in an attempt to establish a workers' government in the city. The uprising resulted in significant bloodshed, arson, and looting as the communists briefly captured the city.12

The coup was quickly and violently suppressed by Nationalist forces, accompanied by widespread slaughter. This event occurred during a period of intense conflict between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, following Chiang Kai-shek’s decision earlier that year to purge communists from the coalition. The failure of the Guangzhou uprising, along with other failed urban insurrections during this time, led the CCP to lose a vast majority of its membership through death and defection. Consequently, the party shifted its strategy toward establishing rural military bases, such as the Jiangxi Soviet, rather than continuing to focus on urban centers.1234