In 20th-century East Asia, nothing was more exciting and astounding than the historic fall and rise of the Chinese nation on its two-century trek from “the sick man of Asia” to national rejuvenation. Various political forces collided and fought with each other along the way. Never before had China seen such intense clashes between internal and external forces; never had the game been more complicated; never had strategic transformation been more volatile.
It fell to Mao Zedong to lead the Red Army through the Long March, a purgatory and a test of fire for the Chinese Communists. And when China finally emerged from the scourge of pitiless war, betrayal and sacrifice, the nation had been tempered by history and the times as never before. The Long March was the most epic feat in Chinese history. The Red Army and the Chinese revolution emerged from their suffering and soared to new heights like a phoenix rising from its ashes. And the bugle sounding the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation could be heard in every corner of the globe.
《苦难辉煌》联系苏联社会主义革命、共产国际活动以及日本军国主义兴起等国际背景，从有重大影响的政治力量、政治事件、政治人物入手，对中国近现代史进程进行了前所未有的全景式揭示和深入剖析，展现了老一辈无产阶级革命家在极其困难的环境下建立红色政权、率领红军进行战略转移的伟大壮举，展现了中国共产党领导人民进行革命战争的正义、艰辛和伟大。

本书联系苏联社会主义革命、共产国际活动以及日本军国主义兴起等国际背景，对错综复杂、扑朔迷离、恢宏壮阔的中国近现代史进程，进行了前所未有的全景式揭示和深入剖析。本书以全新的战略思维、战略视角，从有重大影响的政治力量、政治事件、政治人物入手，视野开阔、思路新颖、文笔生动，运用了许多鲜为人知的史料资料，在许多重大事件上做了独特的解读和分析。

CHAPTER 1 The Fire Burning Below / 1
1. Sun Yat-sen’s Difficulties / 4
2. Stalin, Man of Steel / 18
3. Who Spotted a Winner in Mao Zedong? / 28
CHAPTER 2 An Oriental Dream / 47
1. A Close Neighbor but Worlds Apart / 48
2. Rice and Water Subsistence Hatches Fascism / 59
3. The Black Crows Take Flight / 64
CHAPTER 3 Molten Lava / 69
1. Leaders, Ideology and Will / 70
2. Who Discovered Chiang Kai-shek? / 75
3. From the Pen to the Gun / 90
CHAPTER 4 Encirclement and Suppression / 103
1. Li Lisan Awakens Chiang Kai-shek / 104
2. Battlefields and Opposing Generals / 117
3. Battlefields and Communist Generals / 137
4. The Foreign Moon Shines Brighter / 173
5. The Blockhouse Policy – a Chinese Initiative / 182
CHAPTER 5 The Rise of Japanese Militarism / 187
1. The Sub-lieutenant Assassin / 188
2. Blood Sacrifice of the Yamato People / 194
3. Crocodile Tears / 204
CHAPTER 6 The Fall / 217
1. The Foreign Moon Shines Brighter / 218
2. Peng Dehuai, Cai Tingkai, Soong Mei-ling / 237
3. Breaking the Encirclement – the Pain and the Glory / 250
4. Metamorphoses / 263
CHAPTER 7 Breakthrough / 271
1. The Nationalists Were No Dummies / 272
2. “Zhu and Mao Are Among the Troops for Sure” / 282
3. Head to Head on a Narrow Road / 288
CHAPTER 8 Xiangjiang River, oh, Xiangjiang River / 309
1. “Chiang Hates Us More than Zhu and Mao” / 310
2. Chiang Kai-shek, the Only One in the Dark / 316
3. The First Corps in a Deluge of Gunfire / 323
4. Chiang Sighs: “These Really Are Foreign Troops” / 333
5. Military Men and Politics / 338
CHAPTER 9 Gold in the Fire / 347
1. Metamorphoses / 348
2. Exhausted Remnants, Kindling to Ignite the Future / 358
3. Chen Yi and the “Chen Yi Doctrine” / 368
4. Doomed, but Not for All Time / 376
CHAPTER 10 All Eyes on the Vast Southwest / 381
1. Many Birds with a Single Stone / 382
2. Quantitative Change, Qualitative Change / 387
3. China Brought Forth Mao Zedong / 397
4. KMT Generals Each Having an Axe to Grind / 402
5. Infighting Between Liu Family Warlords for Control of Sichuan / 411
CHAPTER 11 Misery and Glory / 421
1. “There Are No Supreme Saviors” / 422
2. The Phoenix Reborn / 432
3. Red Army Encounters an Experienced Tough Foe / 444
4. Chishui River Crossings Not a Divine Plan of Mao’s Devising / 456
5. Into Yunnan: a Daring Move in a Desperate Situation / 464
CHAPTER 12 The Cold Iron Chains of the Dadu Bridge / 475
1. “Chinese Mars” Pulls Red Army Through Turbulent Jinsha River / 476
2. Rift at Huili, the Unavoidable Happens / 482
3. Immortal Bronze Statues / 498
CHAPTER 13 Overcast to Cloudy / 509
1. Currents and Undercurrents / 510
2. A Blood-red Sunset / 526
3. Cracks in the Solid Ice / 532
CHAPTER 14 Fortune and Misfortune Walk Hand in Hand / 541
1. “Zhang Guotao Is Power-obsessed” / 542
2. Three September 9s in the Life of Mao Zedong / 553
3. Coral Lilies in Bloom / 566
CHAPTER 15 History and the Individual / 585
1. Hesitation at the Watershed / 586
2. One Word from Stalin Was Worth Ten Thousand / 603
3. History as Decided by Individuals; Individuals as Decided by History / 622
CHAPTER 16 Song of the Whirlwind / 647
Notes / 679
Bibliography / 685
Index / 695