7/7/2026
This question came to mind as I was reading Why Was the PLA Able to Win? by Xu Yan. PLA stands for People’s Liberation Army in China.
First of all, regardless of one's political views, this is a legitimate historical question. More than this, it is one of the central questions of modern Chinese history.
In the late 1940s, the Nationalists appeared to hold almost every advantage. They controlled most major cities, possessed a larger and better-equipped army, enjoyed international recognition, and received substantial American military aid. Many foreign observers expected them to prevail.
Yet within only a few years, the Communists won decisively. That definitely demands an explanation.
Second, Xu Yan's explanation overlaps considerably with what many historians identify as important factors: land reform, discipline, organizational cohesion, political education, and strategic flexibility.
One example of the strategic flexibility is the famous 16-character guerrilla strategy: 敌进我退，敌驻我扰，敌疲我打，敌退我追。When the enemy advances, we retreat. When the enemy camps (or halts), we harass him. When the enemy is exhausted, we attack. When the enemy retreats, we pursue.
This captures the essence of asymmetric warfare. Rather than confronting a stronger opponent head-on, the weaker force chooses when, where, and under what conditions to fight.
Ultimately, XU makes us think this way: instead of treating victory as inevitable, he asks: what makes one organization PLA consistently outperform another even under extraordinarily difficult circumstances?
That question applies far beyond military history. A businesses or sports team, or government or school or a company even families ask the same question.
There are at least two lessons that I learned from the book.
The first is organization and motivation.
An army faces many of the same management challenges as any organization: recruiting people, retaining them, motivating them, developing leaders, maintaining discipline, and building a shared culture.
The second lesson is resource leverage.
There is a Chinese saying, 花少钱办大事—accomplishing big things with limited resources. The PLA achieved victory despite beginning with fewer material resources than the Nationalists.
The lesson extends far beyond military history. Many successful organizations did not begin with abundant resources; they learned to deploy limited resources more effectively than their competitors.
Resources matter, but how you organize and deploy them often matters just as much.
This book connects naturally with several others I've been reading recently.
Thucydides explored why Greek city-states rise and fall during the Peloponnesian War. The Draghi Report asks why Europe is losing competitiveness. Xu Yan examines how the PLA grew from a small revolutionary force into the army that ultimately won the Chinese Civil War.
Each addresses a different historical setting, yet all wrestle with the same enduring question:
Why do some organizations, states, institutions, and societies succeed while others fail?
Their answers differ, but they repeatedly point to the importance of leadership, organization, incentives, adaptability, and the ability to execute under difficult circumstances.
