Why did the Communists gain control of China in 1949?

In 1949, the Nationalist party of China, the Kuomintang (KMT), fled from mainland China after a civil war with the Chinese Communist Party. The KMT's failure was due to poor management and widespread corruption within the party. In 1912, the last Chinese Emperor abdicated, with many parts of China resisting Imperial rule. With this abdication, China disintegrated into various smaller provinces, each one rules by a different warlord. Around this time, two political parties formed. One was …

…than Chiang. In contrast to Mao Tse-Tung of the Communist Party of China, Chiang Kai-shek brought disastrous consequences upon his party. While Mao was out appealing his ideals to the common peasant, Chiang was losing favor in every social class in China, not only the peasants, but the city businessmen of China as well. Chiang failed to provide democracy to China, and ensured his own failure, by allowing corruption to run uncontrolled through the Kuomintang.