Mao Zedong adapted Marxism–Leninism to China's predominantly peasant society by emphasizing a rural-based revolutionary strategy rather than an urban industrial working-class revolution.
NOT BSTOTAL BS
NOT BS — Verdict: True
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The Short Version
The historical record supports this characterization. Mao’s major adaptation of Marxism–Leninism to Chinese conditions was to center revolution on the peasantry, rural base areas, and a countryside-to-city strategy instead of the classic urban industrial-worker model. The main nuance is that Mao did not theoretically discard proletarian leadership; he recast it within a worker-peasant alliance.
Caveats
Maoist theory did not present the revolution as purely peasant-led; it formally retained proletarian leadership within a broader alliance.
The rural strategy was shaped partly by circumstance, especially the CCP’s urban defeats after 1927, not only by abstract theory.
The claim is strongest as a description of Mao’s strategic emphasis, not as proof that he rejected Marxism’s concern with workers altogether.