This paper proposes a new approach to the study of twentieth-century Chinese politics, particularly to the Chinese Communist revolution. It suggests that the theory of rational choice can be used to analyze the micro-mechanisms of the formation of the beliefs and programmes of actions of the Chinese Communists. These analyses would provide a solid explanation of the macro-historical developments. In turn, macro-historical analysis would highlight the micro-mechanisms of human choices and actions. The essay points out that the processes of innovation, systematization, and strategic interaction in the rational choices made by the Chinese political actors were the most direct and readily ascertainable micro-mechanisms of the transformation of the traditional authoritarian political system of China into a modern "totalistic" political system. These processes were responses to the total crisis in twentieth-century china as perceived by the Chinese revolutionaries.