Abstract: The nature of the Chinese Communist Party is a group of armed peasants. Its leaders were influenced by the “ism” and yet had grassroot characteristics. They were marginalized intellectuals who were proud of themselves with the mission to “save the people and society” and rose to the top in the revolution. Their ascribed and obtained features and the fact that the revolution started in the rural area helped to make the peasants’ practice of “mountain heads” (feudalistic factionalism) the culture of the party and the military. This article studies the long flourishing “mountain heads-ism” in the military and the way Mao Zedong governed the military, using the origins and evolutions of the major “mountain heads” in the military as a case. Specifically, I discuss (1) the origins of three major factions in the Red Army; (2), the historical frictions of “mountain heads” in the communist rebel base and the establishment of Mao as the head; and (3) the way Mao governed the military and controlled the generals after 1949.