"Every Communist must grasp the truth, 'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." - Mao Tse-tung, 1938. The victory of the Chinese Communist forces in 1949 inspired activists across Asia to look to the armed struggle to defeat imperialism and bring about socialism. In country after country, though armed Communist forces were defeated, and even where they succeeded, they created hierarchical societies that looked nothing like workers' democracy. This talk will explore the impact of the Chinese Revolution on the region and explain why guerrillaism could never bring about genuine socialism in Asia.