Which of the following BEST explains why the peasantry so strongly supported Mao Zedong? A. The Nationalist government left mainland China in the communists' hands. B. Mao Zedong grew up as a peasant himself; Chiang Kai-shek did not. C. The Nationalist goverment had ignored the peasantry, catering to the elite. D. Mao Zedong proved to be a better political leader than Chiang Kai-shek.