Maoism, variably an officially known as Mao Zedong Thought (traditional Chinese: 毛澤東思想; simplified Chinese: 毛泽东思想; pinyin: Máo Zédōng Sīxiǎng), is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Wade-Giles Romanization: "Mao Tse-tung"), widely applied as the political and military guiding ideology in the Communist Party of China (CPC) from Mao's ascendancy to its leadership until the inception of Deng Xiaoping Theory and Chinese economic reforms in 1978. It is also applied internationally in contemporary times. Maoist organizations exist in Peru, India, and most prominently, Nepal. Its basic tenets include a revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people termed a People's War involving peasants, and its military strategies essentially involved guerrilla war tactics focused on surrounding the cities from the countryside with a non-professional, popular armed forces.