According to Zhang Guotao, Nanchang Upgrising (01Aug1927) was Li Lisan's initiative inaugurated and proposed by Zhou Enlai to Zhang GuoTao. The decision to go ahead was made between Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao in the name of the Standing committee of CPC (中常委). Zhang admitted that this was the first important decision made in the absence of Moscow's endorsement.
Two months later when Zhou and Zhang were still in the jungle, both men were demoted by CPC Central Committee headed by Qu Qiubai in Shanghai.
I wander what the CPC's organizational hierarchy was like during this period. Who was supposed to take orders from who?
Source: Zhang, Guotao. The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party. Book 12, Chapter 6 "The Split." Eastern Publishing. 2004
Any insights from an anthropologist's point of view is appreciated.
