People's History of Ideas

This interview with Dr. Fabio Lanza of the University of Arizona touches on topics related to his new book, Urban Revolution: People’s Communes … [Read more...] about Episode 137: Urban Revolution in Beijing during the Great Leap Forward: An Interview with leading China scholar Fabio Lanza

When the enemy advances, Mao and Zhu retreat from Fujian into Jiangxi province, drawing the Guomindang’s joint suppression force deep in after them, … [Read more...] about Episode 136: Winning Over Enemy Troops: Mao’s Leninist Approach to Fomenting Mutiny in the Guomindang (January 1930)

We conclude our close reading of Mao’s January 5, 1930 letter to Lin Biao. In this episode, Mao discusses his method for understanding the … [Read more...] about Episode 135: A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire (January 1930) (Part Two)

We begin our close reading of Mao’s January 5, 1930 letter to Lin Biao. Further reading:Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. … [Read more...] about Episode 134: A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire (January 1930) (Part One)

How the Chinese Communist Party tried to turn war into revolution in Manchuria in 1929. Further reading:Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, … [Read more...] about Episode 129: The Chinese Communist Party Interventions in the 1929 Sino-Soviet War

The final Soviet offensive, and some details on Chiang Ching-kuo’s activities as a student in Moscow. Further reading:Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen … [Read more...] about Episode 128: The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Concludes

Some basic military history of the beginning of the war. Further reading:Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and … [Read more...] about Episode 127: The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Begins

Mao discusses problems in party organization and how to fix them. Further reading:Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From … [Read more...] about Episode 125: “On the Problem of Party Organization” (The Gutian Resolution—Part Three)

We continue our textual analysis of the Gutian Resolution. Further reading:Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the … [Read more...] about Episode 124: “The Problem of Correcting Erroneous and Nonproletarian Ideological Tendencies in the Party” (The Gutian Resolution—Part Two)

On the importance of the Resolution, and a beginning discussion of the actual text. Further reading:Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, … [Read more...] about Episode 123: The Gutian Resolution (End of 1929) (Part One)

We look at two letters written by Mao on November 28, 1929, and introduce our discussion of “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” and the other … [Read more...] about Episode 122: Two Letters and “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” (November to December 1929)

The Communists take the fortified city of Shanghang in southwestern Fujian. Further reading and watching:Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The … [Read more...] about Episode 121: The Battle for Shanghang (mid-September 1929)

The Central Committee turns out to support centralized leadership. Also, the Comintern publishes Mao’s obituary. Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and … [Read more...] about Episode 120: The Politburo in Shanghai Discusses the Line Struggle in the Red Army and Issues the September Instruction

The line struggle continues and does not go Mao’s way. Plus, comments on the historiography. Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao … [Read more...] about Episode 119: Mao gets Kicked from Party Leadership, and Organizes a Land Reform in Western Fujian

We continue our close reading of Mao’s letter to Lin Biao. In this episode, Mao discusses the roving rebel band mentality and the organizational state … [Read more...] about Episode 118: Mao’s 14 June 1929 Letter to Lin Biao

The Party Center’s intervention in the Fourth Red Army combines with a string of military victories to bring a simmering dispute between Mao and Zhu … [Read more...] about Episode 117: The Line Struggle Between Mao Zedong and Zhu De (May to June 1929)

The conquest of Yudu, Xingguo, Ningdu, Longyan, and Yongding counties by the Fourth Red Army. Zhu De reminisces. Also, poetry. Further reading:Pang … [Read more...] about Episode 116: The Red Army Victorious: The Conquest of Several Counties in Jiangxi and Fujian in the Spring of 1929

Mao’s April 5, 1929 reply to Zhou Enlai. Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Stuart … [Read more...] about Episode 115: Mao Tells Zhou Enlai about Guerrilla Warfare

A close look at Zhou Enlai’s February 7, 1929, letter to Mao Zedong and Zhu De. Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A … [Read more...] about Episode 114: The Party Center Attempts to Assert Control over the Red Army and Orders Mao and Zhu to Report to Shanghai

Mao plans to expand guerrilla warfare, and meets up with Peng Dehuai in Ruijin. Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A … [Read more...] about Episode 113: Mao’s March 20 Letter to the Central Committee, and the 5th Red Army’s Retreat from the Jinggangshan (January to April 1929)

Some reflections on the experience of Shanghai capitalists after 1949 prompted by the ‘Notice to Merchants and Intellectuals’ that Mao issued after … [Read more...] about Episode 112: On the Experience of the National Bourgeoisie in the New Democratic Revolution

Looking at what Mao and Zhu De did to install a new Communist order after conquering Changting. Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and Jin … [Read more...] about Episode 111: A New Communist Order in Changting (March 1929)

How the Fourth Red Army spent their time in Donggu, and how they took the first city in the new base area in the Jiangxi-Fujian border … [Read more...] about Episode 110: Leaving Donggu, Taking Changting (February to March 1929)

The Mao-Zhu Army raises funds in Ningdu and moves on to the Donggu base area for rest and recovery. Background on Donggu. Link to map of Jiangxi … [Read more...] about Episode 109: From Dabodi to Donggu: The Retreat from the Jinggangshan Continues (February 1929)

Mao and the Fourth Red Army break the encirclement of the Jinggangshan and retreat across southern Jiangxi with the Guomindang in hot pursuit. Link … [Read more...] about Episode 108: Running for Their Lives: The Retreat from the Jinggangshan (January to February 1929)

Answering a listener question on the Great Leap Forward famine. Further reading:Mobo Gao, The Battle for China’s PastUnited Nations, “Losing 25,000 … [Read more...] about Episode 107: Frameworks for Thinking about Tragic Historical Shortcomings of the Socialist Experience

Potentially explosive guidance arrives in the Jinggangshan from the 6th Party Congress of the Communist Party, and plans are laid to break out of the … [Read more...] about Episode 100: The Bailu Conference: Suppressing Orders from the Party Congress and Preparing to Leave the Jinggangshan (January 1929)

The national Guomindang center takes note of the Communists’ resilience, and takes charge of organizing a new suppression campaign, which is preceded … [Read more...] about Episode 99: The Base Area under Economic Blockade and Unification with the Fifth Red Army (End of 1928)

A close reading of a couple portions of Mao’s November 25, 1928 report to the Central Committee. Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution … [Read more...] about Episode 98: Vagrants, Mercenaries, and Rich Peasants (November 1928)

Finishing our close reading of the resolution of the Border Area Party Congress of October 4 to 6, 1928. Also, the reorganization and purge of the … [Read more...] about Episode 97: Transforming, Building, and Purging the Party (September to November 1928)

A discussion of the concept of opportunism as it developed in the international communist movement, and a close reading of the self-critical portion … [Read more...] about Episode 96: Opportunism and Self-Criticism: The Jinggangshan Party Congress Resolution of October 1928

A close reading of the portion of the resolution of the Border Area Party Congress of October 4 to 6, 1928, which later became a key early text in the … [Read more...] about Episode 95: “Why Is It that Red Political Power Can Exist in China?” (October 1928)

The Communists fight to regain lost territory, and ethnic tensions explode among the peasants in the base area. Further reading:Stephen … [Read more...] about Episode 94: The August Defeat (Part 2): The Communists Strike Back (August to November 1928)

The 29th Regiment goes against Mao’s orders and decides to stay in Hunan, with disastrous results for the Communists. Further reading:Stephen … [Read more...] about Episode 93: The August Defeat (Part 1)

Mao explains his refusal to comply with orders from the Hunan Provincial Committee. Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: … [Read more...] about Episode 92: The Yongxin Joint Conference and Mao’s July 4, 1928 Report to the Hunan Provincial Committee

The Hunan Provincial Committee decides that Mao must obey its authority. Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s … [Read more...] about Episode 89: The Beginning of the Midyear Crisis (June 1928)

In the wake of their military victories in late Spring 1928, the Communists carried out a major land redistribution and a mass recruitment drive. … [Read more...] about Episode 88: Land Revolution and Communist Party Growth: The High Tide of the Jinggangshan Base Area (Summer 1928)

Mao Zedong and Zhu De learn warfare through warfare as they face continuing onslaughts from Guomindang forces. Further reading/watching:Stephen … [Read more...] about Episode 87: Beating Back Suppression Campaigns and Expanding the Jinggangshan Base Area (May to June 1928)

The unification of Mao Zedong’s and Zhu De’s forces. Some discussion of the problems involved in unifying the Communist armed forces. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 86: The Jinggangshan Junction of Forces: Mao Zedong and Zhu De Unite (April to May 1928)

Discussing pay for professional revolutionaries, the role of servants in the lives of Communist leaders, and the Comintern in Shanghai. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 85: The Wages of Revolution: Life Underground in Shanghai in the Late 1920s (Part 3)

How did the Communist Party try to protect itself in Shanghai? We discuss the compartmentalized party organization and the creation of the Special … [Read more...] about Episode 84: Friendship, Compartmentalization, and Assassination Squads: Life Underground in Shanghai in the Late 1920s (Part 2)

The Communist Party Center remained underground in the dangerous city of Shanghai during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 83: Life Underground in Shanghai in the Late 1920s (Part 1)

The Party Center puts the South Hunan Special Committee in charge of the Jinggangshan, and the contrast between the strategies advocated by Mao and … [Read more...] about Episode 82: Mao’s (Temporary) Expulsion from the Communist Party and the Collapse of the South Hunan Uprising (March and April 1928)

We look at the successful conquest of three cities (and one heart) by Zhu De during the course of the uprising he led in south Hunan at the beginning … [Read more...] about Episode 81: The Southern Hunan Uprising (Early 1928)

Following Zhu De in Shanghai and Germany, finishing up our four-part detour through the early life of Zhu De. Further reading:Agnes … [Read more...] about Episode 80: Studying Marxism and Getting Thrown in Jail: Zhu De in Germany (1922-1926)

As the Army for the Defense of the Republic faces defections from the revolutionary nationalist cause as well as powerful warlord enemies, Zhu De … [Read more...] about Episode 79: Zhu De and The Army for the Defense of the Republic in Sichuan and Yunnan (1916-1922)

Following Zhu De from his time as a teacher of physical training at a modern school, through his time at the Yunnan Military Academy, the Revolution … [Read more...] about Episode 78: From Gym Teacher to General: Zhu De in Revolution and Rebellion (1907-1916)

Taking a look back at the early life of Zhu De, the man who would later be Mao’s main partner in revolution. Further reading:Agnes … [Read more...] about Episode 77: From Poor Peasant to Gym Teacher: The Early Life of Zhu De

The last major armed uprising of 1927, in which the Communists temporarily took over Guangzhou. Further reading:Arif Dirlik, “Narrativizing … [Read more...] about Episode 75: The Guangzhou Commune (December 11-13, 1927)

Some background on the situation in Guangzhou leading up to the uprising. Further reading:Arif Dirlik, “Narrativizing Revolution: The Guangzhou … [Read more...] about Episode 74: Red Canton: Background to the Guangzhou Uprising of December 1927

Using the early November 1927 peasant revolt in Jiangsu province to illustrate features common to the many small Communist-led uprisings at the end of … [Read more...] about Episode 73: ‘Blind Actionism’ in Action: Understanding the Hundreds of Small Revolts Led by Communists at the End of the 1920s in China

The Politburo meets to decide whether the leadership’s overall policy was wrong, or whether all the cadres carrying out the policy are just … [Read more...] about Episode 72: Summing Up Failures, or Playing the Blame Game? The November 1927 Politburo Meeting in Shanghai

We follow the Southern Expeditionary force from Ruijin in Jiangxi province to Shantou in Guangdong. Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of … [Read more...] about Episode 71: Sedan Chairs, Tired Intellectuals, and Indifferent Masses: The Denouement of the Nanchang Uprising/Southern Expedition (August to October 1927)

How Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai’s forces were brought into the Red Army, and Mao cemented the loyalty of the locals by marrying the Two-Gunned Girl … [Read more...] about Episode 70: Hearts, Minds, and a Head on a Spike: The Unification of People and Forces in the Jinggangshan

The early progress of the Red Army in expanding Soviet power in the Jinggangshan region. Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the … [Read more...] about Episode 68: Two Incursions, One Betrayal, and Six Points for Attention: The Red Army in Chaling and Suichuan (October 1927 to January 1928)

Mao forges an alliance with Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo, and the Revolutionary Army builds its capacity as a political force. Further reading:Stephen … [Read more...] about Episode 67: Alliances, Discipline, and an Army to Serve the People: The Beginning of the Jinggangshan Base Area (October 1927)

How the Chinese revolution came to the Jinggangshan, and how the revolution and counter-revolution developed up until Mao’s arrival in October … [Read more...] about Episode 66: The Early Jinggangshan Revolutionary Movement

The stories of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai before they joined up with Mao Zedong. Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: … [Read more...] about Episode 65: Mao’s Bandit Comrades: Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai

A closer look at the phenomenon of banditry in the Jinggang Mountains, because of the importance that banditry and other forms of collective violence … [Read more...] about Episode 64: Bandits of the Jinggangshan

With particular emphasis on the geographical divisions between valleys and mountainsides, and ethnic divisions between Han and Hakka. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 63: Background on Society and Economy in the Jinggang Mountains

As Mao’s troops arrive in the Jinggangshan region, a revolutionary reorganization of the people’s army is begun. Also, a tangent on Mao’s leadership … [Read more...] about Episode 62: Entering the Jinggangshan: The Sanwan Reorganization of the People’s Army

The first days of Mao Zedong’s long career of armed struggle. Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of … [Read more...] about Episode 61: The Autumn Harvest Uprising in Hunan

Mao doesn’t budge on his military line in the face of pressure from the Party Center, and then gets arrested. Further reading:Marcia … [Read more...] about Episode 60: Planning the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Hunan

The planning and execution of the Autumn Harvest Uprising in southern Hubei province. Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: … [Read more...] about Episode 59: The Autumn Harvest Uprising in Hubei

Background on Qu Qiubai before he became Communist leader in 1927. Further reading:Tsi-an Hsia, The Gate of Darkness: Studies on the Leftist … [Read more...] about Episode 58: The “Tender-Hearted Communist:” Qu Qiubai

Mao takes a critical position on the military line pursued by the Comintern and the Politburo. Also, the issue of scapegoating individuals as a way of … [Read more...] about Episode 57: Army or Militia? Mao and the Politburo Diverge on Military Policy for the Autumn Harvest Uprising

The new policy of mass uprisings against the Guomindang is decided upon, and Mao’s comments at the meeting stand out for their … [Read more...] about Episode 56: The Decisive Turn to Overthrowing the Guomindang: The 7 August 1927 Emergency Conference

The mutiny that founded the Chinese Red Army. Further reading:Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyStuart Schram, … [Read more...] about Episode 55: The Nanchang Uprising (August 1, 1927)

As the Wuhan regime collapses, so does the united front. Soviet advisors leave China, Chinese Communists go underground. The purge strikes … [Read more...] about Episode 54: The End of the United Front (June to July 1927)

The Comintern’s guidance falls short in response to the ongoing massacre of peasants.Further reading:C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in … [Read more...] about Episode 53: “Like Taking a Bath in a Toilet” (May and June 1927)

This episode is an appendix to episode 51, and consists of a booklet written by Mao Zedong describing the life of a tenant-peasant in Hunan. This … [Read more...] about Episode 52: “An Example of the Chinese Tenant-Peasant’s Life”

Mao’s experience on the Wuhan Guomindang Left government’s Land Commission, with some comparative remarks on land reform in Communist … [Read more...] about Episode 51: Mao Tries to Legislate a Peasant Revolution: The Wuhan Land Commission (April to May 1927)

The Fifth Party Congress of the Communist Party (April 29 to May 9, 1927) decides that the united front is better without Chiang Kai-shek. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 50: The Fifth Party Congress and the ‘Better Fewer but Better’ Approach to Summing up a Massacre

Chiang Kai-shek’s April 12, 1927 coup against the Communists. Further reading:Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, … [Read more...] about Episode 49: Rivers of Blood in the Streets of Shanghai: The Massacre of the Communists by the Guomindang Right

On March 21-22, 1927, Shanghai fell to a combination of general strike, armed uprising, and the advance of the National Revolutionary Army. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 48: The Third Armed Uprising in Shanghai

The question of what sort of revolution the Nationalist revolution will be creates a fundamental division within the Guomindang. Further reading:C. … [Read more...] about Episode 47: The Split in the Guomindang: The Left Government in Wuhan and the Military Headquarters in Nanchang Develop Irreconcilable Differences (January to March 1927)

Summations of the Second Uprising on several different levels; the continuing inability of the Shanghai Regional Committee of the Communist Party to … [Read more...] about Episode 46: Summation, Red Terror, and Frustration: The Aftermath of the Second Armed Uprising in Shanghai (February and March 1927)

Where we continue to follow the insurrectionary journey of the Shanghai Communists. Further reading:Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in … [Read more...] about Episode 45: The Second Armed Uprising in Shanghai (February 1927)

The bumpy road that the Communist Party took in Shanghai as it developed its capacity to deploy organized violence as a political tactic. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 44: From Dog-Beating Squads to the First Armed Uprising: The Shanghai Communists’ Steep Learning Curve in Developing Armed Struggle (1922 to 1926)

The tension between maintaining the united front and mobilizing the peasants for revolution finds expression in a crucial debate over strategy at the … [Read more...] about Episode 43: When Peasant Revolution Meets the Theory of the Productive Forces: The Communist Debate on Unity with the Nationalist Left

Debate breaks out within the Communist Party and the Comintern over how to assess the balance of forces and relate to the developing revolutionary … [Read more...] about Episode 42: More Mass Movements, More Problems: The Aggressive Line of the Guangdong Comrades

Mass upheaval in Hunan and elsewhere after people are liberated from warlord rule. Further reading:C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying … [Read more...] about Episode 41: Revolution in the Countryside: The Peasant Movement in Hunan in the Wake of the Northern Expedition

Examining the role of both organized and unorganized mass support for the Northern Expedition in its first phase, the offensive from Guangdong to … [Read more...] about Episode 40: The Northern Expedition Begins: Attempts at Merging the Mass Movement with Regular Warfare

Mao's political activity and intellectual development during the first nine months of 1926. Further Reading:Gerald Berkley, “The Canton Peasant … [Read more...] about Episode 39: Mao in 1926: War in Hunan, Coup in Guangzhou, Polemicizing for the Peasant Movement

How the Communist Party took the formula of "Haifeng + armed self-defense" and set out to organize the peasants of Guangdong, and beyond. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 38: Spreading Peasant Revolution Across Guangdong, and Beyond: The Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute

Peng Pai and the beginning of the peasant movement in Guangdong Province. Further Reading:Pang Yong-pil, “Peng Pai: From Landlord to … [Read more...] about Episode 37: The Beginning of the Peasant Movement in Guangdong Province: How the Communist Party Got a Mass Base of Peasant Support in Spite of Itself

Tensions come to a head between Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei and General Kuibyshev, as a Soviet plot backfires spectacularly. Further Reading:C. … [Read more...] about Episode 36: The March 1926 Zhongshan Gunboat Incident: Coup and Countercoup in the Pearl River Delta

Mao’s first major statement on the need for a strategic reorientation toward mobilizing the peasantry. Further Reading:Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s … [Read more...] about Episode 33: The Beginning of Maoism: Mao Zedong’s “Analysis of All the Classes in Chinese Society”

Mao as acting head of propaganda for the Guomindang. Further Reading:C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying How, Missionaries of Revolution: Soviet … [Read more...] about Episode 32: Propaganda, Criticism and Corruption: Mao as Propagandist and Disciplinarian (October 1925 to early 1926)

The Hong Kong strike, the assassination of Liao Zhongkai, and the Second Eastern Expedition. Further Reading:C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying … [Read more...] about Episode 31: Strike, Assassination and War: The Revolution/Counter-Revolution Dialectic in Guangdong in the Second Half of 1925

The National Revolutionary Army battles the warlords for supremacy in Guangdong, while the British and French escalate tensions by massacring … [Read more...] about Episode 30: Guangdong Spring 1925: Revolutionary Warfare Erupts and Workers Shut Down Hong Kong

The first year of the Soviet military alliance with the Guomindang, including the creation of the Whampoa Military Academy, the formation of the … [Read more...] about Episode 29: The Soviet Military Alliance with the Guomindang, and the Creation of the National Revolutionary Army

Mao gets sick of all the BS in Shanghai and returns to his hometown of Shaoshan, where he discovers a militant peasantry. Further Reading:Stuart … [Read more...] about Episode 28: Peasant Revolution?: An Exhausted Mao Rediscovers His Roots

Workers, students and merchants in Shanghai take on the British authorities of the International Settlement and Japanese mill owners after protesters … [Read more...] about Episode 26: The May 30 Movement: The Chinese People’s Uprising Against the British and Japanese in 1925

The Communist Party tries to figure out how to put the workers in the lead of the nationalist revolution, and has some initial success. Further … [Read more...] about Episode 24: Back to the Labor Front!: The Japanese Mills Strike of 1925

The thinking of Chinese Communism’s two founders, Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, diverges as revolutionary experience is gained. Further Reading:Maurice … [Read more...] about Episode 23: The Proletarian Nation vs. The Theory of the Productive Forces

As both the Guomindang and the Communist Party benefit from their collaboration, tensions build. Further reading:Tony Saich, The Origins of the … [Read more...] about Episode 22: Friends Close, Enemies Closer: The United Front in Action

The Communist Party of China tries to find a way to implement the united front with the Guomindang in 1923, but ultimately has to wait for the … [Read more...] about Episode 20: The Loneliest United Front: The Chinese Communist Party in 1923

In this episode we continue our examination of Mao Zedong’s ideological development by discussing his anarchist period. Further reading:Stuart … [Read more...] about Episode 14: Mao’s Anarchist Years (The Young Mao Zedong Part Two)

In this episode we explore the move from liberalism toward Marxism among progressive intellectuals in the 1915-1919 period, and how those ideas began … [Read more...] about Episode 13: Liberals Becoming Marxists: The New Culture and May 4th Movements (1915-1919)

In this episode we look at Mao Zedong’s childhood, family background, and see what he was thinking in 1912. Further reading:Edgar Snow, Red … [Read more...] about Episode 12: The Young Mao Zedong

The overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, followed by the first years of the Republic of China. Further reading on the 1911 Revolution:Joseph Esherick and … [Read more...] about Episode 11: The 1911 Revolution

In this episode, we explore some of the major voices of revolution from the decade preceding the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912: Zou Rong, Qiu Jin … [Read more...] about Episode 10: Revolutionary Voices from the End of the Qing Dynasty

In the face of foreign aggression and natural disaster, masses of Chinese people turn to traditional folk religion and martial arts to attempt to … [Read more...] about Episode 9: The Boxer Uprising of 1900

In the wake of the Sino-Japanese War, Kang Youwei works with the Guangxu Emperor to try to replicate Japan's Meiji reforms, before being crushed by … [Read more...] about Episode 8: Kang Youwei and the Hundred Days Reform

In this episode we do some Q&A and then cover the Sino-French War of 1884-1885 and the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. A couple names from this … [Read more...] about Episode 7: Losing the Tributaries–The Sino-French and Sino-Japanese Wars in Vietnam and Korea

This episode focuses on the 1862-1895 period, when the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled and reformers tried to make China strong enough to stand up to … [Read more...] about Episode 5: The Self-Strengthening Movement: Too Little Too Late?

The episode wraps up the events of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864) and also deals with the events and outcome of the Second Opium War (1856-1860). … [Read more...] about Episode 4: The Second Opium War and the End of the Taiping Civil War

The strange story of Christian peasant revolutionaries in 19th century China. This episode is about the origins and early years of the Taiping … [Read more...] about Episode 3: The Taiping Revolution

This is the first of several episodes which will give broad historical background for our upcoming discussion of the Chinese Revolution and the … [Read more...] about Episode 2: The Opium War and the Beginning of China’s Century of Humiliation