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)
Episodes
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 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)
Episode 43: When Peasant Revolution Meets the Theory of the Productive Forces: The Communist Debate on Unity with the Nationalist Left
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
Episode 42: More Mass Movements, More Problems: The Aggressive Line of the Guangdong Comrades
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
Episode 41: Revolution in the Countryside: The Peasant Movement in Hunan in the Wake of the Northern Expedition
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
Episode 40: The Northern Expedition Begins: Attempts at Merging the Mass Movement with Regular Warfare
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
Episode 39: Mao in 1926: War in Hunan, Coup in Guangzhou, Polemicizing for the Peasant Movement
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
Episode 38: Spreading Peasant Revolution Across Guangdong, and Beyond: The Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute
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
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
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
Episode 36: The March 1926 Zhongshan Gunboat Incident: Coup and Countercoup in the Pearl River Delta
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