People's History of Ideas

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)