People's History of Ideas

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