People's History of Ideas Podcast

The Hong Kong strike, the assassination of Liao Zhongkai, and the Second Eastern Expedition.Further Reading:C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying How, Missionaries of Revolution: Soviet Advisers and Nationalist China, 1920-1927John Erickson, The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918-1941Some names from this episode:Chiang Kai-shek, Japan-trained military officer, close confidant of Sun YatsenDeng Zhongxia, Communist labor leader, involved in Hong Kong strikeWang Jingwei, Potential heir apparent to Sun Yatsen as leader of GuomindangLiao Zhongkai, Potential heir apparent to Sun Yatsen as leader of GuomindangHu Hanmin, Potential heir apparent to Sun Yatsen as leader of Guomindang (further to Right than the other two)Chen Jiongming, Southern warlord, ally and then enemy of Sun YatsenMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangZhou Enlai, Communist head of the Whampoa Academy political department, leading commissar on Second Eastern ExpeditionVictor Rogachev, Soviet general and adviser to Chiang Kai-shekSupport the show

The National Revolutionary Army battles the warlords for supremacy in Guangdong, while the British and French escalate tensions by massacring supporters of a strike which shut down Hong Kong.Further Reading:C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying How, Missionaries of Revolution: Soviet Advisers and Nationalist China, 1920-1927Some names from this episode:Chiang Kai-shek, Japan-trained military officer, close confidant of Sun YatsenVasily Blyukher, Soviet general who led military mission to aid GuomindangZhou Enlai, Communist head of the Whampoa Academy political departmentWang Jingwei, Potential heir apparent to Sun Yatsen as leader of GuomindangLiao Zhongkai, Potential heir apparent to Sun Yatsen as leader of GuomindangHu Hanmin, Potential heir apparent to Sun Yatsen as leader of Guomindang (further to Right than the other two)Mikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangSun Zhongshan/Sun Yatsen, leader of the Guomindang, died in March 1925Chen Jiongming, Southern warlord, ally and then enemy of Sun YatsenSupport the show

The first year of the Soviet military alliance with the Guomindang, including the creation of the Whampoa Military Academy, the formation of the National Revolutionary Army, and the crushing of the Merchant Corps.Further Reading:C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying How, Missionaries of Revolution: Soviet Advisers and Nationalist China, 1920-1927John Erickson, The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918-1941Some names from this episode:Mikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangChiang Kai-shek, Japan-trained military officer, close confidant of Sun YatsenChen Jiongming, Southern warlord, ally and then enemy of Sun YatsenDeng Zhongxia, Leading Communist labor organizerGregory Voitinsky, Comintern representative in China at various points, much more wary of Sun Yatsen and the Guomindang than BorodinSun Zhongshan/Sun Yatsen, leader of the GuomindangSupport the show

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 Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 2: National Revolution and Social Revolution, December 1920-June 1927Yokoyama Suguru, “The Peasant Movement in Hunan”Some names from this episode:Li Lisan, Communist leader of the Shanghai General Labor UnionLiu Shaoqi, Communist leader just below Li Lisan in the Shanghai General Labor UnionLiu Hua, Union activist executed for leading role in May 30 MovementLiu Bolun, Stood in for Mao at a meeting of the Committee for Common People’s EducationWang Xianzong, Hunanese Communist murdered by a local warlord for organizing peasantsWang Jingwei, Head of Guomindang government in Guangzhou in late 1925 when Mao arrived from HunanHan Suyin, early biographer of Mao for a western audienceLiu Shaoqi, Leading Communist labor organizer in the 1920s, later targeted as a capitalist roader in the Cultural RevolutionDeng Xiaoping, Chinese leader targeted as a capitalist roader in the Cultural RevolutionSupport the show

A podcast version of a recently published article which discusses what the leader of Peru's Shining Path, Abimael Guzmán, has to say about the time he spent in Maoist China.The article can be read on the podcast website.Support the show

Workers, students and merchants in Shanghai take on the British authorities of the International Settlement and Japanese mill owners after protesters are massacred.Further Reading:Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927Some names from this episode:Li Lisan, Communist leader of the Shanghai General Labor UnionZhang Xueliang, son of Zhang Zuolin, occupied Shanghai’s Chinese cityZhang Zuolin, northern warlordGregory Voitinsky, Comintern representative in China in 1925Liu Shaoqi, Communist leader just below Li Lisan in the Shanghai General Labor UnionLiu Hua, Union activist executed for leading role in May 30 Movement Support the show

In response to a listener request, we consider the situation in the United States today in light of historical thinking on the question of revolutionary situations.Further reading:Lenin, The Collapse of the Second International (chapter two)Lenin, Letters from AfarLenin, “Marxism and Insurrection”Support the show

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 Reading:Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927Some names from this episode:Deng Zhongxia, Leading Communist labor organizerLi Dazhao, Co-founder of the Communist Party, often credited as China’s first MarxistLi Lisan, Leading Communist labor organizerChen Duxiu, Chen Duxiu, General secretary of the Communist PartyGregory Voitinsky, Comintern representative in China in 1925Yang Zhihua, Communist leader in women’s movementSupport the show

The thinking of Chinese Communism’s two founders, Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, diverges as revolutionary experience is gained.Further Reading:Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-Chao and the Origins of Chinese MarxismSome names from this episode:Li Dazhao, Co-founder of the Communist Party, often credited as China’s first MarxistChen Duxiu, Co-founder and first general secretary of the Communist PartyZhang Guotao, Communist leader and opponent of ‘united front from within’ with GuomindangSupport the show

The podcast discusses the collaboration between the Guomindang and Communist Party in China, exploring tensions and growing conflicts despite their united front policy. It highlights key figures like Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek, the role of Soviet advisors, and the ideological divides within the parties. The episode delves into the reorganization of the Guomindang with Communist involvement and the challenges faced due to anti-communism sentiments and opposition to mass mobilization.