People's History of Ideas Podcast

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 of 1911 and the rebellion against Yuan Shikai.Further reading:Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Some names from this episode:Cai E, Republican general and governor of Yunnan after the 1911-12 revolutionYuan Shikai, leader of the Beiyang Army and dictator after the fall of the QingXiao Jufang, Zhu De’s first wifeLu Shaozhen, reactionary chief of staff of Yunnan Army’s First DivisionSupport the show

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 Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Some names from this episode:Zhang Tailei, leader of the Guangzhou Uprising of December 1927Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongShi Dakai, Taiping general who fought a campaign in SichuanEmperor Guangxu, Emperor of China who tried to assert his power during Hundred Days Reform only to be thwarted by the Empress Dowager CixiXi Bingan, Zhu De’s teacherEmpress Dowager Cixi, power behind the throne from 1861 to 1908Support the show

The story behind how guidance on communist armed struggle got into a major American newspaper in 1852. Listener requested background on the text used by Lenin and which was so influential in the Guangzhou Commune.Further reading:Frederick Engels, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in GermanyLenin, “Advice of an Onlooker”Some names from this episode:Zhang Tailei, leader of the Guangzhou Uprising of December 1927Support the show

The last major armed uprising of 1927, in which the Communists temporarily took over Guangzhou.Further reading:Arif Dirlik, “Narrativizing Revolution: The Guangzhou Uprising (11-13 December 1927) in Workers’ Perspective”Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Hsiao Tso-Liang, “Chinese Communism and the Canton Soviet of 1927”Lenin, “Advice of an Onlooker”Some names from this episode:Zhang Tailei, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist PartyYe Ting, Communist military leaderHe Long, Communist military leaderHeinz Neumann, German Comintern agentZhang Fakui, Guomindang militarist who seized Guangzhou on November 17, 1927Xu Xiangqian, Communist military officer, played leading role in Guangzhou UprisingDeng Zhongxia, Communist labor leaderHuang Ping, One of the organizers of the Guangzhou uprisingQu Qiubai, top leader of Communist Party beginning in the summer of 1927Support the show

Some background on the situation in Guangzhou leading up to the uprising.Further reading:Arif Dirlik, “Narrativizing Revolution: The Guangzhou Uprising (11-13 December 1927) in Workers’ Perspective”Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Hsiao Tso-Liang, “Chinese Communism and the Canton Soviet of 1927”Manuel Gomez, “Organize for Liberation of the Colonies: Canton Center of World Movement”Some names from this episode:Wang Jingwei, leader of the Guomindang LeftLi Jishen, Guomindang militarist allied with Wang JingweiZhang Fakui, Guomindang militarist who launched a coup in Guangzhou in November 1927Zhang Tailei, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist PartyLiu Ersong, the chairman of the Workers’ Delegates ConferencePeng Pai, Communist peasant leaderZhou Enlai, leading CommunistLi Chai-sum, Guomindang generalSupport the show

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 the 1920s.Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Chang Liu, “Making Revolution in Jiangnan: Communists and the Yangzi Delta Countryside, 1927-1945”Some names from this episode:Qu Qiubai, top leader of Communist Party beginning in the summer of 1927Zhu De, Communist military commanderZhou Enlai, leading CommunistSupport the show

The Politburo meets to decide whether the leadership’s overall policy was wrong, or whether all the cadres carrying out the policy are just bad.Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyChang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes)Some names from this episode:Chen Duxiu, General Secretary of the Communist Party until summer 1927Qu Qiubai, Top leader of Communist Party beginning in the summer of 1927Zhang Guotao, Leading CommunistLi Lisan, Leading CommunistTan Pingshan, Leading Communist expelled for the failure of the Nanchang UprisingZhou Enlai, Leading CommunistSupport the show

We follow the Southern Expeditionary force from Ruijin in Jiangxi province to Shantou in Guangdong.Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Chang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes)C. Martin Wilbur, “The Ashes of Defeat”Some names from this episode:Zhang Guotao, Leading CommunistYun Daiying, Communist Central Committee memberLi Lisan, Leading CommunistPeng Pai, Communist peasant organizerZhang Tailei, Member of Communist PolitburoQu Qiubai, Top leader of Communist PartyTan Pingshan, One of the leaders of the Nanchang UprisingZhou Enlai, Leading CommunistZhu De, Communist military commanderLin Biao, Company commander in Communist militarySupport the show

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 General.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Christina Gilmartin, Engendering the Chinese Revolution: Radical Women, Communist Politics, and Mass Movements in the 1920sSome names from this episode:Yuan Wencai, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongWang Zuo, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongHe Changgong, cadre sent to advise Wang Zuo and win him overYin Daoyi, militia leaderYin Haomin, Yin Daoyi’s sonXu Yan’gang, chief-of-staff of the Second Regiment of the First Division of the Red ArmyHe Zizhen, Communist cadre known as the “Two-Gunned Girl General”Yang Kaihui, Mao’s wifeLink to a podcast I recently appeared on:Episode 71 of Cosmopod, discussing the early years of the Chinese Communist movement Support the show

A podcast version of an article published a few years back. The Chilean artist José Venturelli was a supporter of Maoist China. This article, a brief political biography of Venturelli, shows how he acted on behalf of the People's Republic of China's informal diplomacy among Latin Americans and worked to promote Maoist politics among Latin American revolutionaries.The article can be read here.Support the show