People's History of Ideas Podcast

The Party Center puts the South Hunan Special Committee in charge of the Jinggangshan, and the contrast between the strategies advocated by Mao and the Party Center are put on vivid display.Further reading:Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Some names from this episode:Zhu De, Communist military commanderLi Weihan, member of politburo standing committeeZhou Lu, head of the military branch of the Southern Hunan Special CommitteeWang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongYuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongSupport the show

We look at the successful conquest of three cities (and one heart) by Zhu De during the course of the uprising he led in south Hunan at the beginning of 1928.The link for my new course on academia.edu mentioned at the end of the episode:www.academia.edu/learn/MatthewRothwellFurther reading:Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Christina Gilmartin, Engendering the Chinese Revolution: Radical Women, Communist Politics, and Mass Movements in the 1920sSome names from this episode:Zhu De, Communist military commanderHu Shaohai, Communist from YizhangFan Shisheng, Guomindang general and old friend of Zhu DeXu Kexiang, Notorious Guomindang general known as the Peasant ButchererTang Shengzhi, leader of Guomindang Left military forcesChen Yi, Communist from a scholarly family and staff officer of Zhu DeWu Ruolan, Married Zhu De in LeiyangHe Zizhen, Communist cadre known as the “Two-Gunned Girl General”He Zhihua, Mother of Zhu De’s daughterLuo Yinong, Communist leader killed after He Zhihua informed on himSupport the show

Following Zhu De in Shanghai and Germany, finishing up our four-part detour through the early life of Zhu De.Further reading:Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Some names from this episode:Chen Duxiu, first general secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyZhou Enlai, organized branches of the Chinese Communist Party in Europe when he was a student there in the early 1920s, before returning to China to become a leading CommunistSun Bingwen, Zhu De’s friend who traveled to Europe and joined the Communist Party with himLi Dazhao, Co-founder of Chinese Communist PartySupport the show

As the Army for the Defense of the Republic faces defections from the revolutionary nationalist cause as well as powerful warlord enemies, Zhu De rethinks the military vocation.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 QingXiong Kewu, Nationalist general turned warlordXiao Jufang, Zhu De’s first wifeZhu Baozhu, Zhu De’s son (later took name Zhu Qi)Chen Yuzhen, Zhu De’s second wifeTang Jiyao, Opium growing Yunnan warlordLei Yongfei, Social bandit in control of part of Sikang provinceSupport the show

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