People's History of Ideas Podcast
Matthew Rothwell
In this podcast, Matthew Rothwell, author of Transpacific Revolutionaries: The Chinese Revolution in Latin America, explores the global history of ideas related to rebellion and revolution. The main focus of this podcast for the near future will be on the history of the Chinese Revolution, going all the way back to its roots in the initial Chinese reactions to British imperialism during the Opium War of 1839-1842, and then following the development of the revolution and many of the ideas that were products of the revolution through to their transnational diffusion in the late 20th century.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 12, 2021 • 28min
Summing Up Failures, or Playing the Blame Game? The November 1927 Politburo Meeting in Shanghai
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
Aug 5, 2021 • 25min
Sedan Chairs, Tired Intellectuals, and Indifferent Masses: The Denouement of the Nanchang Uprising/Southern Expedition (August to October 1927)
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
Jul 29, 2021 • 29min
Hearts, Minds, and a Head on a Spike: The Unification of People and Forces in the Jinggangshan
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
Jul 22, 2021 • 49min
Secret Agent for International Maoism: José Venturelli, Chinese Informal Diplomacy and Latin American Maoism
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
Jul 15, 2021 • 26min
Two Incursions, One Betrayal, and Six Points for Attention: The Red Army in Chaling and Suichuan (October 1927 to January 1928)
The early progress of the Red Army in expanding Soviet power in the Jinggangshan region.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Some names from this episode:Yuan Wencai, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongWang Jingwei, leader of Guomindang LeftTang Shengzhi, leader of Guomindang Left military forcesChen Hao, led Communist takeover of ChalingWan Xixian, political commissar in Revolutionary ArmyXiao Jiabi, militia leader in SuichuanSupport the show
Jul 8, 2021 • 24min
Alliances, Discipline, and an Army to Serve the People: The Beginning of the Jinggangshan Base Area (October 1927)
Mao forges an alliance with Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo, and the Revolutionary Army builds its capacity as a political force.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Some names from this episode:Long Chaoqing, secretary of the Ninggang County Committee of the Communist PartyYuan Wencai, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongWang Zuo, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongPeng Pai, Communist peasant organizerXiao Jiabi, powerful reactionary militia leader in SuichuanYin Daoyi, militia leaderSupport the show
Jul 1, 2021 • 29min
The Early Jinggangshan Revolutionary Movement
How the Chinese revolution came to the Jinggangshan, and how the revolution and counter-revolution developed up until Mao’s arrival in October 1927.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaSome names from this episode:Long Chaoqing, important early Communist in Jinggangshan areaXiao Guohua, Communist women’s movement activist in NanchangYuan Wencai, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongWang Zuo, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongZhu De, leading Communist military figureYin Daoyi, conservative elite in GuanbeiOuyang Luo, Yongxin Communist cadreHe Yi, Yongxin Communist cadreHe Zizhen, the “Two-gunned Girl General”Wang Xinya, Communist military officerLiu Zuoshu, Yongxin Communist cadreHe Minxue, Yongxin Communist cadreSupport the show
Jun 24, 2021 • 22min
Mao’s Bandit Comrades: Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai
The stories of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai before they joined up with Mao Zedong.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaSome names from this episode:Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongYuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongZhu Kongyang, Warlord army officer turned banditXie Guannan, Patriarch of the local tyrant Xie family in the area around MaopingSupport the show
Jun 17, 2021 • 26min
Bandits of the Jinggangshan
A closer look at the phenomenon of banditry in the Jinggang Mountains, because of the importance that banditry and other forms of collective violence had on how the revolutionary movement developed.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaNames from this episode:Qu Qiubai, Named head of new provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency ConferenceZhu Kongyang, Warlord army officer turned banditSupport the show
Jun 10, 2021 • 25min
Background on Society and Economy in the Jinggang Mountains
With particular emphasis on the geographical divisions between valleys and mountainsides, and ethnic divisions between Han and Hakka.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Name from this episode:Zhu Beide, Governor of Jiangxi provinceSupport the show
