People's History of Ideas Podcast

The first days of Mao Zedong’s long career of armed struggle.Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Roy Hofheinz, “The Autumn Harvest Insurrection”Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Elizabeth Perry, Anyuan: Mining China’s Revolutionary TraditionSome names from this episode:Lu Deming, Leader of the Lu Deming RegimentZhang Fakui, Guomindang general close to Wang JingweiQu Qiubai, Named head of new provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency ConferenceZhang Guotao, Leading Communist Support the show

Mao doesn’t budge on his military line in the face of pressure from the Party Center, and then gets arrested.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 PartyRoy Hofheinz, “The Autumn Harvest Insurrection”Pang 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 1930Elizabeth Perry, Anyuan: Mining China’s Revolutionary TraditionC. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Edgar Snow, Red Star Over ChinaSome names from this episode:Qu Qiubai, Named head of new provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency ConferenceBesso Lominadze, New Comintern head in China starting in July 1927Peng Gongda, Leading Communist in HunanYang Kaihui, Mao’s wifeTang Shengzhi, Leader of Guomindang Left military forcesMao Anlong, Mao’s youngest sonMao Anqing, Mao’s three-year-old sonMao Anying, Mao’s four-year-old sonSupport the show

The planning and execution of the Autumn Harvest Uprising in southern Hubei province.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 PartyRoy Hofheinz, “The Autumn Harvest Insurrection”Timothy Cheek’s Introduction to Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, eds., Mao Zedong : A Biography, vol. 1Some names from this episode:Feng Yuxiang, Christian warlord“Scarlet Rays” Huang, Member of South Hubei special committeeLiu Pu-I, Leader of “People’s Self-Defense Army”Hsieh I-huan, Member of South Hubei special committeeFu Hsiang-i, Member of South Hubei special committeeSupport the show

Background on Qu Qiubai before he became Communist leader in 1927.Further reading:Tsi-an Hsia, The Gate of Darkness: Studies on the Leftist Literary MovementJonathan Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their RevolutionPaul Pickowicz, Marxist Literary Thought in China: The Influence of Ch'u Ch'iu-paiSteve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927Some names from this episode:Qu Qiubai, Named head of new provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency ConferenceWang Shouhua, President of the General Labor UnionLi Dazhao, Co-founder of the Chinese Communist PartyMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangBesso Lominadze, New Comintern head in China starting in July 1927Support the show

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 dealing with repudiated party policies.Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Zhou Enlai, Selected Works of Zhou Enlai, vol. 1Some names from this episode:Qu Qiubai, Named head of new provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency ConferenceBesso Lominadze, New Comintern head in China starting in July 1927Tang Shengzhi, Leader of Guomindang Left military forcesMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangTan Pingshan, Communist representative in Wuhan governmentChen Duxiu, Former General Secretary of the Communist PartyZhou Enlai, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Support the show

The new policy of mass uprisings against the Guomindang is decided upon, and Mao’s comments at the meeting stand out for their epistemology.Further reading:Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyStuart 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:Chen Duxiu, Communist general secretary until July 12, 1927Zhou Enlai, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Zhang Guotao, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Li Lisan, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Qu Qiubai, Named head of new provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency ConferenceXia Xi, Named to the South Hunan special committee responsible for the Autumn Harvest UprisingGuo Liang, Named to the South Hunan special committee responsible for the Autumn Harvest UprisingRen Zuoxuan, Named to the South Hunan special committee responsible for the Autumn Harvest UprisingMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangBesso Lominadze, New Comintern head in China starting in July 1927Li Dazhao, Co-founder of the Chinese Communist PartyWang Jingwei, Leader of the Guomindang LeftSupport the show

The mutiny that founded the Chinese Red Army.Further reading:Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Marcia 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 Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928C. Martin Wilbur, “The Ashes of Defeat”Some names from this episode:Henk Sneevliet, alias Maring, Dutch Communist and early Comintern agent in ChinaZhang Fakui, Guomindang general close to Wang JingweiYe Ting, Communist officerHe Long, Communist officerZhou Enlai, Commanded Front Committee which coordinated Nanchang UprisingMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and political head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangBesso Lominadze, New Comintern head in China in July 1927Zhang Guotao, Leading CommunistWang Jingwei, Leader of Guomindang “Left”Zhu De, Nanchang chief of public securityAgnes Smedley, Communist journalistZhu Beide, Governor of Jiangxi provinceNie Rongzhen, Communist military leaderSong Qingling, Guomindang Left leader and widow of Sun YatsenDeng Yanda, Head of the Guomindang peasant bureauEugene Chen, Guomindang Left foreign ministerSupport the show

As the Wuhan regime collapses, so does the united front. Soviet advisors leave China, Chinese Communists go underground. The purge strikes Wuhan.Further reading:C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Anna Louise Strong, China’s MillionsVera Vladimirovna Vishnyakova-Akimova, Two Years in Revolutionary China, 1925-1927C. Martin Wilbur and Julie Lien-ying How, Missionaries of Revolution: Soviet Advisers and Nationalist China, 1920-1927Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartySome names from this episode:M. N. Roy, Indian Comintern agentWang Jingwei, Leader of the Guomindang LeftFeng Yuxiang, Christian warlordVasily Blyukher, Soviet general and military genius, chief of Soviet military mission to aid the GuomindangZotov, Blyukher’s code clerk, died of poisoningMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and political head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangHe Jian, Nationalist generalT. V. Soong, Wuhan government finance ministerChen Duxiu, Communist general secretary until July 12, 1927Zhou Enlai, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Zhang Guotao, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Li Lisan, Member of temporary standing committee of Communist Politburo appointed in July 1927Song Qingling, Guomindang Left leader and widow of Sun YatsenDeng Yanda, Head of the Guomindang peasant bureauEugene Chen, Guomindang foreign ministerGregory Voitinsky, Chairman of the Far Eastern Bureau of the CominternSupport the show

The Comintern’s guidance falls short in response to the ongoing massacre of peasants.Further reading:C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Donald Jordan, The Northern Expedition: China’s National Revolution of 1926-1928Alexander Pantsov, The Bolsheviks and the Chinese Revolution, 1919-1927 Some names from this episode:Tang Shengzhi, Hunan warlord who sided with the National Revolutionary Army and contested leadership with Chiang Kai-shekYe Ting, Communist general and garrison commander who defended Wuhan against a right-wing mutinyM. N. Roy, Indian Comintern agentWang Jingwei, Leader of the Guomindang LeftMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangChen Duxiu, General secretary of the Communist PartyZhang Guotao, General secretary of Hubei branch of Communist PartySupport the show

Mao’s experience on the Wuhan Guomindang Left government’s Land Commission, with some comparative remarks on land reform in Communist thought.Further reading:Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 2: National Revolution and Social Revolution, December 1920-June 1927C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928Lynne Viola, The Best Sons of the Fatherland: Workers in the Vanguard of Soviet CollectivizationLenin, “Pages from a Diary” and “On Co-operation”Some names from this episode:Mikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangWang Jingwei, Leader of the Guomindang LeftSupport the show