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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

People's History of Ideas Podcast

From Gym Teacher to General: Zhu De in Revolution and Rebellion (1907-1916)

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

From Poor Peasant to Gym Teacher: The Early Life of Zhu De

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Engels on Insurrection

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

The Guangzhou Commune (December 11-13, 1927)

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Red Canton: Background to the Guangzhou Uprising of December 1927

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

‘Blind Actionism’ in Action: Understanding the Hundreds of Small Revolts Led by Communists at the End of the 1920s in China

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Summing Up Failures, or Playing the Blame Game? The November 1927 Politburo Meeting in Shanghai

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Sedan Chairs, Tired Intellectuals, and Indifferent Masses: The Denouement of the Nanchang Uprising/Southern Expedition (August to October 1927)

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Hearts, Minds, and a Head on a Spike: The Unification of People and Forces in the Jinggangshan

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&apos;s Republic of China&apos;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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Secret Agent for International Maoism: José Venturelli, Chinese Informal Diplomacy and Latin American Maoism

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Two Incursions, One Betrayal, and Six Points for Attention: The Red Army in Chaling and Suichuan (October 1927 to January 1928)

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Alliances, Discipline, and an Army to Serve the People: The Beginning of the Jinggangshan Base Area (October 1927)

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 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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

The Early Jinggangshan Revolutionary Movement

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Mao’s Bandit Comrades: Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai

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 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=DACDMMMEASJVJ)

Bandits of the Jinggangshan

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.

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People's History of Ideas Podcast

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