How the Chinese Communist Party tried to turn war into revolution in Manchuria in 1929. Further reading: Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of China Michael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Chong-Sik Lee, Revolutionary Struggle in Manchuria: Chinese Communism and Soviet Interest, 1922-1945 “Japan Moves Town to Reach Coal Vein” Some names from this episode: Miles Lampson, British minister to China Yang Jingyu, Fushun special branch secretary of th...
The final Soviet offensive, and some details on Chiang Ching-kuo’s activities as a student in Moscow. Further reading: Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of China Michael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Jay Taylor, The Generalissimo's Son: Chiang Ching-Kuo and the Revolutions in China and Taiwan Some names from this episode: Zhang Xueliang, Manchurian warlord Feng Yuxiang, northwestern warlord who turned on Chiang Kai-shek during Sino-Soviet war...
Some basic military history of the beginning of the war. Further reading: Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of China Michael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet War John Erickson, The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918-1941 Some names from this episode: Vasily Blyukher (née Gurov, aka Galen), commander of the Special Far Eastern Army Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general in Napoleonic wars Aleksandr Cherepanov, commander ...
The Guomindang moves to seize Soviet assets in Manchuria. Also, subscribe to the new substack at https://peopleshistoryofideas.substack.com/. Further reading: Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of China Michael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Some names from this episode: Li Lisan, Chairman of Central Committee Propaganda Department Chen Duxiu, Co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party Li Dazhao, Co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party Lev Kar...
Mao discusses problems in party organization and how to fix them. Further reading: Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 “On the Revolutionary “Three-in-One” Combination” Episode artwork: May 1967 poster “Resolutely Protect the Policy of the Revolutionary Three-in-One Combination” Support the show
We continue our textual analysis of the Gutian Resolution. Further reading: Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” “Bury the Slave Mentality Advocated by China’s Khrushchov” in Peking Review (April 14, 1967) Some names from this episode: Liu Shaoqi, top level Commu...
On the importance of the Resolution, and a beginning discussion of the actual text. Further reading: Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” Episode artwork: Photo of the Gutian Congress Support the show
We look at two letters written by Mao on November 28, 1929, and introduce our discussion of “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” and the other parts of the Gutian Resolution. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” Abimael Guzmán, “Report of t...
The Communists take the fortified city of Shanghang in southwestern Fujian. Further reading and watching: Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De] The Battle for Dien Bien Phu Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Some names from this episode: Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the ...
The Central Committee turns out to support centralized leadership. Also, the Comintern publishes Mao’s obituary. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Joseph Fewsmith, Forging Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927–1934 Mao Zedong nianpu, 1893-1937 (毛泽东年谱) Chen...
The line struggle continues and does not go Mao’s way. Plus, comments on the historiography. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Joseph Fewsmith, Forging Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927–1934 Mao Zedong nianpu, 1893-1937 (毛泽东年谱) Chen Jian, Zhou Enlai: A...
We continue our close reading of Mao’s letter to Lin Biao. In this episode, Mao discusses the roving rebel band mentality and the organizational state of affairs in the army, party, and mass organizations. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh...
The Party Center’s intervention in the Fourth Red Army combines with a string of military victories to bring a simmering dispute between Mao and Zhu to a head. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Joseph Fewsmith, Forging Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927–1934...
The conquest of Yudu, Xingguo, Ningdu, Longyan, and Yongding counties by the Fourth Red Army. Zhu De reminisces. Also, poetry. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Peng Dehuai, Memoirs of a Chinese Marshall Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De] Joseph Fewsmith, Forging L...
Mao’s April 5, 1929 reply to Zhou Enlai. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 David Apter and Tony Saich, Revolutionary Discourse in Mao’s Republic Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party Michael Heinrich, Karl Marx and the Birth of Modern Society: The Life of Marx and the Developm...
A close look at Zhou Enlai’s February 7, 1929, letter to Mao Zedong and Zhu De. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 E. H. Carr, Foundations of a Planned Economy, vol. 3 Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party Some names from this episode: Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Depa...
Mao plans to expand guerrilla warfare, and meets up with Peng Dehuai in Ruijin. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base Area Peng Dehuai, Memoirs of a Chinese Marshall Some names from this episode: Yuan Wencai, Bandit leader who join...
Some reflections on the experience of Shanghai capitalists after 1949 prompted by the ‘Notice to Merchants and Intellectuals’ that Mao issued after taking Changting in 1929. Further reading: Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Yao Wenyuan, “On the Social Basis of the Lin Piao Anti-Party Clique” (for heavenly horses reference) David Apter and Tony Saich, Revolutionary Discourse in Mao’s Rep...
Looking at what Mao and Zhu De did to install a new Communist order after conquering Changting. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De] Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930 Mao Zedong, “On New Democracy” Some names from this episode: Guo Fengming, bandit turned Guomindang...
How the Fourth Red Army spent their time in Donggu, and how they took the first city in the new base area in the Jiangxi-Fujian border region. Further reading: Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949 Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De] Joseph Fewsmith, Forging Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927–1934 Gao Hua, How the Red Sun Rose: The Origins and Development of the Yan’an Rectification...