Episodes
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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 Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927–1934
Mao Zedong nianpu, 1893-1937 (毛泽东年谱)
Some names from this episode:
Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee
Peng Dehuai, leader of the Fifth Red ArmySupport the show
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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 Development of His Work
Some names from this episode:
Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee
Xiang Zhongfa, General secretary of the CP
Guo Fengming, bandit turned Guomindang local despot in Changting
Liu Shiyi, Guomindang commander
Ye Ting, Communist military leader
He Long, Communist military leaderSupport the show
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Missing episodes?
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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 Department of the Central Committee
Xiang Zhongfa, General secretary of the CP
Li Lisan, Leading CommunistSupport the show
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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 joined with Mao Zedong
Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao Zedong
He Changgong, secretary of the Ninggang County Party following the departure of the Fourth Red Army
Long Chaoqing, former secretary of the Ninggang County Committee of the Communist Party
Peng Dehuai, leader of the Fifth Red Army
Li Wenlin, Communist guerrilla commander
Duan Yuequan, Communist guerrilla commander
Liu Shiyi, Guomindang commander
Xiao Jiabi, reactionary militia leaderSupport the show
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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 Republic
Lynn White, Policies of Chaos: The Organizational Causes of Violence in China’s Cultural Revolution
David Barbosa, “Rong Yiren, a Chinese Billionaire, Dies at 89”
Some names from this episode:
Wu Zhongyi, Shanghai capitalist
Rong Yiren, Shanghai capitalistSupport the show
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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 local despot in Changting
Feng Yuxiang, warlord close to both the USA and the Soviet Union
Wang Jingwei, leader of the Guomindang left
Dai Jitao, Guomindang ideologue
Yan Xishan, warlord accused by Mao of being a running dog for the Japanese imperialistsSupport the show
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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 Movement, 1930-1945
Stephen Averill, “The Origins of the Futian Incident”
Some names from this episode:
Xiao Ke, an officer in the Fourth Red Army
Peng Pai, Communist peasant organizer
Long Chaoqing, important early Communist in Jinggangshan area
Peng Dehuai, Leader of the 5th Red Army
Guo Fengming, Bandit turned Guomindang local despot in ChangtingSupport the show
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The Mao-Zhu Army raises funds in Ningdu and moves on to the Donggu base area for rest and recovery. Background on Donggu.
Link to map of Jiangxi province: https://www.chinamaps.org/china/provincemaps/jiangxi-province-map.html
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
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
Some names from this episode:
Wang Chuxi, big landlord in Donggu area who lived in Futian
Ye Jianying, Communist who led division of the National Revolutionary Army which took Ji’an during the Northern Expedition
Duan Qifeng, Donggu bandit chief who joined with Communists
Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao Zedong
Lai Jingbang, first leader of the Donggu communists
Wang Liangzhao, younger brother to Wang ChuxiSupport the show
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Mao and the Fourth Red Army break the encirclement of the Jinggangshan and retreat across southern Jiangxi with the Guomindang in hot pursuit.
Link to map of Jiangxi province: https://www.chinamaps.org/china/provincemaps/jiangxi-province-map.html
Further reading/watching on the difficulties of finding good maps of China:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_China
https://www.reddit.com/r/Maps/comments/b6qnvc/just_blew_my_mind_every_map_of_china_is/
https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/7pju2c/why_is_google_maps_coverage_of_china_slightly_off/
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
Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]
Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 4: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Soviet Republic, 1931-1934
Some names from this episode:
Chen Yi, Political commissar for the 28th regiment of the Fourth Red Army
Lin Biao, Battalion commander in the 28th regiment
Wu Ruolan, Communist cadre and Zhu De’s wifeSupport the show
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Answering a listener question on the Great Leap Forward famine.
Further reading:
Mobo Gao, The Battle for China’s Past
United Nations, “Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day”
Minhaz Merchant, “Churchill’s Bengal Famine”
Karl Marx, Capital
Mike Davis, Late Victorian Holocausts
Frederick Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in EnglandSupport the show
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We wrap up our discussion of the Sixth Congress with a discussion of the political line coming out of the congress, and some related issues.
Further reading:
Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party
Chang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes)
Daniel Kwan, Marxist Intellectuals and the Chinese Labor Movement: A Study of Deng Zhongxia, 1894-1933
Various 6th Party Congress documents in Chinese Studies in History vol. 3, #4 through vol. 5, #1
Yueh Sheng, Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow and the Chinese Revolution: A Personal Account
A Basic Understanding of the Communist Party of China
Some names from this episode:
Nikolai Bukharin, general secretary of the executive committee of the Comintern
Qu Qiubai, Named head of provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency Conference
Zhang Guotao, Leading Communist
Pavel Mif, Top Comintern China specialist
Li Lisan, Leading Communist
Zhou Enlai, Leading Communist
Xiang Zhongfa, Trade unionist and new general secretary of the CP
Xiang Ying, Leading CommunistSupport the show
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Qu Qiubai’s report and proposal are disputed, and the Comintern intervenes to restore order.
Further reading:
Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party
Chang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes)
Daniel Kwan, Marxist Intellectuals and the Chinese Labor Movement: A Study of Deng Zhongxia, 1894-1933
Qu Qiubai, “The Past and Future of the Chinese Communist Party”
Various 6th Party Congress documents in Chinese Studies in History vol. 3, #4 through vol. 5, #1
Some names from this episode:
Nikolai Bukharin, general secretary of the executive committee of the Comintern
Qu Qiubai, Named head of provisional politburo at August 7, 1927 Emergency Conference
Chen Duxiu, Co-founder and first general secretary of the Communist Party
Zhang Guotao, Leading Communist
Pavel Mif, Top Comintern China specialist
Chen Shaoyu, Protégé of Mif (better known as Wang Ming)
Shen Zemin, Sun Yat-sen University student who translated at the 6th party congressSupport the show
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Our third (and last) close look at Bukharin’s speech at the 6th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held in Moscow in the summer of 1928.
Further reading:
Nikolai Bukharin, “On the International Situation and the Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party”
Lenin, “Speech at the First All-Russia Congress of Working Women”
Some names from this episode:
Nikolai Bukharin, general secretary of the executive committee of the Comintern
Peng Dehuai, Guomindang colonel who was secretly a Communist and who launched an uprising in July 1928Support the show
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Bukharin articulates a vision of the Chinese Revolution at the 6th Party Congress which is highly colored by the non-revolutionary Marxism of the 2nd International.
Further reading:
Nikolai Bukharin, “On the International Situation and the Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party”
Andre Gunder Frank, World Accumulation, 1492–1789
Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System, vol. I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century
Mao Zedong, “The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party”
Vladimir Lenin, “Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution”
Vladimir Lenin, “Once Again on The Trade Unions: The Current Situation and the Mistakes of Trotsky and Bukharin”
Hung Hsueh-ping, “The Essence of ‘Theory of Productive Forces’ is to oppose Proletarian Revolution”
Some names from this episode:
Nikolai Bukharin, general secretary of the executive committee of the Comintern
Chen Duxiu, Co-founder and first general secretary of the Communist Party
Mikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the Guomindang during the period of the first united frontSupport the show
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Nikolai Bukharin kicks off the party congress with a very long speech.
Further reading:
Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party
Chang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes)
E. H. Carr, Foundations of a Planned Economy, vol. 3
Nikolai Bukharin, “On the International Situation and the Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party”
Nicholas Kozlov and Eric Weitz, “Reflections on the Origins of the ‘Third Period’: Bukharin, the Comintern, and the Political Economy of Weimar Germany”
Theodore Rosengarten, All God’s Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw
Robin Kelley, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression
Some names from this episode:
Nikolai Bukharin, general secretary of the executive committee of the Comintern
Zhang Guotao, Leading Communist
Qu Qiubai, Top leader of the Chinese Communist Party from the August 7, 1927 emergency meeting until the 6th Party Congress
Eugen Varga, Hungarian communist economistSupport the show
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The decision to hold the Sixth Party Congress in Moscow, and some of the political debate inside the Communist Party of China leading up to that Congress.
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
Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party
Patricia Stranahan, Underground: The Shanghai Communist Party and the Politics of Survival, 1927-1937
Daniel Kwan, Marxist Intellectuals and the Chinese Labor Movement: A Study of Deng Zhongxia, 1894-1933
Chang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes)
E. H. Carr, Foundations of a Planned Economy, vol. 3
Organization of Communist Revolutionaries, “The CP, the Sixties, the RCP, and the Crying Need for a Communist Vanguard Party Today: Summing up a century of communist leadership, organization, strategy, and practice in the United States so that we can rise to the challenges before us”
Some names from this episode:
Qu Qiubai, Top leader of the Chinese Communist Party from the August 7, 1927 emergency meeting until the 6th Party Congress
Zhang Guotao, Leading Communist
Chen Duxiu, General Secretary of the Communist Party until summer 1927
Zhou Enlai, Leading CommunistSupport the show
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Potentially explosive guidance arrives in the Jinggangshan from the 6th Party Congress of the Communist Party, and plans are laid to break out of the enemy encirclement.
Further reading:
Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base Area
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
Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party
Mao Zedong, “Combat Liberalism”
Some names from this episode:
Peng Dehuai, Guomindang colonel who was secretly a Communist and who launched an uprising in July 1928
Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao Zedong
Yuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao Zedong
Wang Shouhua, President of the General Labor Union
Chen Yi, Political commissar for the 28th regiment of the Fourth Red Army
Long Chaoqing, secretary of the Ninggang County Committee of the Communist Party
Wang Huai, secretary of the Yongxin County Committee of the Communist Party
He Changgong, important Fourth Red Army cadreSupport the show
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The national Guomindang center takes note of the Communists’ resilience, and takes charge of organizing a new suppression campaign, which is preceded by a tight economic blockade. Peng Dehuai makes his way to the Jinggangshan.
Further reading:
Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base Area
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, “The Struggle in the Chingkang Mountains”
Edward Dreyer, China at War: 1901-1949
James Sheridan, China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History, 1912-1949
Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]
Peng Dehuai, Memoirs of a Chinese Marshall
Some names from this episode:
Chen Yi, Political commissar for the 28th regiment of the Fourth Red Army
Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao Zedong
He Zizhen, Communist cadre known as the “Two-Gunned Girl General”
Peng Dehuai, Guomindang colonel who was secretly a Communist and who launched an uprising in July 1928
Teng Daiyuan, Fifth Red Army leading cadre
He Changgong, important Fourth Red Army cadreSupport the show
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A close reading of a couple portions of Mao’s November 25, 1928 report to the Central Committee.
Further reading:
Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base Area
Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930
Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 2: National Revolution and Social Revolution, December 1920-June 1927
Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949
Mao Zedong, “The Struggle in the Chingkang Mountains”
Names listed as having attended Nov. 6 meeting mentioned near the beginning of the episode:
Zhu De, Chen Yi, He Tingying, He Changgong, Yuan Wencai, Wang Zuo, Tan Zhenlin, Deng Ganyuan, Li Quefei, Chen Zhengren, Wang Zuonong, Xiao Wanxia, Liu Huixiao, Xie Chunbiao, Liu Di, Xiong Shouqi, Yang Kaiming, Cao Shuo, Deng Jiuting, Mao Zedong, Song Qiaosheng, Peng Gu, and Yuan Desheng.Support the show
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Finishing our close reading of the resolution of the Border Area Party Congress of October 4 to 6, 1928. Also, the reorganization and purge of the party following the Communist recovery of the Jinggangshan base area after the August Defeat.
Further reading:
Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base Area
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
Charles Bettelheim, Class Struggles in the USSR: First Period: 1917-1923
Fyodor Vasilievich Gladkov, CementSupport the show
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