Army or Militia? Mao and the Politburo Diverge on Military Policy for the Autumn Harvest Uprising
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 ...
24 Apr 202126min
The Decisive Turn to Overthrowing the Guomindang: The 7 August 1927 Emergency Conference
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 Revolutio...
17 Apr 202128min
The Nanchang Uprising (August 1, 1927)
The mutiny that founded the Chinese Red Army. Further reading: Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to t...
17 Feb 202128min
The End of the United Front (June to July 1927)
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 Re...
8 Feb 202121min
“Like Taking a Bath in a Toilet” (May and June 1927)
The Comintern’s guidance falls short in response to the ongoing massacre of peasants. Further reading: C. Martin Wilbur, The Nationalist Revolution in China, 1923-1928 Donald Jordan, The Northern Exp...
29 Jan 202126min
Mao Tries to Legislate a Peasant Revolution: The Wuhan Land Commission (April to May 1927)
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 Ch...
23 Jan 202129min
“An Example of the Chinese Tenant-Peasant’s Life”
This episode is an appendix to episode 51, and consists of a booklet written by Mao Zedong describing the life of a tenant-peasant in Hunan. This episode should help you to concretely picture peasant ...
23 Jan 202120min
The Fifth Party Congress and the ‘Better Fewer but Better’ Approach to Summing up a Massacre
The Fifth Party Congress of the Communist Party (April 29 to May 9, 1927) decides that the united front is better without Chiang Kai-shek. Further reading: Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in S...
18 Jan 202127min
