Land Revolution and Communist Party Growth: The High Tide of the Jinggangshan Base Area (Summer 1928)
In the wake of their military victories in late Spring 1928, the Communists carried out a major land redistribution and a mass recruitment drive. There were some unforeseen complications. Further rea...
10 Feb 202230min
Beating Back Suppression Campaigns and Expanding the Jinggangshan Base Area (May to June 1928)
Mao Zedong and Zhu De learn warfare through warfare as they face continuing onslaughts from Guomindang forces. Further reading/watching: Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggang...
3 Feb 202226min
The Jinggangshan Junction of Forces: Mao Zedong and Zhu De Unite (April to May 1928)
The unification of Mao Zedong’s and Zhu De’s forces. Some discussion of the problems involved in unifying the Communist armed forces. Further reading: Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Time...
27 Jan 202229min
The Wages of Revolution: Life Underground in Shanghai in the Late 1920s (Part 3)
Discussing pay for professional revolutionaries, the role of servants in the lives of Communist leaders, and the Comintern in Shanghai. Further reading: Patricia Stranahan, Underground: The Shanghai ...
20 Jan 202224min
Friendship, Compartmentalization, and Assassination Squads: Life Underground in Shanghai in the Late 1920s (Part 2)
How did the Communist Party try to protect itself in Shanghai? We discuss the compartmentalized party organization and the creation of the Special Services Division. Further reading: Patricia Stranah...
13 Jan 202225min
Life Underground in Shanghai in the Late 1920s (Part 1)
The Communist Party Center remained underground in the dangerous city of Shanghai during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Further reading/watching: Patricia Stranahan, Underground: The Shanghai Commun...
6 Jan 202224min
Mao’s (Temporary) Expulsion from the Communist Party and the Collapse of the South Hunan Uprising (March and April 1928)
The Party Center puts the South Hunan Special Committee in charge of the Jinggangshan, and the contrast between the strategies advocated by Mao and the Party Center are put on vivid display. Further ...
19 Dec 202122min
The Southern Hunan Uprising (Early 1928)
We look at the successful conquest of three cities (and one heart) by Zhu De during the course of the uprising he led in south Hunan at the beginning of 1928. The link for my new course on academia.e...
15 Dec 202123min
