People's History of Ideas Podcast

Winning Over Enemy Troops: Mao’s Leninist Approach to Fomenting Mutiny in the Guomindang (January 1930)

When the enemy advances, Mao and Zhu retreat from Fujian into Jiangxi province, drawing the Guomindang’s joint suppression force deep in after them, only to later circle back around and defeat it. In this episode we discuss how Mao conducted propaganda directed at enemy troops in order to win them over to join the Red Army.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 1930Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Bixin Huang, “A Movement Without Vitality: Communist Revolution in Fujian, 1924-1934”Mao Zedong nianpu, 1893-1937 (毛泽东年谱) Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Some names from this episode:Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the Fourth Red ArmyJin Handing, commander of the joint-suppression force launched against the western Fujian base areaLo Pinghui, Yunnanese colonel who switched from the Guomindang to the CommunistsEpisode artwork: photo of Jin HandingSubscribe on Substack: peopleshistoryofideas.substack.comSupport the show

A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire (January 1930) (Part Two)

We conclude our close reading of Mao’s January 5, 1930 letter to Lin Biao. In this episode, Mao discusses his method for understanding the possibilities for revolution in China, as well as the particular tactics to be employed by the Red Army. He also conducts a minor self-criticism.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 1930Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Mao Zedong, “A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire”Some names from this episode:Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the Fourth Red ArmyLu Diping, general who ruled Hunan from 1928–29 and Jiangxi from 1929-31Episode artwork:Envelope from a different letter that Mao wrote to Lin BiaoSubscribe on Substack: peopleshistoryofideas.substack.comSupport the show

A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire (January 1930) (Part One)

We begin our close reading of Mao’s January 5, 1930 letter to Lin Biao.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 1930Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949David Apter and Tony Saich, Revolutionary Discourse in Mao’s RepublicMao Zedong, “A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire”Some names from this episode:Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the Fourth Red ArmyLi Lisan, leading CommunistHe Long, leader of a soviet in the Hunan-Hubei border regionLi Wenlin, leader of Donggu base areaFang Zhimin, leader of Northeastern Jiangxi sovietEpisode artwork:Picture of a prairie fire (in Illinois)Subscribe on Substack: peopleshistoryofideas.substack.comSupport the show

How Brainwashing was Good and Maoist Propaganda was True: An Interview with leading China scholar Aminda Smith

This interview with Dr. Aminda Smith of Michigan State University touches on topics including why good PRC history is left history; thought reform, reeducation through labor, and brainwashing; the veracity of the propaganda produced for a global audience during the Mao years; and the Maoist legacy in China today.Further reading and watching:Aminda Smith, Thought Reform and China’s Dangerous Classes Aminda Smith, “The Maoism of PRC History” Aminda Smith, “Brainwashing and World Revolution” Aminda Smith, “The Legacies of 'Brainwashing': Cold War Ideology and Modern Chinese History” (the content of this talk is similar to the paywalled book chapter on brainwashing)Stephen Andors, China’s Industrial RevolutionPositions Politics website H-PRC website Brian DeMare, Land Wars: The Story of China's Agrarian RevolutionRichard Wolin, The Wind From the East: French Intellectuals, the Cultural Revolution, and the Legacy of the 1960s Philosophy is no Mystery Mao Zedong, “On Contradiction” Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern ChinaZheng Yangwen, Ten Lessons in Modern Chinese History Maurice Meisner, Mao's China and AfterJonathan Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution Rebecca Karl, Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World: A Concise History Yueran Zhang, “Leninists in a Chinese Factory: Reflections on the Jasic Labour Organising Strategy” “Seeing through Muddied Waters, Part 1: Jasic, Strikes & Unions” “New Alliance of Students-Workers in Struggle of Union Formation: The Case of Jasic Conflict” “Longing for the Cultural Revolution in China Today” Rae Yang, Spider Eaters: A MemoirSupport the show

Chen Duxiu Update (or, the Devil Makes Work for Idle Hands) (1929)

The story of how the co-founder and first General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party became a Trotskyist.Further reading:Gregor Benton, China’s Urban Revolutionaries: Explorations in the History of Chinese Trotskyism, 1921-1952 Gregor Benton, Prophets Unarmed: Chinese Trotskyists in Revolution, War, Jail, and the Return from Limbo Lee Feigon, Chen Duxiu: Founder of the Chinese Communist PartyChang Kuo-t’ao [Zhang Guotao], The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (2 volumes) Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party Jane Price, Cadres, Commanders, and Commissars: The Training of the Chinese Communist Leadership, 1920-1945Some names from this episode:Chen Duxiu, co-founder of the Communist Party of ChinaLi Dazhao, co-founder of the Communist Party of ChinaZheng Chaolin, Chinese TrotskyistLi Lisan, leading CommunistYin Kuan, resigned as Provincial Secretary in AnhuiPeng Shuzhi, resigned as Provincial Secretary in ZhiliWang Zekai, Chinese TrotskyistLiu Bojian, former Provincial Secretary in HubeiRen Xu, Chinese TrotskyistXiang Ying, Jiangsu Provincial Secretary following the 6th Party CongressCai Zhende, member of Jiangsu Provincial CommitteeZhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of the Central CommitteeWang Ruofei, sent to work in a factory in Moscow as punishment for Trotskyism before recantingQu Qiubai, top leader of Communist Party from the summer of 1927 until the Sixth CongressZhang Guotao, leading Communist Episode artwork:Chen Duxiu with Peng Shuzi in 1932Support the show