People's History of Ideas Podcast

Matthew Rothwell

In this podcast, Matthew Rothwell, author of Transpacific Revolutionaries: The Chinese Revolution in Latin America, explores the global history of ideas related to rebellion and revolution. The main focus of this podcast for the near future will be on the history of the Chinese Revolution, going all the way back to its roots in the initial Chinese reactions to British imperialism during the Opium War of 1839-1842, and then following the development of the revolution and many of the ideas that were products of the revolution through to their transnational diffusion in the late 20th century.

Episodes

The Red Army Victorious: The Conquest of Several Counties in Jiangxi and Fujian in the Spring of 1929

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: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Peng Dehuai, Memoirs of a Chinese MarshallAgnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Joseph Fewsmith, Forging Leninism...

Jun 26, 2024

29 min

Mao Tells Zhou Enlai about Guerrilla Warfare

Mao’s April 5, 1929 reply to Zhou Enlai.Further reading:Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930David Apter and Tony Saich, Revolutionary Discourse in Mao’s RepublicTony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartyMichael Heinrich, Karl Marx and the Birth of Modern Society: The Life of Marx and the Development of ...

May 1, 2024

24 min

The Party Center Attempts to Assert Control over the Red Army and Orders Mao and Zhu to Report to Shanghai

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: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930E. H. Carr, Foundations of a Planned Economy, vol. 3Tony Saich, The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist PartySome names from this episode:Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of...

Apr 4, 2024

22 min

Mao’s March 20 Letter to the Central Committee, and the 5th Red Army’s Retreat from the Jinggangshan (January to April 1929)

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: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPeng Dehuai, Memoirs of a Chinese MarshallSome names from this episode:Yuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with M...

Mar 10, 2024

25 min

On the Experience of the National Bourgeoisie in the New Democratic Revolution

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 1930Yao 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...

Feb 4, 2024

26 min

A New Communist Order in Changting (March 1929)

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: 1893-1949Agnes 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 1930Mao Zedong, “On New Democracy”Some names from this episode:Guo Fengming, bandit turned Guomindang local de...

Jan 13, 2024

34 min

Leaving Donggu, Taking Changting (February to March 1929)

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: 1893-1949Agnes 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, 1927–1934Gao Hua, How the Red Sun Rose: The Origins and Development of the Yan’an Rectification Movem...

Dec 7, 2023

22 min

From Dabodi to Donggu: The Retreat from the Jinggangshan Continues (February 1929)

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.htmlFurther 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: 1893-1949Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Ti...

Oct 19, 2023

20 min

Running for Their Lives: The Retreat from the Jinggangshan (January to February 1929)

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.htmlFurther reading/watching on the difficulties of finding good maps of China:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_Chinahttps://www.reddit.com/r/Maps/comments/b6qnvc/just_blew_my_mind_every_map_of_china_is/https://www.reddit.co...

Oct 12, 2023

22 min

Frameworks for Thinking about Tragic Historical Shortcomings of the Socialist Experience

Answering a listener question on the Great Leap Forward famine.Further reading:Mobo Gao, The Battle for China’s PastUnited Nations, “Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day”Minhaz Merchant, “Churchill’s Bengal Famine”Karl Marx, CapitalMike Davis, Late Victorian HolocaustsFrederick Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in EnglandSupport the Show.

Oct 4, 2023

28 min