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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.
- 31 minutes 43 seconds“The Problem of Correcting Erroneous and Nonproletarian Ideological Tendencies in the Party” (The Gutian Resolution—Part Two)
We continue our textual analysis of the Gutian Resolution.
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
Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party”
“Bury the Slave Mentality Advocated by China’s Khrushchov” in Peking Review (April 14, 1967)
Some names from this episode:
Liu Shaoqi, top level Communist Party leader attacked as China’s Khrushchev during the Cultural Revolution
Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee
Li Lisan, leading Communist
Qu Qiubai, top leader of Communist Party from the summer of 1927 until the Sixth Congress
Huang Chao, salt merchant who led a rebellion from 875-884
Li Chuang (Li Zicheng), bandit leader who seized Beijing in 1644 and was later defeated by the Manchus
Hong Xiuquan, leader of the Taiping Revolution and claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ
Chen Yi, member of Front Committee of Fourth Red Army
Episode artwork: Gutian village18 January 2025, 6:00 am - 25 minutes 53 secondsThe Gutian Resolution (End of 1929) (Part One)
On the importance of the Resolution, and a beginning discussion of the actual text.
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
Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party”
Episode artwork: Photo of the Gutian Congress10 January 2025, 7:00 pm - 30 minutes 22 secondsTwo Letters and “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” (November to December 1929)
We look at two letters written by Mao on November 28, 1929, and introduce our discussion of “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party” and the other parts of the Gutian Resolution.
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
Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party”
Abimael Guzmán, “Report of the Meeting of the Central Leadership with the Cangallo-Fajardo Regional Committee”
Peking Review (Feb. 3, 1967)
Some names from this episode:
Li Lisan, Chairman of Central Committee Propaganda Department
Yang Kaihui, Mao’s first wife
Mao Anying, Mao’s first son
Chen Yi, member of Front Committee of Fourth Red Army
Chen Duxiu, former general secretary of the Communist Party
Mao Zemin, Mao’s brother
Xie Hanqiu, observer from the Fujian Provincial Committee
Liu Heting, Guomindang military commander
Jin Handing, Guomindang military commander
Zhang Zhen, Guomindang military commander
Episode artwork: He Kongde’s Gutian Meeting poster28 December 2024, 6:00 am - 20 minutesThe Battle for Shanghang (mid-September 1929)
The Communists take the fortified city of Shanghang in southwestern Fujian.
Further reading and watching:
Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]
The Battle for Dien Bien Phu
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
Some names from this episode:
Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the Fourth Red Army
Lu Hanmin, Guomindang militarist
Liu Angong, special envoy sent by Party Center to the Fourth Red Army
Episode artwork: Aerial view of modern Shanghang21 December 2024, 6:00 am - 21 minutes 54 secondsThe Politburo in Shanghai Discusses the Line Struggle in the Red Army and Issues the September Instruction
The Central Committee turns out to support centralized leadership. Also, the Comintern publishes Mao’s obituary.
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
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)
Chen Jian, Zhou Enlai: A Life
Zhou Enlai, Selected Works of Zhou Enlai, vol. 1
Some names from this episode:
Chen Yi, replaced Mao as secretary of the Front Committee
Xiang Zhongfa, General secretary of the CP
Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee
Li Lisan, Leading Communist
Liu Angong, special envoy sent by Party Center to the Fourth Red Army14 December 2024, 6:00 am - 24 minutes 15 secondsMao gets Kicked from Party Leadership, and Organizes a Land Reform in Western Fujian
The line struggle continues and does not go Mao’s way. Plus, comments on the historiography.
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
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)
Chen Jian, Zhou Enlai: A Life
Some names from this episode:
Liu Angong, special envoy sent by Party Center to the Fourth Red Army
Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the Fourth Red Army
Chen Yi, replaced Mao as secretary of the Front Committee
Zhou Enlai, head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee
Jiang Hua, secretary general of the political department of the Fourth Red Army
Episode artwork: photo of Jiang Hua7 December 2024, 6:00 am - 33 minutes 32 secondsMao’s 14 June 1929 Letter to Lin Biao
We continue our close reading of Mao’s letter to Lin Biao. In this episode, Mao discusses the roving rebel band mentality and the organizational state of affairs in the army, party, and mass organizations.
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
Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]
Mao Zedong, “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party”
Some names from this episode:
Liu Angong, special envoy sent by Party Center to the Fourth Red Army
Yang Sen, Sichuan warlord
Zhu Yunqing, chief political advisor to the Fourth Red Army
Episode artwork: photo of Zhu Yunqing30 November 2024, 6:00 am - 36 minutes 22 secondsThe Line Struggle Between Mao Zedong and Zhu De (May to June 1929)
The Party Center’s intervention in the Fourth Red Army combines with a string of military victories to bring a simmering dispute between Mao and Zhu to a head.
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
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
Liu Angong, special envoy sent by Party Center to the Fourth Red Army
Lin Biao, commander of the first column of the Fourth Red Army
Peng Dehuai, commander of the Fifth Red Army23 November 2024, 6:00 pm - 29 minutes 46 secondsThe 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: 1893-1949
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 Army26 June 2024, 1:00 am - 24 minutes 14 secondsMao 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: 1893-1949
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 leader1 May 2024, 1:00 am - 22 minutes 24 secondsThe 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: 1893-1949
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 Communist4 April 2024, 2:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App
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