Hearts, Minds, and a Head on a Spike: The Unification of People and Forces in the Jinggangshan

How Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai’s forces were brought into the Red Army, and Mao cemented the loyalty of the locals by marrying the Two-Gunned Girl General.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Christina Gilmartin, Engendering the Chinese Revolution: Radical Women, Communist Politics, and Mass Movements in the 1920sSome names from this episode:Yuan Wencai, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongWang Zuo, bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongHe Changgong, cadre sent to advise Wang Zuo and win him overYin Daoyi, militia leaderYin Haomin, Yin Daoyi’s sonXu Yan’gang, chief-of-staff of the Second Regiment of the First Division of the Red ArmyHe Zizhen, Communist cadre known as the “Two-Gunned Girl General”Yang Kaihui, Mao’s wifeLink to a podcast I recently appeared on:Episode 71 of Cosmopod, discussing the early years of the Chinese Communist movement Support the show