Peasant Revolution?: An Exhausted Mao Rediscovers His Roots

Mao gets sick of all the BS in Shanghai and returns to his hometown of Shaoshan, where he discovers a militant peasantry.Further Reading:Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 2: National Revolution and Social Revolution, December 1920-June 1927Yokoyama Suguru, “The Peasant Movement in Hunan”Some names from this episode:Li Lisan, Communist leader of the Shanghai General Labor UnionLiu Shaoqi, Communist leader just below Li Lisan in the Shanghai General Labor UnionLiu Hua, Union activist executed for leading role in May 30 MovementLiu Bolun, Stood in for Mao at a meeting of the Committee for Common People’s EducationWang Xianzong, Hunanese Communist murdered by a local warlord for organizing peasantsWang Jingwei, Head of Guomindang government in Guangzhou in late 1925 when Mao arrived from HunanHan Suyin, early biographer of Mao for a western audienceLiu Shaoqi, Leading Communist labor organizer in the 1920s, later targeted as a capitalist roader in the Cultural RevolutionDeng Xiaoping, Chinese leader targeted as a capitalist roader in the Cultural RevolutionSupport the show