People's History of Ideas Podcast

The overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, followed by the first years of the Republic of China.   Further reading on the 1911 Revolution: Joseph Esherick and C.X. George Wei, editors, China: How the Empire Fell Some names from this episode: Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Revolution and revolutionary communist par excellence Sun Zhongshan/Sun Yat-sen, leader of the Revolutionary Alliance Huang Xing, Vi...

In this episode, we explore some of the major voices of revolution from the decade preceding the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912: Zou Rong, Qiu Jin and Sun Yat-sen [Sun Zhongshan]. Some names from this episode: Kang Youwei, Confucian advocate of liberal modernization and focus of episode 8 Guangxu Emperor, Emperor of China who was put under house arrest by Cixi after attempting to assert his power...

In the face of foreign aggression and natural disaster, masses of Chinese people turn to traditional folk religion and martial arts to attempt to throw out the imperialists. A couple sources for reading more, and which I used in preparing this episode: Joseph Esherick, The Origins of the Boxer Uprising Paul Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth Some names from thi...

In the wake of the Sino-Japanese War, Kang Youwei works with the Guangxu Emperor to try to replicate Japan's Meiji reforms, before being crushed by Cixi and other Manchu conservatives. At the beginning of the episode, I talk some about how westerners have written about Chinese history. A good book that goes really deep into this is Paul Cohen's  Discovering History in China . If you&apos...

In this episode we do some Q&A and then cover the Sino-French War of 1884-1885 and the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. A couple names from this episode: Emperor Qianlong: ruled China from 1735 to 1799 Li Hongzhang: high level Chinese statesman and advocate of self-strengthening Support the show

A review of the new book about the civil war in Peru, The Shining Path: Love, Madness, and Revolution in the Andes , by Orin Starn and Miguel La Serna. This book is the first history of the Shining Path aimed at the general reading public to come out in a long time. Next episode, we'll return to our series on the historical background to the Chinese Revolution. Support the show

This episode focuses on the 1862-1895 period, when the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled and reformers tried to make China strong enough to stand up to foreign powers by modernizing the military and promoting 'new learning.' Also, a few words on the surge in overseas Chinese migration during this time, and its relationship to revolutionary nationalist movements to overthrow the Qing Empire. The...

The episode wraps up the events of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864) and also deals with the events and outcome of the Second Opium War (1856-1860). The Qing Dynasty is weakened and the British, French, American and Russian powers extract new unequal treaties. Then the British help the Qing to put down a peasant-based revolution. Support the show

The strange story of Christian peasant revolutionaries in 19th century China. This episode is about the origins and early years of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864). Both the early Nationalist revolutionaries, like Sun Yat-sen, and later Communists, like Mao Zedong, were inspired by the peasant war led by Hong Xiuquan. But the Taipings were more than just a very large peasant rebellion, as their...

This is the first of several episodes which will give broad historical background for our upcoming discussion of the Chinese Revolution and the international spread of ideas related to the Chinese Revolution. This episode focuses on the background to and events of the First Opium War (1839-1842). China's defeat in the First Opium War began the Century of Humiliation at the hands of imperialis...

This is a short episode just introducing you to the podcast. Matthew Rothwell is your host. The theme is the history of revolutionary ideas, starting with background to the Chinese Revolution. For Dr. Rothwell's book on Maoism in Latin America, see here: https://www.routledge.com/Transpacific-Revolutionaries-The-Chinese-Revolution-in-Latin-America/Rothwell/p/book/9781138108066 For a shorter i...