China 1921-34

(1886-1976 )This was a brilliant general who was one of the founders of the Red army and a close associate of Mao. The two were sometimes referred to as "Zhu Mao". He is credited with the successful guerrilla tactics practiced by the Red Army in the 1920s and 30s. He was the leading commander of the Long March. His support and helped Mao to achieve the leadership of the CCP. In spite of his role in the revolution, his house was ransacked during the Cultural Revolution. His wife was humiliated as the consort of a "black general".

• Otto Braun (AKA Li De)

• Zhou Enlai

• Zhu De

• Zhang Xueliang

• Zhang Zuolin

A western-educated intellectual who was effectively the leader of the CCP from his arrival in Jiangxi in 1931 until the Zunyi Conference in 1935, when he threw his support behing Mao. From then on,he was scrupulously loyal to Mao, taking chage ot diplomacy for the CCP. He negotiated the Second United Front in December-January 1936-7. From 1945 he served as foreign minister and Prime Minister, in charge of the day-to day running of the government. During the Cultural Revolution, he was one of the only leaders never purged. He is credited with protecting a lot of people (i.e. Deng Xiaoping) and artefacts from the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution. He died of cancer in January 1976, sparking an outpouring of mourning that led to the Tiananmen Incident.

• Otto Braun (AKA Li De)

• Zhou Enlai

• Zhu De

• Zhang Xueliang

• Zhang Zuolin

Aka "Old Marshall" Warlord of Manchuria. He was doing his best to prevent the Japanese from gaining more influence in the area as well as fighting off Chiang Kaishek's Northern Expedition. Then, in 1928 he was assassinated by the Japanese Kwantung Army, who hoped his son would be easier to control. His son surrendered to Chiang Kaishek and continued to resist the Japanese.

• Otto Braun (AKA Li De)

• Zhou Enlai

• Zhu De

• Zhang Xueliang

• Zhang Zuolin

Chiang Kaishek's brother-in-law (and older brother of the Soong for whom Soong house is named). He was reportedly the richest man in China. Chiang Kaishek appointed him finance minister in 1928. He helped to raise the money for the Northern Expedition and the extermination campaigns. His appointment was an example of nepotism. However, he quarreled with Chiang over military spending in 1933 and Chiang gave the job to a different brother in law. This one became head of the central bank instead.

• Otto Braun (AKA Li De)

• TV Soong

• Big Eared Du

• Zhu De

• Zhou Enlai

This was a secret police force, which maintained a network of spies and organized assassinations of Chiang's opponents during the GMD decade.

• 28 Bolsheviks (AKA "Returned Bolsheviks")

• blueshirts

• Military Bureau of Statistics

• New Life Movement

A purge in the Jiangxi base area in 1930-31. Thousands accused of being GMD agents, tortured and executed, including over 2000 officers and men from Red Army. This reinforced Mao's authority but probably killed more Communists than the GMD. It demonstrates Mao's ruthlessness and his insistence on orthodoxy.

• Northern Expedition

• Shanghai Massacre

• May 30th Incident

• Autumn Harvest Uprising

• Futian Incident

Uprising of the Hunan peasants against the GMD and their landlords in September 1927, led by Mao Zedong. Mao was acting under the orders of the Comintern and he expressed misgivings about the ability of peasants to carry out a revolution at the time. In later life, he would use this uprising as proof that he had been the first to see the revolutionary potential of the peasants. In any event, the uprising was quickly crushed.

• Northern Expedition

• Shanghai Massacre

• New Life Movement

• Autumn Harvest Uprising

• Futian Incident

This was a secret police force, which maintained a network of spies and organized assassinations of Chiang's opponents during the GMD decade.

• Blueshirts

• Military Bureau of Statistics

• 28 Bolsheviks (aka Returned Bolsheviks)

• Jiangxi Soviet

• New Life Movement

Communist base from 1928-1934. It was an area containing about 3 million people. It was led by Zhu De and Mao Zedong. It gave them a chance to show how Communists would rule. They wiped out peasant debts, took land from landlords to give to poor peasants, encouraged peasants to elect committees to govern their own villages, outlawed arranged marriages and the selling of women and made divorce easier. On the other hand, Mao also conducted a bloody purge known as the "Futian incident". In late 1931, the Central Committee of the CCP moved there and declared the area officially independent. Mao was declared "Head of State" - but he was still not head of the PARTY. They fought off a series of "extermination campaigns" by the GMD using guerilla tactics. Finally, in 1934 they were forced to abandon this base during the fifth encirclement campaign.

• Blueshirts

• Military Bureau of Statistics

• 28 Bolsheviks (aka Returned Bolsheviks)

• Jiangxi Soviet

• New Life Movement

This began when students held a protest outside the main foreign concession in Shanghai to protest on behalf of a Chinese worker who had been killed by a Japanese manager during a strike. The British officer guarding the foreign concessions opened fire killing 12 Chinese. This set off a nationwide protest, including anti-foreign riots, a massive demonstration on June 23 in Guangzhou in which at least 52 demonstrators were killed by British and French troops and a 16 month general strike in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. New members flocked to the GMD and CCP.

• May 30th Incident

• Futian Incident

• Shanghai Massacre

• May 4 Incident

• Autumn Harvest Uprising