China - Rear Vision

The dynastic empires of China succeeded each other until 1912. The People's Republic of China started in 1949. What happened in between? What is this China that bridged the old and the new empire? Where do emperor and chairman connect? Rear Vision brought a program which the history of this China (China before Mao) was discussed.

This is the China of Sun Yat Sen. This is the China that wrestled with the power of European colonials. This is the China that was led by a coalition of nationalists and various sorts of liberals and socialists. The communists were in that coalition. And the communists were divided, divided on their alliance to the Soviet Union, divided on their strategies. Should revolution come from the proletariat in the cities, or from the countryside?

And so this is also the story of how one flank of the communists, those led by Mao, who thought that revolution should come from the countryside, eventually seize full power. Ultimately, this is so much, it almost necessarily falls short. But it is fascinating, no less.

More Rear Vision:
A history of the Israeli-Arab conflict,
Fish depletion,
Follow up on Iran and Versailles,
Versailles 1919,
Iran 1953.