Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and the founding father of the Peoples Republic of China, which he governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. His Marxist-Leninist theories, military strategies and political policies are collectively known as Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (often shortened to Maoism) or Mao Zedong Thought. Born the son of a wealthy farmer in Shaoshan, Hunan, Mao adopted a Chinese nationalist and anti-imperialist outlook in early life, particularly influenced by the events of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and May Fourth Movement of 1919. Mao converted to Marxism-Leninism while working at Peking University and became a founding member of the Communist Party of China (CPC), leading the Autumn Harvest Uprising in 1927. During the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the CPC, Mao helped to found the Red Army, led the Jiangxi Soviets radical land policies and ultimately became head of the CPC during the Long March. Although the CPC temporarily allied with the KMT under the United Front during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), after Japans defeat Chinas civil war resumed and in 1949 Maos forces defeated the Nationalists who withdrew to Taiwan. On October 1, 1949 Mao proclaimed the foundation of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), a single-party state controlled by the CPC. In the following years Mao solidified his control through land reforms and through a psychological victory in the Korean War, and through campaigns against landlords, people he termed counter-revolutionaries, and other perceived enemies of the state. In 1957 he launched a campaign known as the Great Leap Forward that aimed to rapidly transform Chinas economy from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. This campaign led to the deadliest famine in history. In 1966, he initiated the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a program to remove counter-revolutionary elements of Chinese society that lasted 10 years and which was marked by violent class struggle, widespread destruction of cultural artefacts and unprecedented elevation of Maos personality cult and which is officially regarded as a severe setback for the PRC. In 1972, Mao welcomed US president Richard Nixon in Beijing, signalling a policy of opening China, which was furthered under Deng Xiaopings rule in China. A controversial figure, Mao is regarded as one of the most important individuals in modern world history. Supporters credit him with accomplishments including modernising China and building it into a world power, promoting the status of women, improving education and health care, and increasing life expectancy as Chinas population grew from around 550 to over 900 million during the period of his leadership. Maoists furthermore promote his role as theorist, statesman, poet, and visionary. In contrast, critics and historians have characterised him as a dictator who oversaw systematic human rights abuses, and who is responsible for an estimated 40 to 70 million deaths through starvation, forced labour and executions, ranking his tenure as the top incidence of democide in human history.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 12:59:51 +0000
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