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Máo Zédōng (Simplified: 毛泽东; Traditional: 毛澤東; Wade-Giles: Mao Tse-tung), the son of a peasant farmer, was born on December 26, 1893, in the small village of [[Shao Shan]], [[Hunan]] province, [[China]]. When he died on September 9, 1976 he had become the [[Chairman of the People's Republic of China|Chairman]] of the [[People's Republic of China]].  
'''Mao Zedong''' (simplified [[Chinese language|Chinese]] 毛泽东, traditional 毛澤東; [[pinyin]] Máo Zédōng, Wade-Giles ''Mao Tse-tung''), the son of a peasant farmer, was born on December 26, 1893, in the small village of [[Shao Shan]], [[Hunan]] province, China. When he died on September 9, 1976 he had become the [[Chairman of the People's Republic of China|Chairman]] of the [[People's Republic of China]].
[[File:Mao Zedong in 1959 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=image of Mao Zedong in 1959 |Mao Zedong in 1959. PHOTO CREDIT: Wikipedia Commons ]]
The country had suffered through repeated revolutions, decades of interference and war with foreign powers such as [[United Kingdom|Britain]], [[Russia]], [[Japan]], as well as many successive civil wars. Mao rose quickly within [[Communist Party of China|Communist Party]] and formed the party's [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA). Throughout the 1930's, he repeatedly evaded [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) and Japanese attempts to destroy the Chinese communists through the KMT's encirclement campaigns. He was eventually forced to relocate his forces from the south to the north of China in what is known to history as the [[Long March]]. With the formation of the [[Second United Front]], Mao was successful in harassing Japanese forces in China through [[guerrilla warfare]].  


The country had suffered through repeated revolutions, decades of interference and war with foreign powers such as [[United Kingdom|Britain]], [[Russia]], [[Japan]], as well as many successive civil wars. Mao rose quickly within [[Communist Party of China|Communist Party]] and formed the party's [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA). Throughout the 1930's, he repeatedly evaded [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) and Japanese attempts to destroy the Chinese communists through the KMT's encirclement campaigns. He was eventually forced to relocated his forces form the south to the north of China in what is know to history as the [[Long March]]. With the formation of the [[Second United Front]], Mao was successful in harassing Japanese forces in China through guerilla warfare.  
After the end of the [[World War II|Second World War]] and the defeat of Japan, a new civil war erupted in the [[Republic of China (1912-1949|Republic of China]] between the Communists and the Kuomintang Nationalists. After several years of fighting, Mao led the communists and the PLA to control of the majority of pre-revolutionary China. He declared the formation of the People's Republic of China before a crowd of 300,000 people in [[Tiananmen Square]] on October 1st 1949 and became Chairman.  


After the end of the Second World War and the defeat of Japan, a new civil war erupted between the Communists and the Kuomintang Nationalists. After several years of fighting, Mao led the communists and the PLA to control of the majority of pre-revolutionary China. He declared the formation of the People's Republic of China before a crowd of 300,000 people in [[Tiananmen Square]] on October 1st 1949 and became Chairman.  
The period of his rule remained one of turmoil in China and much blame is laid at Mao Zedong's feet. Land reforms and the purges of counter-revolutionaries saw the death of hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions. In January 1958 he instigated the [[Great Leap Forward]] as an attempt to jump start the Chinese economy and catch up with western nations. This had disastrous consequences and the subsequent man made famines claimed tens of millions of victims. Mao ceased to be Chairman of the People's Republic in 1959 as a direct result of the Great Leap Forward's failure. He remained Chairman of the Communist Party of China until his death and so still held significant political control. Fearing that elements within the Party were leading the country away from true Communism, Mao formed his [[Red Guard]], in 1966, from students and young workers who he mobilized to remove the revisionists from power. This was the [[Cultural Revolution]], the death toll and suffering caused during this time can only be estimated. The cultural revolution lasted until Mao's death in 1976. Today, the Chinese refer to this time simply as the "ten bad years".


The period of his rule remained one of turmoil in China and much blame is laid at Mao Zedong's feet. Land reforms and the purges of counter-revolutionaries saw the death of hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions. In January 1958 he instigated the [[Great Leap Forward]] as an attempt to jump start the Chinese economy and catch up with western nations. This had disastrous consequences and the subsequent man made famines claimed tens of millions of victims. Mao ceased to be Chairman of the People's Republic in 1959 as a direct result of the Great Leap Forward's failure. He remain Chairman of the Communist Party of China until his death and so still held significant political control. Fearing that elements within the Party were leading the country way from true Communism, Mao formed his [[Red Guard]], in 1966, from students and young workers who he mobilised to remove the revisionists form power. This was the [[Cultural Revolution]], the death told and suffering cause during this time can only be estimated. The cultural revolution lasted until Mao's death in 1976. Today, the Chinese refer to this time simply as the ten bad years.
==Footnotes==
==Bibliography==
{{reflist|2}}[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]
 
* Chang, Jung and Jon Halliday. ''Mao: The Unknown Story,'' (2005), 814 pages, ISBN 0-679-42271-4
* Clark, Paul. ''The Chinese Cultural Revolution: A History'' (2008), a favorable look at artistic production  [http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Cultural-Revolution-History/dp/0521875153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214281188&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Dietrich, Craig. ''People's China: A Brief History,'' 3d ed. (1997), 398pp [http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-China-History-Craig-Dietrich/dp/0195106288/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197238522&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Esherick, Joseph W.; Pickowicz, Paul G.; and Walder, Andrew G., eds.  ''The Chinese Cultural Revolution as History.'' (2006). 382 pp.  [http://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Revolution-Shorenstein-Asia-Pacific-Research/dp/0804753504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197221379&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Fairbank, John King and Goldman, Merle.  ''China: A New History.'' 2nd ed. Harvard U. Press, (2006). 640 pp.  [http://www.amazon.com/China-New-History-Second-Enlarged/dp/0674018281/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197346975&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Hsü, Immanuel Chung-yueh. ''The Rise of Modern China,'' 6th ed. (Oxford University Press, 1999), highly detailed coverage of 1644-1999, in 1136pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Modern-China-Immanuel-Hsu/dp/0195125045/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197238178&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Jian,  Guo; Song, Yongyi; and Zhou, Yuan. ''Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.'' (2006). 433 pp.
* MacFarquhar, Roderick and Fairbank, John K., eds.  ''The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 15: The People's Republic, Part 2: Revolutions within the Chinese Revolution, 1966-1982.'' Cambridge U. Press, 1992. 1108 pp. 
* MacFarquhar, Roderick and Michael Schoenhals. ''Mao's Last Revolution.'' (2006).
* MacFarquhar, Roderick. ''The Origins of the Cultural Revolution. Vol. 3: The Coming of the Cataclysm, 1961-1966.'' (1998). 733 pp.
* Meisner, Maurice. ''Mao's China and After: A History of the People’s Republic,'' 3rd ed. (Free Press, 1999), dense book with theoretical and political science approach. [http://www.amazon.com/Maos-China-After-History-Republic/dp/0684856352/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197238473&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Schoppa, R. Keith.  ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History.'' Columbia U. Press, 2000. 356 pp.  [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-columbia-guide-to-modern-chinese-history-by-r-keith-schoppa.jsp online edition from [[Questia]]]
* Spence, Jonathan D. ''The Search for Modern China'' (1991), 876pp; well written survey from 1644 to 1980s [http://www.amazon.com/Search-Modern-China-Jonathan-Spence/dp/0393307808/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2 excerpt and text search]; [http://www.questia.com/read/98946348 complete edition online at [[Questia]]]
* Spence, Jonatham. ''Mao Zedong'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Mao-Zedong-Penguin-Life-Lives/dp/0670886696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200477500&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Shuyun, Sun. ''The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth'' (2007)
* Wang, Ke-wen, ed.  ''Modern China: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism.'' Garland, 1998. 442 pp. 
* Xia, Yafeng. "The Study of Cold War International History in China: A Review of the Last Twenty Years," ''Journal of Cold War Studies''10#1 Winter 2008, pp. 81-115 in [[Project Muse]]
* Yan, Jiaqi and Gao, Gao. ''Turbulent Decade: A History of the Cultural Revolution.'' (1996). 736 pp.
* [http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/chinesehistory/pgp/index.html Studies of Modern Chinese History: Reviews and Historiographical Essays]

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Mao Zedong (simplified Chinese 毛泽东, traditional 毛澤東; pinyin Máo Zédōng, Wade-Giles Mao Tse-tung), the son of a peasant farmer, was born on December 26, 1893, in the small village of Shao Shan, Hunan province, China. When he died on September 9, 1976 he had become the Chairman of the People's Republic of China.

image of Mao Zedong in 1959
Mao Zedong in 1959. PHOTO CREDIT: Wikipedia Commons

The country had suffered through repeated revolutions, decades of interference and war with foreign powers such as Britain, Russia, Japan, as well as many successive civil wars. Mao rose quickly within Communist Party and formed the party's People's Liberation Army (PLA). Throughout the 1930's, he repeatedly evaded Kuomintang (KMT) and Japanese attempts to destroy the Chinese communists through the KMT's encirclement campaigns. He was eventually forced to relocate his forces from the south to the north of China in what is known to history as the Long March. With the formation of the Second United Front, Mao was successful in harassing Japanese forces in China through guerrilla warfare.

After the end of the Second World War and the defeat of Japan, a new civil war erupted in the Republic of China between the Communists and the Kuomintang Nationalists. After several years of fighting, Mao led the communists and the PLA to control of the majority of pre-revolutionary China. He declared the formation of the People's Republic of China before a crowd of 300,000 people in Tiananmen Square on October 1st 1949 and became Chairman.

The period of his rule remained one of turmoil in China and much blame is laid at Mao Zedong's feet. Land reforms and the purges of counter-revolutionaries saw the death of hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions. In January 1958 he instigated the Great Leap Forward as an attempt to jump start the Chinese economy and catch up with western nations. This had disastrous consequences and the subsequent man made famines claimed tens of millions of victims. Mao ceased to be Chairman of the People's Republic in 1959 as a direct result of the Great Leap Forward's failure. He remained Chairman of the Communist Party of China until his death and so still held significant political control. Fearing that elements within the Party were leading the country away from true Communism, Mao formed his Red Guard, in 1966, from students and young workers who he mobilized to remove the revisionists from power. This was the Cultural Revolution, the death toll and suffering caused during this time can only be estimated. The cultural revolution lasted until Mao's death in 1976. Today, the Chinese refer to this time simply as the "ten bad years".

Footnotes