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    Mao Zedong
    Mao Zedong
    Mao Zedong
    Ebook88 pages1 hour

    Mao Zedong

    By Delia Davin

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    Mao Zedong, first chairman of the People's Republic of China, one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party, and the architect of the Cultural Revolution, was active in Chinese politics for most of his eighty-two years, and became one of the most important revolutionary figures in the twentieth century. He spent the 1920s and 1930s struggling to build the Chinese Communist Party. After the establishment of the People's Republic, he strove to impose his vision of socialism on his impoverished country, convinced that if the power of the people could be harnessed, China could become an economically successful and egalitarian country. The Great Leap Forward which he initiated was, however, a disaster resulting in millions of deaths. Mao used the Cultural Revolution to re-impose his authority; his critics were persecuted and a personality cult was fostered. His 'Little Red Book' sold over 740 million copies. This book offers the reader a powerful insight into the life and work of this intriguing man.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe History Press
    Release dateOct 24, 2011
    ISBN9780752473963
    Mao Zedong

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      Mao Zedong - Delia Davin

      INTRODUCTION

      Mao Zedong was a figure of great historical importance. For most of his 82 years he was a central figure in Chinese politics. He spent the 1920s and 1930s struggling to build the Chinese Communist Party and to get his policies accepted by it. In doing so he ended its subordination to Stalin and created a Party with nationalist credentials capable of leading a successful popular revolution.

      After the establishment of the People’s Republic, he became a revered but rather remote leader. He strived to impose his vision of socialism on his impoverished country, convinced that if the power and enthusiasm of the people were correctly harnessed, China could become a modern wealthy and egalitarian society. His impatience with the pace of economic development under the First Five Year Plan led him to launch the Great Leap Forward. When this failed he turned on colleagues who criticized the initiative and he refused to recognize the magnitude of the disaster swamping China.

      Always irascible and wilful, he now became obsessively suspicious, seeing conspiracy everywhere. He turned against many of his revolutionary colleagues and had them persecuted, imprisoned and even killed. His ideas and actions became more and more unpredictable. Yet so great was Mao’s prestige that it was almost impossible for anyone to speak out against him. Even his victims participated in the most absurd manifestations of his cult, waving the Little Red Book and attributing almost magical powers to the study of his thought. His colleagues and members of his household became ever more preoccupied with appeasing him or manipulating his views. He in turn greatly feared the efforts of others to control him. But sycophancy did not always make people safe. Apparently loyal followers easily became suspects.

      Many episodes in Mao’s life are still obscure. Edgar Snow, whose book Red Star Over China contains a biography based on interviews carried out in 1936, inevitably recorded the version of the leader’s life that Mao wished to make public. Most other original sources have particular interests to advance. Mao’s public utterances were often ambiguous or difficult to interpret. Debates persist among the experts over the true significance of many Party documents. All biographers of Mao have had to wrestle with these problems.

      I have attempted to produce a short life of Mao that will be easily understood by readers without a prior knowledge of Chinese affairs. The task has been even more difficult than I expected. Inevitably I have had to simplify and to choose between competing interpretations of many events. Mao was a soldier, a political and military theoretician, a philosopher and a poet. He played too many parts on too large a stage for a short book to deal with the whole man. I have chosen to focus only on his political and his family life.

      A Note on Romanization

      I have employed the Hanyü pinyin system of romanizing Chinese words and names. Only the names of Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek have been left in older spellings because they might otherwise be difficult for readers to recognize.

      ONE

      CHILDHOOD AND FORMATIVE YEARS

      Mao Zedong was born in the village of Shaoshan in Xiangtan county, Hunan province, on 26 December 1893. His father, Mao Shunsheng, had become a soldier in order to clear his debts. On his return from his military service, he bought land to which he was able to add little by little over the years, by working his family hard. Industry and thrift finally allowed him to amass enough land to hire a farm labourer and become a grain trader. Mao’s mother, Wen Qimei, was an illiterate peasant woman who, like other village women, had to cook, wash, sew and weave for her growing family, as well as working on the land.

      Mao portrayed his father as a harsh, authoritarian figure who frequently beat his children. Mao Shunsheng had had two years’ schooling and could keep accounts. His attitude to education was pragmatic. He wanted his children to learn enough to do book-keeping, and believed a mastery of the classics worthwhile because such knowledge was still useful in lawsuits. Other reading he regarded as a waste of time. Mao had to hide himself away to devour All Men are Brothers, Monkey and The Water Margin, great novels of adventure, rebellion and intrigue which have enraptured generations of young Chinese. He referred to these books constantly in speeches and essays throughout his life. Mao’s mother was kindly and played the peacemaker in family rows. She was a pious Buddhist who sometimes incurred her husband’s wrath by giving food to the poor. The children were closer to their mother than to their father. Mao had two younger brothers and a sister. We may guess that his influence on them was strong because all three later became involved in the communist movement. His sister, Mao Zehong, was executed in 1930. One brother, Mao Zetan, was killed in action in 1935 and the other, Mao Zemin, was executed in 1943.

      Like other country children, Mao worked in the fields from the age of six. He was fortunate to attend primary school for about five years. At thirteen he began to work full-time on the land. Throughout his childhood Mao had conflicts with his father that he was sometimes able to win. By his own account, in arguing with his father he learned to defend his position, to negotiate, and also to obtain concessions by making threats. When he was sixteen, despite his father’s opposition, Mao decided that he wanted to take up his studies again. He borrowed money for the fees and registered for a modern primary school about fifteen miles from his home. Mao was several years older than his classmates. Most of them came from well-to-do homes and he felt that they looked down on him for being poor and shabby. It must have taken courage to persevere, but he remained at this school for a year, impressing his teachers with his well-written essays. In the summer of 1911 he moved on to a school in Changsha, the provincial capital.

      The humiliating defeat suffered by China at the hands of Japan in 1895 led many Chinese to search for ways to help their country regain its strength and wealth. A movement of political reform led by the gentry was suppressed by the ruling Manchu dynasty in 1898, but its advocacy of

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