Born on December 26, 1893
 He was born Shaoshan, in the Hunan province to
a peasant family.
 He worked on his father’s farm after being
expelled from school.
 He didn’t get along with his father

› Who already mapped out a future for him

He left his home to study in the capital city of
Hunan, Changsha.
The Qing Dynasty collapses
 Early 1912 the Republic of China was established

› Sun Yatsen as president

Yuan Shikai hijacks the republican movement
› Declared himself China’s president
› Attempted to find his own dynasty before being forced
down.

Lacking a strong government, warlords begin to take
over
› Various regional warlords fought one another for
supremacy.
There were a number of foreign influences in
Changsha
 Radical students like Mao wanted to oust the
provincial warlord who collaborated with
foreigners.

› Went to Peking to unsuccessfully lobby the
government

On October 10, 1911, revolution broke out in
Wuchang and quickly spread to other cities
including Changsha.

In 1918, Mao graduates from Hunan First
Normal School and attends Beijing University
› Where he worked as an assistant librarian.
Came to know about communist leaders and
became drawn to their ideas.
 Read up on Marxism and was convinced that it
should be the philosophical basis of the Chinese
Revolution

› It would also save China from poverty and
backwardness.

In 1921, Mao became one of the dozen who
established the Chinese Communist Party.
› Mao organized the branch in the Lin Changsha
primary school, where he was principal.

The Comintern (Soviets) urges the CCP to join
the Nationalists, or the Kuomintang.
› Formed by Sun Yatsen

Soviets wanted to help the nationalists get rid of
Western influence in China
In 1922, the CCP entered an alliance with the
Kuomintang.
 The nationalist and communists would work
together in order to end civil war between
warlords and unify the country.

After the death of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek
became the leader of the Nationalist party
 Declared “world revolution” and wished to
benefit himself of Russian aid.

› But still he wanted to control his own “house”
Therefore he expelled most communists from
responsibilities in the party in May 1926
 Mao left in October.


In April 1927, the Peking authorities raided
Russian premises and seized documents that
revealed Moscow trying to overthrown Peking
government.
› There were also soviet links with the Chinese
communists.

Chiang Kai-shek organizes massacres of
members of the CCP

In 1927, Mao led an uprising against Chiang Kaishek’s nationalist forces but failed.
› Led to him rebuilding his army in the Jinggang
Mountains.

Chiang Kai-Shek led military campaigns against
the Communists.
Kuomintang began a series of attacks against Mao in
the mountains
 Led to the Long March to Shaanxi province in 19341935

› Nationalists continued to attack the communists during the
year-long trek.

This would be a critical turning point in Mao’s life.
› The CCP had survived
› Because of Mao’s leadership, the Communists power had
been cemented.

Mao was made chairman of the CCP
Many revolutionists, disgusted by Chiang’s
Nationalist government, went to Yan’an to join
the CCP.
 Mao also redistributed land in the Yan’an area to
the peasants.
 He transformed his army into a force of peasant
soldiers

› Who when not fighting, farmed
 Ensured self-sufficiency.
In July 1937, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of
China.
 Chiang Kai-shek was forced into an alliance with the
Communists.

› There were still very little cooperation between the CCP
and the Kuomintang
While the CCP formed small units and waged
guerilla warfare against the Japanese, Chiang
withdrew to remote Chongqing.
 By 1945, Mao won the support of peasants and
Communist base areas had been established
throughout the country.


Civil War erupted in October of 1945.
› Chiang had ordered his forces to attack the communists.
Kuomintang troops controlled the cities
 But Mao controlled the country side
 His mastery of guerilla tactics wore Chiang’s army
down.
 In less than 5 years, the Communists defeated the
Kuomintang.

› Chiang and his remaining supporters were forced to flee to
Taiwan.
October 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed the
establishment of the People’s Republic of China
(PCR)
 Mao realized that to build the nation, the cities
had to lead and guide the countryside.
 During 1949 – 1953, policies toward the cities
focused on restoring order, rehabilitating
economy, and above all, fix the disastrous
inflation out of the urban economy.

A program designed so China could “catch up”
with the world’s leading economic powers.
 Done through sheer force of its people’s will and
without foreign aid.
 Mao decided that China could become a major
steel producer if citizens set up homemade
furnaces in their backyards.

› But much of the steel produced in the backyard
furnaces were unusable.
› Led to famine and death of million of Chinese

After the Great Leap Forward, Mao was forced to
step down for a while.
› Party leaders sought to help China recover during this
time by de-emphasizing political ideology and
embracing practical strategies for economic
development.

Mao never admits his mistakes in any of the illadvised movements he initiated.
› Instead he blames intellectuals for failing him.

In response to the criticism he was facing, he
issued the the call:
“Never Forget the Class struggle.

Over the next 3 years, he started a nationwide
Socialist Movement.
› Through which he successfully eliminated opponents
in the party leadership.
Darkest period in the history of the people’s
republic of china
 Mao launched mass movements

› Became more radical
› Believed party members betrayed communist doctrine
› Chinas educated people believed more in the old ways
than the new ways brought by the communists.

The cultural movement was mainly pointed
towards the teens and people in their twenties
› “The red guard”
› Red= communism
› Purpose was to Guard communism

Appeared at rallies
›
›
›
›
greeted his supporters
Shouted slogans and praises
Fight capitalism and feudalism
“to rebel is justified”
Destroyed a great deal of china’s heritage
 Killed and persecuted a large number of Chinese
citizens

› “Counter revolutionaries” or “capitalist roaders”
 Party members
 Intellectuals
 Government officials
Mao was praised with songs and dances
 His sayings were recorded in “The Little Red
Book”

› Was carried everywhere by everyone and was quoted
as many times deemed possible
Pictures of Mao were posted in every public
building and household
 Any type of disrespect towards Mao was
punished by imprisonment or death be it
intentional or not.


Was a former actress and art critic.
› One of the most powerful public figures

Married Mao in 1939.
› Had 2 daughters.
She was responsible for presenting her family to the
media and the members of the party’s leadership.
 She recruited her own base of allies.

› Zhang Chun-qiao – the leader of the Communist party
› Yao Wen-yuan - writer
Believed that Chinese culture had been infected by
ancient Chinese and Western influences.
 She publicly denounced many of China’s most
popular plays and movies, and replaced them with
her own works.

› Which embodied the correct revolutionary ideals.
Produced plays and operas to extol party line, and
acted as the cultural advisor for the revolution.
 Used the Red guards to attack many of her own
political opponents.

› Red guards targeted Western clothing, music, and
literature.
Analyze the methods used by a totalitarian regime
to maintain power.

Jiang Qing
› Former TV Actress
› Very popular

Used her theatrical influence to change people’s
minds about Mao.
› Denounced popular plays and movies
 Created her own works with the correct revolutionary
ideals.
The youth groups
 Maintained people’s beliefs
 Destroyed everything that symbolized China’s
past or incorrect thoughts.
 Tortured those who didn’t respect in Mao and his
beliefs.


Appeared at rallies
› greeted his supporters
› Shouted slogans and praises
› Fight capitalism and feudalism
› “to rebel is justified”

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