Chairman Mao: The Rise & Fall Of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong was born in 1893 in Hunan, China. His childhood was marked by a strict father and exposure to traditional Chinese education mixed with Western influences. He developed an early interest in history and politics and rejected an arranged marriage. China was undergoing significant changes, transitioning from an imperial system to a republic, which deeply influenced Mao. He read about political ideas and was particularly drawn to calls for democracy and the Republican writings of Sun Yat-sen.

As Mao attended school, regional famines and uprisings led to an army revolt in 1911, resulting in the abdication of Emperor Puyi and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. Mao briefly joined the rebel army. During this period, he began engaging with socialist and communist ideas, though initially unconvinced. His education continued, and he enrolled in a normal school to become a teacher where he was further exposed to radical political thought. Moving to Beijing, he worked as a library assistant and became increasingly involved with individuals who favored Marxism as a solution for China's persistent political turbulence and regional warlords.

China's political instability worsened, compounded by the government's failure to regain the Shandong concession at the Versailles peace negotiations in 1919. This sparked the May Fourth Movement, a major student protest demanding national pride and condemning Western betrayals. This movement radicalized many young Chinese, including Mao, who turned towards Marxism and Leninism. By 1921, Mao had fully committed to communism and helped establish the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), believing it was the path to revolution in China.

The CCP allied with Sun Yat-sen's Nationalist party, the Kuomintang (KMT). Mao initially worked as an organizer and propagandist for both, gaining an understanding of the Chinese peasantry's potential. After Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, Chiang Kai-shek took control of the Nationalists. In 1927, Chiang initiated a brutal crackdown on Communists, marking the beginning of the Chinese Civil War. Mao retreated into the Jinggang Mountains, initiating guerrilla warfare. He established a Chinese Soviet state in Jiangxi, which was repeatedly encircled by Nationalist forces. Facing imminent defeat, Mao and the Red Army embarked on the Long March in October 1934, an epic 6,000-mile retreat that solidified Mao's leadership within the CCP.

The encroaching threat of Imperial Japan led to a temporary alliance between the Communists and Nationalists in 1937, forming the Second United Front. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), which later merged into World War II, allowed the CCP to significantly expand its influence and military strength, particularly through guerrilla warfare tactics. Mao consolidated his control within the party, becoming chairman of the party secretariat and politburo in 1943. After Japan's surrender in 1945, the Chinese Civil War resumed. Aided by Soviet support and increased popular backing, Mao's forces gained ground, culminating in the capture of Nanjing in 1949. Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, and on October 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China.

As the first chairman, Mao immediately initiated wide-ranging reforms. Land reform transferred agricultural land to poorer peasants, often with violence against former landlords. Opium production and use were brutally suppressed, and hundreds of thousands of perceived counter-revolutionaries were sent to labor reform camps. China also intervened in the Korean War in 1950, which solidified its break with the United States. Mao envisioned China's economic development through industrialization and, in 1953, launched the First Five-Year Plan, emulating Soviet models. This plan resulted in significant industrial growth, with steel production and coal extraction dramatically increasing, laying the foundation for China's industrial future.

Inspired by Khrushchev's ambitious economic goals for the Soviet Union, Mao launched the Second Five-Year Plan, known as the Great Leap Forward, in 1958. Mao aimed to rapidly increase steel and grain production to showcase China's power. Massive collectivization of farmland and redeployment of workers, along with experimental farming methods and backyard furnaces for steel production, led to widespread destruction of agricultural tools and decreased food production. Despite initial reports of success, severe food shortages emerged by late 1958 and escalated into a catastrophic famine that lasted until 1961. Millions died, with estimates ranging from 25 to 55 million, making it one of the deadliest famines in human history. The disaster severely compromised Mao's leadership, leading to his resignation as Chairman of the People's Republic in 1959, though he retained leadership of the Communist Party.

The 1960s saw increasing isolation for China as tensions with the Soviet Union escalated into the Sino-Soviet split. Mao disapproved of Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin and his more moderate stance towards the West. Differences in ideological interpretations of Marxism further widened the rift, culminating in Mao denouncing the Soviet regime as 'revisionist traitors' in 1961. Mao's alarming statements about nuclear war also concerned Khrushchev. In his private life, Mao's fourth marriage to Jiang Qing endured, but he engaged in numerous extramarital affairs. He was a prolific writer of political works and poetry. While not unhinged like Stalin, Mao's actions demonstrated a willingness to use state violence for political ends.

Against the backdrop of the Sino-Soviet split and the disastrous Great Leap Forward, Mao initiated the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966. This movement aimed to purify Chinese society and communism by eradicating traditional, capitalist, and bourgeois elements. Mao claimed a 'bourgeois bureaucracy' had compromised the CCP and called on China's youth to 'bombard the headquarters' and root out 'the four olds' (old ideas, customs, habits, and culture). This allowed Mao to purge opponents and consolidate his power. Millions were targeted by 'Red Guards' through public humiliation, violence, and murder. The 'Red Terror' spread, impacting all societal groups. In 1968, the 'Down to the Countryside' movement forced urban youth into re-education camps. While the worst of the unrest subsided by the early 1970s, the Cultural Revolution led to an estimated 500,000 to 2 million deaths and deeply scarred Chinese society.

The early 1970s brought a significant shift in China's international relations. After decades of severed ties, the US, under President Richard Nixon, began exploring reestablishing diplomatic relations. Henry Kissinger's secret mission to Beijing in 1971 paved the way for Nixon's historic visit in 1972, where he met Mao. This meeting marked the beginning of modern US-China relations. In his final years, Mao, despite declining health, allowed the 'Gang of Four,' including his wife Jiang Qing, to wield significant influence. However, other party stalwarts, like Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, sought to move China towards more pragmatic and professional governance. Mao's death on September 9, 1976, marked the end of an era, followed by a week-long state funeral and the eventual placement of his embalmed body in a mausoleum in Tiananmen Square.

After Mao's death, Hua Guofeng briefly succeeded him but was soon outmaneuvered by Deng Xiaoping, who became the de facto leader of China in 1978. Deng arrested and charged the 'Gang of Four' for the Cultural Revolution's excesses and moved China away from Mao's planned economy and authoritarianism, setting the stage for China's economic miracle. Mao's legacy remains contentious. To some, he was a brutal tyrant responsible for the deaths of tens of millions through policies like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. To others, he was a national hero who unified China, led resistance against Japan, and laid the groundwork for modern China's development, significantly improving life expectancy and living standards. Despite the diverging opinions, Mao's critical role in the ascent of the Communist Party and his obsession with retaining power, often at a great human cost, are undeniable.