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Mao Tse-tung, a leading communist, was born in Hunan province in 1893. He developed a political consciousness at 16 and joined the republican revolution. Mao formed a small communist group and was appointed general secretary for Hunan Province. He was expelled from the party in 1927 after staging a disastrous protest. Mao formed the Red Army and became president of the newly formed Soviet Republic of China. Mao became President of the People’s Republic of China and broke with traditional Soviet communism, leading to the disastrous Great Leap Forward. Mao was replaced as leader by Liu Shaoqi but fought for his right to leadership using the ideal of the Cultural Revolution. Mao was appointed supreme commander of the nation and army until his death in 1976.
Mao Tse-tung, also known as Mao Zedung, was born in Hunan province in southern China on December 26, 1893. He is considered one of the leading communists of the last century. His theories on communism, war and revolution have been extremely influential. He was also responsible for a revolutionary program called The Great Leap Forward that claimed the lives of 20-30 million people.
Although Mao’s parents were farmers, they were by no means poor and he received a good education. Around the age of 16, Mao began to develop a political consciousness. He joined a local army unit in 1911 and became part of the republican revolution.
In 1911, while working at a Peking University, 3,000 students staged a government protest in Tiananmen Square. Mao soon began to develop a Marxist-Leninist form of thought. He believed that by using the peasants’ potential, the revolution in China would be successful.
In 1920 Mao was in charge of an elementary school in Changsha. His efforts to bring education to the people were suppressed. Soon he formed a small communist group.
The Communist Party of China had the support of the Soviet Union and held its first meeting in 1921, with Mao acting as registration secretary. He was soon appointed general secretary for Hunan Province and quickly began organizing labor unions and strike action. In 1927, Mao was expelled from the party after staging a disastrous protest in Hunan called the Harvest Uprising. From 1928 onwards, Mao started forming the Red Army. In 1931 he was elected president of the newly formed Soviet Republic of China.
During this period, war raged between the Red Army and its opposition, the Guomintang. Mao was revolutionary in his guerilla tactics. In 1934, after the Guomintang’s fifth attempt to encircle Mao’s camps, the legendary Long Walk began. Eighty thousand communists started the journey to Yan’an, a distance of 6,000 miles (9,656 km). Only 8,000 would reach their destination 12 months later.
After the Second Sino-Japanese War ended, the battle between the Communists and their opposition continued. Eventually, Mao managed to become President of the People’s Republic of China. During his reign, Mao broke with the traditional form of Soviet communism, which led to the disastrous Great Leap Forward. Mao was replaced as leader by Liu Shaoqi.
Mao once again fought for his right to the leadership of the party using the ideal of the Cultural Revolution. He succeeded in removing Liu from power and was appointed supreme commander of the nation and army until his death in 1976.
