2. Mao

3. Mao Zedong
• Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-Tung), the son of a peasant
farmer, was born in Chaochan ,China, in 1893. He
became a Marxist while working as a library assistant at
Peking University and served in the revolutionary army
during the 1911 Chinese Revolution.
• Inspired by the Russian Revolution the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) was established in Shanghai by
Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao in June 1921. Early members
included Mao, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Lin Biao. Following
instructions from the Comintern members also joined
the Kuomintang.
Born-DecemberBorn-December
26, 189326, 1893

4. • Mao was responsible for commanding a part of the CPC's Red Army.
• In 1949 Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of
China, a one-party socialist state controlled by the Communist Party.
• Mao enacted sweeping land reform, overthrowing the
feudal landlords before seizing their large estates and dividing the
land into people's communes.
• He proceeded to lead a nationwide political campaign known as
the Great Leap Forward from 1958 through to 1961, designed to
modernize and industrialize the country, however agrarian problems
worsened by his policies led to widespread famine.
• In 1966, he initiated the Cultural Revolution, a program to weed out
counter-revolutionary elements in Chinese society, which continued
until his death.

5. The Controversial Part
•Mao is regarded as one of the most important individuals in modern
world history
•Supporters praise him for modernizing China and building it into a
world power, through promoting the status of women, improving
education and health care, providing universal housing and raising life
expectancy.
•Mao is still officially held in high regard by many Chinese as a great
political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation.
Maoists furthermore promote his role as a theorist, statesman, poet,
and visionary, who has inspired revolutionary movements across the
globe.

7. Died: September 9, 1976, Beijing, China