History
Mao’s Life Experiences and Their Impact on His Personality
Many of Mao’s political views were a result of some of his personal experiences: his early marriage, his job as a librarian’s assistant, and his experiences at school […]
Modern History
History
Mao Zedong, Work Teams, and the Red Guards
Mao re-entered the Chinese political scene with a splash. On July 16, 1966, after several months of absence, his photo was spread across the front page of the People’s Daily—swimming in the Yangzi River. […]
History
Mao’s Revolution: The Involvement of China’s Youth
In the new phase of revolution, Chairman Mao bypassed the regular Communist Party apparatus and instead appealed directly to the young people of China. […]
History
The Beginning of Mao’s “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution“
Mao Zedong disappeared for a while to prepare for an attack against his adversaries. Yao Wenyuan’s critique of Wu Han’s opera, “The Dismissal of Hai Rui” was the first blow, leading to far-reaching consequences. […]
History
Chairman Mao and Intellectuals: Disguised Opposition
China’s intellectuals employed subtle and indirect ways to criticize Chairman Mao. Carefully disguised works of political criticism, parody, and satire appeared in the Chinese mass media in various forms. […]
History
Chairman Mao’s Attack on China’s Intellectuals and Education System
Chairman Mao’s absolutist views led to attacks on writers, artists, and philosophers. He turned his wrath upon China’s educational system as well, and severely criticized the “erroneous methods” being used to educate China’s children. […]
History
The Revival of Chairman Mao’s ‘Cult of Personality’
‘Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong’ was a collection of Mao’s pithiest precepts, aphorisms, and homilies collated by Lin Biao. It was meant to revive Mao’s personality cult among the army and China’s young population. […]
History
Class Struggle or Corruption: What Was the Effect of the Great Leap’s Failure?
While Mao believed that the biggest problems facing the Chinese people were capitalism and class struggle, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping thought that the failures of the Great Leap had led to demoralization and corruption across the country. […]
History
Mao, Khrushchev, and the Socialist Education Movement
In September 1962, Mao launched a counter-offensive against creeping revisionism in China by introducing the Socialist Education movement. […]
History
Counter-revolutionary Revisionism: Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and Deng Xiaoping
When Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping dismantled the Great Leap Forward, Mao launched a blistering attack on “modern revisionism”. At the party convocation in 1962, Mao and Liu went head to head to defend and justify their points. […]