Mao Zedong

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Mao was born on 26 December 1893 into a peasant family in Shaoshan, in Hunan province, central China. After training as a teacher, he went to Beijing where he worked as a library assistant at Peking University. It was during this time that he began to read Marxist literature. In 1921, he became a founder member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and set up a branch in Hunan Province. In 1923, the Kuomintang (KMT) party had allied with the CCP to defeat the warlords who controlled much of northern China. Then in 1927, the KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek launched an anti-communist purge.

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Birth

The eldest child of a relatively prosperous peasant family, Mao Zedong was born on December 26, in 1893, in a village called Shaoshan in Xiangtan County, Hunan province.

In early years

During the 1911 Revolution, Mao enlisted as a soldier in a local regiment in Hunan which fought on the side of the revolutionaries. Once the Qing Dynasty had been effectively toppled, Mao left the army and returned to school. After graduating from the First Provincial Normal School of Hunan in 1918, Mao traveled with Professor Yang Changji, his high school teacher and future father-in-law, to Beijing during the May Fourth Movement in 1919.

On July 23, 1921, Mao, age 27, attended the first session of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai. Two years later, he was elected as one of the five commissars of the Central Committee of the Party during the third Congress session. Later that year (1923), Mao returned to Hunan at the instruction of the CPC Central Committee and the Kuomintang Central Committee to organize the Hunan branch of the Kuomintang. In 1924, he was a delegate to the first National Conference of the Kuomintang, where he was elected an Alternate Executive of the Central Committee. In 1924, he became an Executive of the Shanghai branch of the Kuomintang, and Secretary of the Organization Department.

In early 1927, Mao returned to Hunan where, in an urgent meeting held by the Communist Party, he made a report based on his investigations of the peasant uprisings in the wake of the Northern Expedition. This is considered the initial and decisive step towards the successful application of Mao's revolutionary theories.

Political ideas

Mao had a great interest in the political system, encouraged by his father.[13] His two most famous essays, both from 1937, 'On Contradiction' and 'On Practice', are concerned with the practical strategies of a revolutionary movement and stress the importance of practical, grassroots knowledge, obtained through experience. Both essays reflect the guerilla roots of Maoism in the need to build up support in the countryside against a Japanese occupying force and emphasise the need to win over 'hearts and minds' through 'education'.

War and Revolution

Mao and other communists retreated to south east China and established a revolutionary base on the border of Hunan Province. In 1931, Mao set up a Chinese Soviet republic in Jiangxi Province. This lasted until 1934 when Mao and his followers were forced to leave Jiangxi and head for Shaanxi in the legendary Long March which was a 6,000 mile journey to northwest China and lasted to 1935.

From 1937 to 1945, the enmity between the Kuomintang and the Communists was put to one side as both concentrated their resources on the Japanese who had launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937. It was during this time that Mao developed his knowledge about guerrilla warfare that he was to use with great effect in the civil war against the Kuomintang once the war with Japan had ended in 1945.

The Communists and KMT were again temporarily allied during eight years of war with Japan (1937 - 1945), but shortly after the end of World War Two, civil war broke out between them. The Communists were victorious, and on 1 October 1949 Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island of Taiwan.

Leadership of China

The People's Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949. It was the culmination of over two decades of civil and international war. From 1954 to 1959, Mao was the Chairman of the PRC. During this period, Mao was called Chairman Mao or the Great Leader Chairman Mao.

He governed a country that was many years behind the world's post-war powers. China's problems were huge and Mao decided to introduce radical solutions for China's domestic weaknesses rather than rely on conservative ones. From 1950 on Mao introduced land reforms and the first Five Year Plan started in 1953. Peasant co-operatives were set up. In 1958, the Great Leap Forward was introduced as were the first land communes. Though he used the term "Five Year Plan," Mao did not accept the theory that all ideas had to start with Russia and China would have to follow. In fact, Mao remained very independent of Russia and publicly criticized the rule of Khrushchev when he became leader of Russia.

Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution happened in 1966. From then on, some essays by Mao entitled "Thoughts" became all but compulsory reading for Chinese people - especially the young who Mao actively courted. This was to become Mao's famous "Little Red Book." He remained leader of China in the later years of his life though Zhou Enlai did much of the foreign policy work. Mao Zedong died in Beijing on 9th September, 1976, which plunged China into national grief. Mao is also recognized as a preeminent poet and calligrapher.

Pass away

Mao had been in poor health for several years and had declined visibly for some months prior to his death. He was a chain smoker. His body lay in state at the Great Hall of the People. A memorial service was held in Tiananmen Square on September 18, 1976. There was a three minute silence observed during this service. His body was later placed into the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, although he wished to be cremated and had been one of the first high-ranking officials to sign the "Proposal that all Central Leaders be Cremated after Death" in November 1956.

Literary figure

Politics aside, Mao is considered one of modern China's most influential literary figures, and was an avid poet, mainly in the classical ci and shi forms. His poems are all in the traditional Chinese verse style.

As did most Chinese intellectuals of his generation, Mao received rigorous education in Chinese classical literature. His style was deeply influenced by the great Tang Dynasty poets Li Bai and Li He. He is considered to be a romantic poet, in contrast to the realist poets represented by Du Fu. Many of Mao's poems are still popular in China and a few are taught as a mandatory part of the elementary school curriculum.

Evaluation

The face of Mao Zedong, arguably still one of the most recognizable in the modern world, continues to appear on T-shirts and other merchandise. The Beatles song Revolution has a reference to Mao with the lines, "but if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao, you are not going to make it with anyone anyhow". Mao is also featured in the Little Feat song Apolitical Blues. In a Simpsons episode when the family goes to China, Homer visits Mao's mausoleum and talks to Mao's embalmed body.

Mao Zedong Highlights

Mao Zedong Highlights Related

Mao Zedong attraction highlights

• Long Island
• Site of the Zunyi Meeting
• Former Residence of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong FAQ & Travelers's Tips

1. What kinds of people do Chinese people think are gracious or nidering?
2. What's the best moral can a Chinese have?
3. What's the most important aspect of most Chinese people's lives?
4. Do Chinese people believe in God?
5. Are there any thoughts or feelings on issue that Chinese share with the west?
6. Why are Chinese people called the 'Descendants of the Dragon'?
7. How do Chinese people like their own culture?
8. How did Chinese people's value change?
9. What's Chinese people's life style?

1. What kinds of people do Chinese people think are gracious or nidering?

   In ancient China, loyalty and filial piety were used to define weather one was a good person or not. In China nowadays, they are still the standards for judging a person.

   • Loyalty: Loyalty evolved as devotion for one's family, gene-group and friends. Loyalty comes most naturally amongst small groups or tribes where the prospect of the whole casting out the individual seems like the ultimate, unthinkable rejection. Loyalty to tribes evolved from the evolutionary tactic that there is a greater chance of survival and procreation if animals form packs/tribes.
     
     In a feudal society, centered on personal bonds of mutual obligation, accounting for precise degrees of protection and fellowship can prove difficult. Loyalty in these circumstances can become a matter of extremes: alternative groups may exist, but lack of mobility will enter a personal sense of loyalty.
     
     The rise of states (and later nation states) meant the harnessing of the 'loyalty' concept to foster allegiance to the sovereign or established government of ones country, also personal devotion and reverence to the sovereign and royal family.
     
     Wars of religion and their intermingling with wars of states have seen loyalty used in religious senses too, involving faithful support of a chosen or traditional set of beliefs or of sports representatives. And in modern times marketing has postulated loyalties to abstract concepts such as the brand. Customer churn has become the opposite of loyalty, just as high treason once stood as the opposite of the same idea. Compare loyalty card.
     
     Loyalty is also seen in business in a variety of ways. As governments have grown in size and scope, some people are more loyal to a company rather than to a country. As corporation complexity has grown, people have shifted their loyalties to individuals rather than companies. As those individuals move between companies, they often take other people with them. Stock options are one method devised to keep people loyal to a company.
     
     
   • In Confucian thought, filial piety is one of the virtues to be cultivated: a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.
     
     In somewhat general terms, filial piety means to take care of one's parents; not be rebellious; show love, respect and support; display courtesy; ensure male heirs, uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise one's parents; conceal their mistakes (though some schools advocate pointing out and correcting their mistakes); display sorrow for their sickness and death; and carry out sacrifices after their death.
     
     Filial piety is considered the first virtue in Chinese culture, and it is the main concern of a large number of stories. One of the more famous one is The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. This story depicts how children exercised their filial piety in the past. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; for example, Historian Hugh D. R. Baker calls respect for the family the only element common to almost all Chinese believers. These traditions were sometimes enforced by law; during parts of the Han Dynasty, for example, and those who neglected ancestor worship could even be subject to corporal punishment.
     
     
   People define bad people in different ways. When someone does something and one person was angry about, another person might think he is actually a good person and doing the right thing? Then what kinds of people do Chinese think are bad?

   Someone doing something bad doesn't mean he is bad. Being bad depends on the inner world of a person, and what's the purpose of being bad? A poor good person might steal to feed his family; while a bad person can do all the kind things just to achieve his evil plan. How do Chinese people define being bad?

   • One character is for sure, which is betrayal. Contrast to loyalty, Betrayal is a form of deception or dismissal of prior presumptions, breaking or violation of a presumptive social contract (trust, or confidence) that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Often betrayal is the act of supporting a rival group, or it is a complete break from previously decided upon or presumed norms by one party from the others.

   • In ancient China, disrespecting the emperor was also considered as a big crime and disgraces. The emperor was the supreme power of ruling the whole country. Showing disrespect to the emperor equaled to showing the same thing to the country. People could be executed for showing disrespect to the emperor. Now there is no more emperor, but respect to the elderly, to women and child is still needed in this society. The elderly, women and child are the weak group and they deserve to be respected.

2. What's the best moral can a Chinese have?

   You might wonder why Buddha always has a smiley face. That's because they have reached the highest level of moral, which is 'beneficence'.
   
   Traditionally understood as the 'first principle'of morality, the dictum'do good and avoid evil' lends some moral content to this principle. The principle of beneficence is a 'middle principle' insofar as it is partially dependent for its content on how one defines the concepts of the good and goodness. As a middle principle, beneficence is not a specific moral rule and cannot by itself tell us what concrete actions constitute doing good and avoiding evil.
   
   The Principle of Nonmaleficence, commonly translated as first, 'do no harm' is often considered to be a corollary to the principle of beneficence. In this respect, it shares the same characteristics of beneficence considered as a middle principle. Considered in its own right, nonmaleficence is sometimes interpreted to imply that if one cannot do good without also causing harm, then one should not act at all (in that particular circumstance). The difficulty with this rigorist interpretation, however, is that it makes action almost impossible in a world where even the best actions may have some harmful results. The principle of double effect offers a more reasonable method of analysis for those conflict situations where avoiding harm would require no action, including actions that may be both morally good and necessary for achieving the good. It is important to note that, while nonmaleficence refers to doing no harm, nonmalevolence refers to not intending or willing harm. It may be helpful to think of nonmaleficence not simply as 'doing no harm', but as 'doing no evil' which is closer to its etymological roots.




3. What's the most important aspect of most Chinese people's lives?

   Just like a saying that goes like this: east and west, home is best. Family is always the number one thing a Chinese would think when asked about the most important aspect of their life. Some would say money, because without money, one can't do anything. Yet, money is just a substance that can satisfy one's material need. After one is satisfied with all these material need, a higher lever of desire will come up for sure, which is the need to be accompanied. During festivals, Chinese people take every chance to go back home and unite with their family. Whenever one is happy or sad, they will share with their family first, or at least make sure they will share it with family. Family is always a Chinese's support, and is always where a Chinese belong to.




4. Do Chinese people believe in God?

   Most Chinese are antitheists. Sometimes you might hear people say something about God, but it doesn't really mean they believe in it.

   There are some Chinese Christians in China who believe in God, but the number of the Chinese Christians only takes up a small portion.



5. Are there any thoughts or feelings on issue that Chinese share with the west?

   With the development of China, more and more western thoughts are cramming into Chinese people's heads. Common thoughts shared by both Chinese and westerners are becoming more and more.

   The first thing to mention is privacy. In western countries, everyone deserve the rights to have some privacy even a 3-year-old child. Children usually demand a room of their own when they turn to 14. More and more Chinese now demand privacy too. Mother reading her little daughter's diary is no longer acceptable, and father going into his son's room without knocking is considered as rude.

   The second thing to mention is the aware of protecting animals. China is famous for its cuisines, yet a lot of animals, even endangered animals, are killed and be cooked into a yummy dish on people's dinning table. Chinese people no longer, like most westerners would think, 'eat everything'. Killing precious animals is against the law, and only pork, beef, chicken, mutton, etc. can be cooked as meals.

6. Why are Chinese people called the 'Descendants of the Dragon'?

   Dragons are commonly symbols of good luck/health in some parts of Asia, and are also sometimes worshipped. Asian dragons are considered as mythical rulers of weather, specifically rain and water, and are usually depicted as the guardians of flaming pearls.
   
   In China, as well as in Japan and Korea, the Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellation, representing spring (season), the element of Wood and the east. A Yellow dragon with five claws on each foot, on the other hand, symbolizes imperial authority in China, and indirectly the Chinese people as well. Chinese people often use the term 'Descendants of the Dragon' as a sign of ethnic identity.




7. How do Chinese people like their own culture?

   Proud of their own culture, Chinese people like to spread their culture to all over the world. However, due to the closed country during the Qing Dynasty when the emperor ordered to close up the country and severed all the diplomatic relations with foreign countries, a lot of tradition was descended and now conflicts with the new generations.

   For example, parents still seem to have the supreme power to decide what their children should or should not do, on the perspective of life style, marriage, even career; younger Chinese demand more privacy while their parents still like to treat them like babies. Chinese people now are under a condition when the transition of new and old generation is taking place. People in the new generation will still be proud of their own culture and meanwhile, carry a western way of thinking.



8. How did Chinese people's value change?

   The marketing economy influenced Chinese's cultural ideas at following aspects:

   • It weakened Chinese people's emphasizes on family and pushed them to enter society. And the conception to conform to elders began to weaken.

   • Chinasmarketing economy was still among the primary stage, which caused Chinese people to pursue material profits blindly, so the parochial idea to make money in illegal ways became more and more popular.

   In 90's, Chinese people's social needs, value goals, and behavior orientations have all been changed.

   • Social needs
     
     Material desires other than basic needs increased; Needs for occupation and income insurance increased; Needs for independence and freedom, for fairness and equality emerged and developed rapidly.

   • Value Goals
     
     Making money has become more and more Chinese people's main life goal. In the eyes of the Chinese people who hold this kind of life goal, how much property (money) one owned is considered as one of the indexes judging people's social status and evaluating whether people make success or not, even is considered as an important happiness resource.

   • Behavior Orientations

     The idea about self-others relationship has been changed from 'only for others not for self at all' to 'Unless for yourself, you will stand condemned by God'. More and more people tend to value asking from society, instead of devoting themselves to society as before.
   
   

9. What's Chinese people's life style?

   Generally speaking, the Chinese people live a life distinct from other peoples in that they pursue such qualities as conformity to nature, harmony, and plain living as opposed to conquest of nature, individuality and material luxury. A pretty flower or a full moon can mean a lot of things for Chinese people, depending on the circumstances.
   
   In connection with their ethics, the Chinese people's lifestyle is characterized by two considerations: Harmony between humans and nature, and harmony among humans.
   
   This preoccupation with nature permeates all aspects of the Chinese people's life. For example, even on an outing, the Chinese people seek to integrate themselves into nature. In springtime, they admire the new-grown greenery in the summer, they appreciate the lotus in the autumn, they climb up a hill for a view of the golden season; and in the winter, they feast their eyes on the first snow.
   
   Festivals occupy an important position in the Chinese's life. Although they offer sacrifices to gods on festivals, the gods are actually of secondary importance. Interpersonal harmony, in contrast, is of primary importance. The most important of all the festivals, of course, is the 'spring festival'. And even on this day, the offerings are intended for people to consume, and the gods are believed to raise no objection to this.
   
   Chinese Culture is omnipresent. Qin (a Chinese stringed instrument somewhat like zither), qi (Chinese chess or go), shu (calligraphy) and hua (painting) are the four most popular traditional forms of entertainment. The point is not how good you can get; rather, it is the mood and atmosphere these activities build up for the player. It is a tempering of the character. There is a dao (literally, way or path; norm, principle for everything. Playing Chinese chess or go, for example, is not just for winning. In the processing of playing, one can learn the art of self-composure and the spirit of detachment to fame and gain.
   
   Another major element in the ordinary life of the Chinese is staying good health. Qigong is the most popular form of exercise by coordinating breathing and other physical as well as mental conditions, qigong reflects the traditional thinking of integrating humans into the universe. In connection with qigong, most people can play some taijiquan or some other 'kung-fu' Chinese martial arts aim primarily at strengthening the body and cultivating the mind. It is a means of making friends not enemies.