Category: Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, who is also called (Mao Tse-tung), was born in Chaochan. He was a son of a peasant farmer, who lived in a small town in the suburb region of china in 1893. Mao’s life is characterized by a pattern of diversity. He did many things in life which revealed his passion for excellence and order. He became a Marxist during his early days while working as a library assistant in Perking University and served in the revolutionary army during the 1911 Chinese revolution.

Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) had influence in many sectors of life. He was a member of the Chinese Community Party established by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhaou in June 1921 in collaboration with Zhou E, Zhu De, and Lin B. The establishment of this party was inspired by the Russian revolution. Many activities of the Russian revolution are attributed to have come from Mr. Mao (Blumberg, Arnold, 1995).

Mao at one point took control of the whole of north China. This happened during his period as a political organizer. During the Japanese invasion of the heartland of China, Chiang Kai-Shek who was the leader then had little support and power, he lost control of most of the coastal region to the Japanese and therefore he was more than willing to collaborate with Mao and his Communist army with the sole purpose of beating Japan.

Mao Zedong had many accomplishments both in china as his home country and in the entire region of the Middle East. Many people considered him a great man of his time because he did things that have remained remarkable over years starting from his home country China. As a consequence of the renowned step that he made, the famous ‘Great leap forward’, there was an increase in agricultural and industrial production; the reform involved the establishment of large agricultural communes who owned their own farms and factories.

This probably led to improved living standards in many ways. The agricultural revolution became a major employer of the count men since many were employed to work in the farms, yet others worked in the industries in which agricultural products were the main source of raw materials. Despite this even after retiring from the chairman of the People’s Republic of China, he remained important in determining the overall policy hence influencing most of their decisions.

Mao Zedong was also a great revolutionist. He had many accomplishments during this time one of which is the victory he obtained in a war against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese civil war. As a leader of his country, Mao invested more in military ventures and weaponry that his country was feared by many in the region.

At a universal level, it can be argued that Mao had a great impact on the world at large in one way or the other, for instance, when he was the leader of the Communist Party of China, it is reported that most of the Americans were favorably impressed since the party seemed less corrupt, more unified and more vigorous especially in the resistance to Japan. China was henceforth keenly observed in the region and as a result of Mao’s rule; the country made some moves in the positive direction and gained a great reputation. A strong contact, therefore, developed between him and the United States of America (Wills, John E, 1994).

Another big achievement realized by Mr. Mao was the permanent isolation of China after the start of the split of Sino-Soviet. All the experts were hence withdrawn from China back to their countries. This was a test into the independence of the country and the government of Mao succeeded in establishing peace and stability even after soviet experts left.

He is also credited with advancing the social and economic development of the surrounding society as well as increasing the rate of literacy. There was also increased life expectancy during and shortly after his regime for instance in the small neighboring island of Taiwan, a researcher once said that it is because of Mao that Taiwan can be heard of today; because of his input, other world powers also got involved in supporting the country alongside other countries like Japan.

Mao Zedong was a prolific writer of political and philosophical work and part of his work is even used by the western countries e.g. the ‘Little Red Book’, he was also a skilled calligrapher with a highly personal skill, his work remains an attraction in China even today and this may boost tourism. He introduced a new form of calligraphy called the Mao style which has gained popularity after his death; this enhanced creativity in education and writing.

He is also considered as the most influential literary figure and an avid poet of which some of his poetical work is still used by scholars today hence an impact on education globally.

Mao Zedong has had a lot of impact in the Asian countries compared to the other regions. He believed that the U. S could not win over Korea. This was confirmed in the same year when he sent his troops who later won a war against Americans.

Due to the domino theory, it is believed that if a country falls into communism, there is the likelihood of the surrounding countries also falling into it, this could have worried the U. S and Britain since they too believe in democracy.

Furthermore, he is considered as the leader of the world’s most populous nation and on the other hand, it is estimated that 50-200 million civilians died from starvation under his rule though it also remains a considerable fact that he industrialized China (Barme, Geremie, 1999).

Mao’s attitude towards the USA was always negative and this made him give support to many countries that were fighting against the USA. Such support informed of food and weapon supplies. He is considered a symbol of communism in that when he took control of China, western nations realized that communism was really a problem so much bigger than they thought or expected hence to this day, he is revered in most parts of the world of course with much of it centered In China.

Mao Zedong also created a philosophy of communism that influenced many places around the world even though they were not widely spread. To add to that, among some of his greatest effects is the kind of pressure that through him was mounted in all directions to countries such as; Vietnam, Iran, and Mongolia and this led to cold war politics.

Works cited

Barme, Geremie. Shades of Mao. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.

Blumberg, Arnold. Great tyrants who made history. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1995.

Wills, John E. Mountain of fame in Chin a. Princeton, N. J: Princeton University Press, 1994.

The situation faced by China at the beginning of the twentieth century was complicated and inauspicious. The destiny of the country was about to change after the end of the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong. Being treated like a living god during his lifetime, he has become one of the major figures in the world history of the twentieth century, and his legacy still arises numerous controversial issues. His actions and strategies have received much criticism and condemnation from both Chinese and foreign historians and common people. Investigating Mao Zedong’s influence on China’s twentieth-century development is of vital importance for understanding the specifics of his governance and analyzing its results.

The attitudes to the influence of Mao Zedong’s governance on the development of China in the twentieth century are mostly controversial, as the actions of the leader were controversial too. Mao Zedong is considered a savior of China by many people as he united the country and encouraged it to get rid of the brutal dictator Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists. He transformed China from a weak country exploited by Western countries and Japan into one of the most influential world powers. During the governance of Mao Zedong, China was modernized and became much stronger than it had been before. All of these contributions make many people consider Mao Zedong “national liberator and “socialist prophet” (Krieger 65).

In the same time, the ruthlessness and meaninglessness of many of the leader’s actions create an opposite view shared by numerous people considering Mao a cruel dictator, who had a bad impact on the development of China. His inclination to “brutal suppression of his enemies” and mass murders has deserved a huge amount of deserved criticism (Gay 8). Besides, his politics led to one of the most severe famines in China, which resulted in nearly 15-20 million deaths caused by starvation (Karl 107). The uncoordinated violence of the Cultural Revolution set by Mao brought the incalculable number of deaths (Spence 164). The bloody methods used by the leader to retain the power caused millions of deaths and cannot be justified in any way.

The article “Mao Zedong: Liberator or Oppressor of China” explores the biography of the leader and his actions while being the head of the People’s Republic of China. I liked the investigation of the roots of Mao’s disposition to violence found in his childhood presented in the article. However, I did not like the one-sidedness of the article. The leader is characterized as “ready to use brutal means”, having “no compunction in torturing and executing”, etc. (Lynch 11). The article illustrates the violence used by the leader to embody his ideas and explores the drawbacks of his governance. It pays very little attention to the progress made by the People’s Republic of China during Mao’s governance.

The textbook appears to be more objective, as it describes both achievements and defects of Mao Zedong’s governance. While determining the crimes made by Zedong’s dictatorship, the textbook defines his contribution to the development of China by mentioning the reunion of China, supporting equal rights for women, eliminating economic inequality, speeding up economic development, and other positive changes made by the leader (Bentley and Ziegler 879). In my opinion, the textbook presents information about Mao Zedong in a more comprehensive and unbiased way than the article does.

The analysis of the main features of Mao Zedong’s governance helps to understand the huge drawbacks of the strategies used by him to control the power and see some of the positive influences that gave China a possibility to become a world power.

Works Cited

Bentley, Jerry, and Herbert Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters, Volume 2: From 1500 to the Present, New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 2007. Print.

Gay, Kathlyn. Mao Zedong’s China, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twenty-first Century Books, 2008. Print.

Karl, Rebecca. Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World: A Concise History, Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2010. Print.

Krieger, Joel. The Oxford Companion to Comparative Politics, New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2012. Print.

Lynch, Michael. “Mao Zedong: Liberator or Oppressor of China.” History Review 43 (2002): 10-15. Print.

Spence, Jonathan. Mao Zedong: A Life, New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print.