Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong^{[lower-alpha 1]} (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese politician, Marxist theorist, military strategist, poet, and revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He led the country from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976, while also serving as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party during that time. His theories, military strategies and policies are known as Maoism.

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Chairman Mao Zedong
毛泽东
Mao in 1959
Chairman of the Communist Party of China
In office 20 March 1943 – 9 September 1976
Deputy	Liu Shaoqi Lin Biao Zhou Enlai Hua Guofeng
Preceded by	Zhang Wentian (as General Secretary)
Succeeded by	Hua Guofeng
1st Chairman of the People's Republic of China
In office 27 September 1954 – 27 April 1959
Premier	Zhou Enlai
Deputy	Zhu De
Succeeded by	Liu Shaoqi
Chairman of the Central Military Commission
In office 8 September 1954 – 9 September 1976
Deputy	Zhu De Lin Biao Ye Jianying
Succeeded by	Hua Guofeng
Chairman of the Central People's Government
In office 1 October 1949 – 27 September 1954
Premier	Zhou Enlai
Preceded by	Office established Li Zongren (as President of the Republic of China)
Personal details
Born	(1893-12-26)26 December 1893 Shaoshan, Hunan, Qing China
Died	9 September 1976(1976-09-09) (aged 82) Beijing, People's Republic of China
Resting place	Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, Beijing
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (from 1921)
Other political affiliations	Kuomintang (1925–1926)
Spouses	Luo Yixiu ​ ​ (m. 1907; died 1910)​ Yang Kaihui ​ ​ (m. 1920; died 1930)​ He Zizhen ​ ​ (m. 1928; div. 1937)​ Jiang Qing ​ (m. 1938)​
Children	10, including: Mao Anying Mao Anqing Mao Anlong Yang Yuehua Li Min Li Na
Parents	Mao Yichang (father) Wen Qimei (mother)
Alma mater	Hunan First Normal University
Signature
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	毛泽东
Traditional Chinese	毛澤東
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Máo Zédōng Bopomofo ㄇㄠˊ   ㄗㄜˊ   ㄉㄨㄥ Wade–Giles Mao2 Tse2-tung1 Tongyong Pinyin Máo Zé-dong IPA [mǎʊ tsɤ̌.tʊ́ŋ] ⓘ Wu Suzhounese Máu Zéh-ton Hakka Romanization Mô Chhe̍t-tûng Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Mòuh Jaahk-dūng Jyutping mou4 zaak6 dung1 IPA [mou˩ tsaːk̚˨ toŋ˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Mô͘ Te̍k-tong Tâi-lô Môo Ti̍k-tang
Courtesy name
Simplified Chinese	润之
Traditional Chinese	潤之
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Rùnzhī Bopomofo ㄖㄨㄣˋ   ㄓ Wade–Giles Jun4-chih1 Tongyong Pinyin Rùn-jhih IPA [ɻwə̂n.ʈʂɻ̩́] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping jeon6 zi1 IPA [jɵn˨ tsiː˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lūn-chi
Central institution membership 1964–1976: Member, National People's Congress 1954–1959: Member, National People's Congress 1938–1976: Member, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Politburo 1938–1976: Member, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Central Committee Other offices held 1954–1959: Chairman of the People's Republic of China 1954–1976: Chairman, CPC Central Military Commission 1954–1959: President and Chairman, National Defence Council 1954–1976: Honorary Chairman, CPPCC National Committee 1949–1954: Chairman, Central People's Revolutionary Military Commission 1949–1954: Chairman, CPPCC National Committee 1949–1954: Chairman, PRC Central People's Government 1943–1956: Chairman, CPC Central Secretariat 1936–1949: Chairman, CPC Central Military Commission
Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China (Inaugural holder) Hua Guofeng →

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Mao was the son of a prosperous peasant in Shaoshan, Hunan. He supported Chinese nationalism and had an anti-imperialist outlook early in his life, and was particularly influenced by the events of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and the May Fourth Movement of 1919. He later adopted Marxism–Leninism while working at Peking University as a librarian. He became a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), leading the Autumn Harvest Uprising in 1927. During the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the CCP, Mao helped to found the Chinese Red Army, led the Jiangxi Soviet's radical land reform policies, and ultimately became head of the CCP during the Long March. Although the CCP temporarily allied with the KMT under the Second United Front during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), China's civil war resumed after Japan's surrender. Mao's forces defeated the Nationalist government, which withdrew to Taiwan in 1949.

On 1 October 1949, Mao proclaimed the foundation of the PRC, a Marxist–Leninist single-party state controlled by the CCP. In the following years he solidified his control through the land reform campaign against landlords, the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries, the "Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns", and through a truce in the Korean War, which altogether resulted in the deaths of several million Chinese. From 1953 to 1958, Mao played an important role in enforcing command economy in China, constructing the first Constitution of the PRC, launching an industrialisation program, and initiating military projects such as the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project and Project 523. His foreign policies during this time were dominated by the Sino-Soviet split which drove a wedge between China and the Soviet Union. In 1955, Mao launched the Sufan movement, and in 1957 he launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign, in which at least 550,000 people, mostly intellectuals and dissidents, were persecuted. In 1958, he launched the Great Leap Forward that aimed to rapidly transform China's economy from agrarian to industrial, which led to the Great Chinese Famine and the deaths of 15–55 million people between 1958 and 1962.

In 1963, Mao launched the Socialist Education Movement, and in 1966 he initiated the Cultural Revolution, a program to remove "counter-revolutionary" elements in Chinese society which lasted 10 years and was marked by violent class struggle, widespread destruction of cultural artifacts, and an unprecedented elevation of Mao's cult of personality. Tens of millions of people were persecuted during the Revolution, while the estimated number of deaths ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions. After years of ill health, Mao suffered a series of heart attacks in 1976 and died at the age of 82. During the Mao era, China's population grew from around 550 million to over 900 million while the government did not strictly enforce its family planning policy. During his leadership tenure, China was heavily involved with other Asian communist conflicts such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cambodian Civil War.

Mao is considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Mao's policies were responsible for a vast number of deaths, with estimates ranging from 40 to 80 million victims due to starvation, persecution, prison labour, and mass executions, and his government has been described as totalitarian. He has been also credited with transforming China from a semi-colony to a leading world power by advancing literacy, women's rights, basic healthcare, primary education, and improving life expectancy. Mao is revered as a national hero who liberated the country from foreign occupation and exploitation in China. He became an ideological figurehead and a prominent influence over the international communist movement, being endowed with remembrance, admiration and cult of personality both during and after his life.