Chairman Mao Zedong

1
Chairman Mao Zedong
2
Early Life

• Born in 1893 in Shaoshan, China
• His father was a poor peasant who was able to
  become a landowner and businessman
• Received a basic education and learned a lot
  about political and economic problems in China
  (e.g. widespread famines)

3
Based on these sources, what is one problem the
Chinese were facing when Mao was growing up?
4
Communism

• Moved to Peking in 1918 and worked for a Marxist
  thinker
• Quickly became a strong believer in Communism and
  edited radical magazines, organized trade unions,
  and started schools of his own.
• Became one of the 50 founding members of the
  Chinese Communist Party
• Failed in his early attempts to be a leader in
  the Party and his role in Party activities was
  decreased dramatically

5
Focus on the Peasants

• Mao went back to his hometown and had very little
  communication with the Party
• He studied the peasants and learned about their
  financial situation and the ways they were being
  abused by the landowning class
• His new knowledge of the peasants allowed him to
  rise again as a leader in the Party, where he
  advocated that peasants should lead the revolution

6
Based on this map, what struggles is China having
in the 1930s?
7
Power Struggles in China

• The Communist Party worked with another political
  group called the Kuomintang to kick out the
  foreign powers in China
• By 1941, the parties turned on each other in a
  struggle for power
• Mao emerged as a major military leader and
  quickly gained power

8
Based on the following quotes, what is one of
Maos ideas about society?

• A great many so-called intellectuals are
  actually exceedingly unlearned . . . The
  knowledge of workers and peasants is sometimes
  greater than theirs.
• Books cannot walk, and you can open and close a
  book at will this is the easiest thing in the
  world to do, a great deal easier than it is for
  the cook to prepare a meal . . . or for him to
  slaughter a pig.

9
The Cult of Mao

• Mao became the chairman of the Communist Central
  Committee
• All the leaders in the party praised him and
  encouraged people to listen to his wisdom
• In 1943, several leaders in the Party began to
  rewrite Chinese Party history so that Mao would
  be seen as responsible for all the advances of
  the Party

10
What does the following excerpt suggest about
Maos Power?

• The Chinese Communist Party takes Mao Zedongs
  thought the thought that unites
  Marxist-Leninist theory and the practice of the
  Chinese revolution as the guide for all its
  work, and opposes all dogmatic or empiricist
  deviations. Preamble to the Constitution of the
  Communist Party

11
Peoples Republic of China - 1949

• The Communists defeated the Kuomintang and took
  complete control of China in 1949
• Maos ideas formed the basis for all Party
  activities and government decisions
• They took control of the media and the education
  system and began taking land away from the
  wealthy and distributing it among all people

12
Great Leap Forward - 1958

• Attempt to modernize China
• People were forced to grow grain and melt metals
  down to produce steel
• Led to widespread famine and death
• Damaged Maos reputation

13
Cultural Revolution

• Mao needed a comeback
• He organized students and mobilized them
  throughout the country to spread his ideas and
  wipe out anyone who tried to contradict him
• He created an extremely effective propaganda
  campaign that again brought him back to power.