Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), formerly spelled Mao Tse-Tung, was the founder of the People's Republic of China, which he led from its founding on 1 October 1949 until his death in 1976. He was a Marxist–Leninist and made his own developments in theory, military strategy, and politics, contributions, later known as Maoism. He was an exceptional revolutionary and military leader during the Chinese Civil War but retains a mixed reputation as a statesman, and personally acknowledged his role in the failed Great Leap Forward.[1] Despite his shortcomings, the accomplishments of the Party under his leadership include the abolition of feudalism and backward customs such as foot binding,[2][3][4] campaigns against superstition and misogyny,[citation needed] and assistance to the Koreans and other nations[who?] in their struggle against imperialism. The modern CPC has labelled Mao and his mixed contributions "70 percent right and 30 percent wrong".[5]
Chinese Civil War
Mao became the leader of the Communist Party during the arduous Chinese Civil War, a conflict between the Communists and the nationalist Kuomintang party led by Chiang Kai-Shek. Mao wrote many of his best-known works, such as On Contradiction, On Practice, and Combat Liberalism, during this period.
People's Republic of China
Sino-Soviet split
As a nationalist, Mao hoped for the Soviets to cede Mongolia to the Chinese, part of the Soviet sphere of influence at the time, and continued to do so after Stalin's death.[6] When Mao insisted after Stalin's death that he become the new "senior" communist leader in the world, these and other grievances finally caused Sino-Soviet relations to degrade, at one point reaching the brink of war.[7] The two socialist states would continue to express their animosity through proxy wars (Mao strongly supported the Khmer Rouge against Soviet-oriented Vietnam) and by other diplomatic means. This policy pioneered by Mao culminated in a diplomatic reconciliation with the United States in the 1970s, which would later form the crucial foundation of the Reform and opening-up policy.
Policies
National policy
Tibet
Mongolia
Language reform
In 1958, the Chinese Communist Party officially adopted pinyin as a Romanization system, with Mao actually wanting it to replace Chinese characters altogether. Stalin insisted China keep its old script and Mao ended up encouraging the development of simplified Chinese. Both pinyin and the simplified Chinese script have made learning the language easier, which was especially of benefit at the time when many people were illiterate, on top of enabling a more practical typing system for computers later on.[8]
References
- ↑ "Mao Zedong on responsibility for the Great Leap Forward (1959)". Chinese Revolution. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ Vogelsang, Willem (1 May 2019). "10. The end of foot binding". Textile Research Centre Leiden. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ Gillet, Kit; Times, Los Angeles (16 April 2012). "In China, foot binding slowly slips into history". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ McSpadden, Kevin (10 November 2021). "Pain or poverty? Foot binding tradition in Qing dynasty left Chinese women with tough dilemma". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ "Chinese Reopen Debate Over Mao's Legacy". NPR. 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ Means, Other (22 October 2015). "The Truth About Mongolia's Independence 70 Years Ago". The Diplomat. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ "The 1969 Sino-Soviet Border Conflicts As A Key Turning Point Of The Cold War". Hoover Institution. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ↑ ["Explainer: Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung? We Have the Answer". That's Shanghai. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2023.