Who Was Mao Zedong?

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Mao Zedong, or more properly Mao Tse-tung, established the People's Republic of China.

He also created a cult of personality that led people to reject their history and culture, their families, and even their own moral judgment and do whatever Chairman Mao wished.

Early Life

^{Image [cropped], via Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain.}

Born to a rich farming family in 1893, Mao was expected to take over running the family farm and marry the young lady his parents had picked out for him. But just as he would later urge young Chinese to rebel against their parents, he rebelled against his own, refusing the arranged marriage and leaving his hometown to pursue his education elsewhere.

Mao began studying revolutionary ideas and served in a revolutionary army for six months. He later went to Peking University, working to pay his tuition, and got involved in a revolutionary group called the May the 4th Movement.

Thousands of students rallied for China to be independent (parts of China were taken over by Japan after World War I) and for China to reject the ways of the past and the values of their parents and grandparents.

^{Image, via Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain.}

This student movement is considered the beginning of the bigger revolution that was to come.

People's Republic

In 1919, Mao began a student association that joined with workers in protesting against Japan's involvement in China. He spoke of the "red flag" and the Russian Revolution, and he began to embrace Marxism.

He became the principal of a school and organized a Socialist Youth group there. In 1921, the Communist Party was organized in China, and Mao became one of the leaders.

^{Image [cropped], via Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain.}

Around the same time, another party became popular in China. The Nationalist Party--also called the Kuomintang, KMT, or GMD--was led by a man named Chiang Kai-shek. The two parties began a 20-year battle for control of the country.

Watch The Chinese Civil War - Blood for Unity l HISTORY OF CHINA, from IT'S HISTORY, to learn how the Communists came out on top:

Mao's Rule

• What happened in China during the 30-year reign of Mao Zedong, and how was he able to control the country for so long?

As you watch the video below, write down the definitions for the following:

• Great Leap Forward
• Cultural Revolution
• Red Guards
• Little Red Book

This photo triggered China's Cultural Revolution from Vox:

Tragic Consequences

• What about those children mentioned at the beginning of the lesson, who were taught to love Mao more than their mother and father?

Watch Chinese Cultural Revolution: the boy who denounced his mother from The Guardian:

As sad as these stories are, they're important to learn from and share. As the saying goes:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

~ George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense

Now that you've learned about this time period of Chinese history, move on to the Got It? section to test your knowledge and create a wanted poster for Chairman Mao!