Mao History
Dressed in the drab military uniform that symbolized the revolutionary government of Communist China, Mao Zedong's body still looked powerful, like an giant rock in a gushing river. An enormous red flag draped his coffin, like a red sail unfurled on a Chinese junk, illustrating the dualism of traditional China and the present Communist China that typified Mao. 1 A river of people flowed past while he lay in state during the second week of September 1976. Workers, peasants, soldiers and students, united in grief; brought together by Mao, the helmsman of modern China. 2 He had assembled a revolutionary government using traditional Chinese ideals of filial piety, harmony, and order. Mao's cult of personality, party purges, and political policies reflect Mao's esteem of these traditional Chinese ideals and history. Mao was born on December 26, 1893 in Shao Shan, a village in Hunan Province. 3 His family lived in a rural village where for hundreds of years the pattern of everyday life had remained largely unbroken. 4 Mao's father, the son of a "poor peasant," during Mao's childhood however, prospered and become a wealthy land owner and rice dealer. 5 Yet, the structure of Mao's family continued to
6 Mao in his interviews with Edgar Snow recounts how his father was a, "severe taskmaster... He gave us no money whatever, and the most meager food. ..." Ibid. p.52. During the next ten years, 1909-1918, Mao drifted. In 1909 at the age of 16, he left home to attend school in Hsiang. 17 In 1911, he enlisted in the Army for six months after which he moved to Changsha the capital of Hunan Province where he stayed until 1918. 18 While in Changsha, he tried numerous schools. 19 Finally, he enrolled at the Hunan Normal School, graduating in 1918. 20 Mao's stature within the party continued to grow. After leading the Communists on the Long March to the City of Yunan in Northern China in 1935, he assumed leadership of the party at age 42. 34 Mao's belief in harmony, set him upon a campaign that would solidify his power, and further strengthen his role, the Rectification Campaign (1942-1943). The Rectification Campaign was a harbinger of the purges that Mao would initiate again during the Cultural Revolution; it was a symbol of Mao's belief in harmony and order. This campaign aimed at purging the party of Stalinist supporters. 35 Purging of dissident elements within the party created unity according to Mao. The Rectification Campaign was a turning point for the Communists. With a strong leader, unity within, and a specifically tailored Chinese political ideology, the Communists made steady gains against the Guomingdang in the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949).
Some common words found in the essay are:
Edgar Snow, China Mao, Communist Party, Leap Forward, Hunan Province, Chinese Communism, Cultural Revolution, Communist China, Li Zhisui, Beijing Ibid, communist party, traditional chinese, leap forward, edgar snow, cultural revolution, filial piety, mao interviews, ibid p16, ibid p18, chinese history, interviews edgar snow, mao interviews edgar, traditional chinese ideals, chinese communist party, mao cultural revolution,
Approximate Word count = 4550
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
