Obituary: Mao Zedong (1893-1976) Chairman Mao Zedong, who rose from humble beginnings in a small Hunan village to become the leader of a Chinese Communist Revolution, has passed away at age 82. Mao Zedong was born on December 23, 1893, in Shaoshan village, Hunan. He grew up in a strict household and has since a young age shown interest in history and politics. He transformed a semi-feudal primarily agricultural country into a modern, industrialized nation and is regarded by many as one of history’s great revolutionary figures. Starting with a tiny band of peasants and nationalists, he formed an army of millions and led them for twenty years until their victory in 1949. In October of the same year, he became chairman of the newly established People’s Republic of China. Mao was a complex man, deeply flawed but loved and even worshiped by some hundreds of millions of Chinese for unifying his …show more content…
Despite criticism from other party leaders, he launched the Great Leap Forward, a campaign to modernize China’s economy through rapid industrialization. It led to widespread disruption and food shortages, ultimately causing the Great Chinese Famine. An estimated 13 to 35 million people died. In 1966, Mao put in motion the cultural revolution. A plan to invoke communism in China by overthrowing the capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society, making his return to absolute power after the failure of the Great Leap. Many were forced to abandon their values and beliefs, and problems arose due to the scarcity of food, housing and, and money. The revolution also presented people from pursuing their studies and forced intellectuals to do more manual labour. The number of people who died as Red Guards swept across the country, with what appeared to be no order, cannot be estimated. Millions of others were publicly beaten or humiliated, imprisoned and