Mao Zedong
About Mao Zedong
The founder of the Peoples Republic of China. Mao led the Communist Party to victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. His Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) caused a famine that killed an estimated 15 to 55 million people. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) devastated Chinese society and culture. Mao was also a poet and calligrapher. His Little Red Book was carried by millions. Mao died in 1976. His legacy is officially evaluated in China as 70 percent correct and 30 percent wrong. Mao transformed China from a divided, impoverished nation into a unified, nuclear armed state, but at catastrophic human cost.
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