In 1946 General George Marshall met both Mao ZedongMao Zedong mao-zedong The founder and supreme leader of the People’s Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. A revolutionary strategist, Marxist theorist, and political poet, he led the Communist Party to victory in the civil war, transformed China through collectivisation and industrialisation, and unleashed the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution with catastrophic consequences. Mao Zedong rose to leadership of the Chinese Communist Party through the Long March and Yan’an years, developing a distinctive theory of revolution adapted to Chinese conditions: emphasis on the peasantry rather than the urban proletariat as the revolutionary class, ‘people’s war’ as military strategy, the importance of political mobilisation alongside military action, and the concept of ‘contradictions’ as the engine of historical change. His military and political strategy defeated the Nationalists in the civil war (1945–49) and established the People’s Republic on 1 October 1949. In the early years of the PRC, land reform transferred land to peasants and began the process of collectivisation; the Korean War intervention preserved North Korea and demonstrated China’s military capacity. The Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957), the Great Leap Forward (1958–62), and the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) represent the catastrophic dimensions of his rule: mass mobilisations that killed tens of millions through famine and political violence. His opening to Nixon in 1972 represented a strategic reorientation of China’s foreign policy, using American counterbalance to constrain Soviet pressure. The Chinese Communist Party’s 1981 assessment — that Mao was ‘70% correct and 30% wrong’ — reflects the genuine dilemma of a state that owes its existence to his victories while acknowledging the horror of his later policies. Mao occupies a unique position in the pantheon of twentieth-century leaders in that it is genuinely difficult to assess whether the revolutionary victories of 1949 — which ended the ‘century of humiliation’, reunified China, and created the conditions for subsequent development — justify the tens of millions killed in the Great Leap and Cultural Revolution. The Chinese Communist Party’s resolution of the question — praise the victories, acknowledge the mistakes, move on — is politically necessary but intellectually inadequate. The more honest assessment requires holding two truths simultaneously: that the revolution Mao led addressed real historical injustices and created the unified state that made China’s subsequent development possible, and that the policies he implemented killed more Chinese people than any foreign aggressor since the Mongols. The tension between these two truths is not resolved by choosing one; it is the essential condition of any serious engagement with Chinese twentieth-century history. and Chiang Kai Shek, and concluded that the nationalist cause in China was lost. From this fateful decision a gradual change in American policy towards Chiang developed with profound consequences. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Pat