Mao Zedong

The Early Years 1893-1920

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1893-1902

• Born 26 December 1893, Hunan province• Tse – to shine on, Tung – the east• Mao close to mother and carefree

childhood• Distance from father, but benefits wealth• Education began 1902 in home village

Shaoshan

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1902-1907

• Excellent pupil, classical Confucian education

• Passionate reader but clashed with tutor• Expelled from 3 schools for being

headstrong and disobedient• 1907 father stopped paying for education –

full time peasant

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1907-1911

• Mao hated father, keen for marriage• 1908 marriage to 18 year old girl• Re-entered formal education at school

25km away• Early marriage made him fierce opponent

arranged marriages

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Early political influences

• Current political environment – reflected Mao’s behaviour

• Old order being questioned and rejected• Strong nationalist sentiment – runs through

later thinking• Country betrayed by leaders and inspired

by idea restore China’s past glory

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1911-1920

• 1911 = Year of the revolution• Teacher training college 1913• College environment very open, allowing

discussion western ideas• Expressed views destruction Chinese

culture to move into modern world

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Writings 1917-18

• Mao’s ethical views formed during this period:• “Morality does not have to be defined in relation to others…

People like me want to…satisfy our hearts to the full, and in doing so we automatically have the most valuable moral codes. Of course there are people and objects in the world, but they are all there only for me.”

• Rejects any responsibility future generations• Writings 1917-18 show “absolute selfishness and

irresponsibility” at core of his outlook

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Destruction

• Writings also show joy he took in upheaval and destruction:• “Giant wars will last as long as heaven and earth and

will never become extinct… The ideal of a world of Great Equality and Harmony (da tong, Confucian ideal society) is mistaken.”

• Glorified war:• “When we look at history, we adore the times of [war]

when dramas happened one after another… which make reading about them great fun.”

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Death

• On death:• “Human beings are endowed with the sense of

curiosity. Why should we treat death differently? Don’t we want to experience strange things? …I think [death] is the most wonderful thing: where else in this world can we find such a fantastic and drastic change?

• Later, when tens of millions of Chinese starving under his rule, Mao told his inner circle that it did no matter if people died, even that death was to be celebrated

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Increasing political interest

• Destruction a part of his ideology:• “How do we change [China]? …the country

must be…destroyed and then re-formed.”

• 1918 to Beijing, works for 6 months as junior librarian

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Increasing political interest

• Returns to Changsha 1919

• 4 May demonstration - Mao joins militant student union, becomes editor of its magazine

• Articles include support for women’s equality and free choice in marriage

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The crucial encounter – June 1920

• End 1919 Mao went to Beijing• Delegation fails in its objectives but…• Meets Professor Chen Tu-hsui, China’s

foremost Marxist, in Shanghai• Chen tells Mao to open Marxist bookshop

in Changsha• Mao distributes communist publications but

not yet a committed communist