The founding father of Modern China, Mao Zedong would transform his country from an impoverished, divided nation, into a world power. But this progress was brought about at a terrible cost. Mao would enforce his policies through fear, violence, and the destruction of individual thought, cementing the Chinese Communist Party or CCP as the sole rulers of some 500 million people.

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During the Cultural Revolution he would mobilise an entire generation of Chinese youth known as Red Guards to kill in his name, building a state where he was worshipped like a God. Purges were soon launched to eliminate undesirable elements of society, such as landlords and capitalists, with millions being executed, driven to suicide, or sent to work camps known as laogai, where they would be re-educated through labour and subject to thought reform, psychological techniques designed to destroy their previous identity. The Red Guards were also instructed to purge the last elements of traditional Chinese society, particularly old ideas, customs, habits and culture, known as the Four Olds, with China’s historical sites becoming targets, with temples, artwork, graves, books and statues being destroyed and lost forever. All that would be lost would be replaced by The Little Red Book, a collection of Mao's quotes and speeches, which was held as the highest source of knowledge.

His policies would lead to the worst famine in recorded history, with it being estimated that he was responsible for the deaths of between 40 and 80 million people. A hero to some and a tyrant to many, Chairman Mao has one of the defining stories of the 20th century.

Timestamps 📽
Intro: 0:00
Mao's Youth 1:20
The Chinese Civil War 4:35
The Long March 7:13
Communist Victory 8:31
Life In Mao’s China 10:51
The Great Leap Forward 14:06
The Cultural Revolution 19:42
Mao’s Final Years 26:55
China After Mao 28:22

Primary Source: Mao: The Man Who Made China By Philip short

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