Mao Zedong

Introduction & Top Questions
Early years
Mao and the Chinese Communist Party
The communists and the Nationalists
The road to power
Formation of the People’s Republic of China
The emergence of Mao’s road to socialism
Retreat and counterattack
The Cultural Revolution
Legacy

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Mao Zedong smiling and waving with his right hand while standing outdoors in front of large lanterns and a crowd.

Chairman Mao at Jinggang Mountain, painting by Luo Gongliu

Mao Zedong in 1965, wearing a green military uniform with a red star on his cap and red collar accents, smiling and standing with one hand resting on a ledge.

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall with a red roof and white columns stands in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, flanked by large stone statues and guarded by soldiers.

At a Glance

Mao Zedong summary

Quizzes

Dictators of the 20th Century Quiz

Related Questions

How did Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu influence Mao Zedong?
How did Mao Zedong and Zhu De develop guerrilla warfare tactics?
How did Mao Zedong become interested in Western political ideas?
How did Mao Zedong’s childhood in Shaoshan influence his early life?
How did Mao Zedong’s cult of personality develop?
How did Mao Zedong’s government treat landlords after the Chinese revolution?
How did Mao Zedong’s policies change China after his death?
How did land reform change rural China after the communist victory in 1949?
How did natural disasters worsen the crisis during the Great Leap Forward?
How did the 1911 Chinese Revolution affect Mao Zedong?
How did the Great Leap Forward disrupt agricultural production in China?
How did the Xi’an Incident affect the conflict between the Nationalists and communists?
How did the Zunyi Conference strengthen Mao Zedong’s leadership?
How did the war against Japan help the Chinese Communist Party expand its support?
How is Maoism different from the original ideas of Karl Marx?
How many communist troops survived the Long March to Shaanxi?
How many people died of starvation during the Great Leap Forward famine?
What human costs resulted from Mao Zedong’s rule?
What parts of Mao Zedong’s legacy are seen as achievements?
What role did Mao Zedong play in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party?
What role did Peking University play in Mao Zedong’s political development?
What was the Hundred Flowers Campaign intended to achieve?
What was the Jiangxi Soviet?
What were Mao Zedong’s goals for industrializing China?
When and where was Mao Zedong born?
When did Mao Zedong die?
When did Mao Zedong proclaim the People’s Republic of China?
Which obstacles did Chinese communist forces face during the Long March?
Who were the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution?
Why did Chiang Kai-shek launch encirclement campaigns against the Chinese communists?
Why did China use the Soviet Union as a model during its first years under communist rule?
Why did Mao Zedong launch the Cultural Revolution in 1966?
Why did Mao Zedong launch the Great Leap Forward?
Why did Mao Zedong promote rapid collectivization in the 1950s?
Why did Mao Zedong serve in the revolutionary army in Hunan?
Why did Mao Zedong support a united front against Japan?
Why did Mao Zedong travel to Moscow in 1949?
Why did Mao Zedong turn against intellectuals after the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
Why did the Chinese communists leave the Jiangxi Soviet in 1934?
Why was Peng Dehuai removed from office after criticizing the Great Leap Forward?
Why was the People’s Liberation Army called in during the Cultural Revolution?
Who was Mao Zedong?
What is Maoism?
How has China changed since Mao Zedong’s death?
What is Mao Zedong’s legacy?
What was Mao Zedong’s family like?
What was Gamal Abdel Nasser’s childhood like?
How did Gamal Abdel Nasser become famous?
What were some of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s major accomplishments?
How did Gamal Abdel Nasser change the world?
Who is Xi Jinping?

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External Websites

BBC - Chinese Characters - Mao Zedong: The Man Who Made Modern China
Al Jazeera - A brief Mao Zedong biography
PBS - American Experience - Mao Tse-Tung
CBS News - The Legacy Of Mao
CFR Education - How China Transformed Under Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping
Alpha History - The rise of Mao Zedong
Asia for Educators - Mao Zedong: Biographical and Political Profile

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Mao Zedong - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Mao Zedong - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Mao Zedong

Chinese leader

Also known as: Mao Tse-tung

Written by

Stuart Reynolds Schram

Emeritus Professor of Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Author of The Thought of Mao Tse-tung and others.

Stuart Reynolds Schram

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

Mao Zedong (born December 26, 1893, Shaoshan, Hunan province, China—died September 9, 1976, Beijing) was the principal Chinese Marxist theorist, soldier, and statesman who led his country’s communist revolution. Mao was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1935 until his death, and he was chairman (chief of state) of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to 1959 and chairman of the party also until his death. When China emerged from a...

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