Mao Zedong and China's Political Transformation

When Mao Zedong was born in 1893, his homeland of China was in deep political and economic trouble. Long before the rise of Mao, China believed that they were the most superior country in comparison to all other cultures and religions, resulting in complete isolation and a lack of contact with foreign countries. However, China’s political stability was tested in the early 1830’s when Western countries such as Great Britain, Germany, France, and the United States of America threatened China to open up their main trading port known as Canton, modern day Guangzhou. As a result, the Chinese faced unequal treaties and rights through this sphere of influence, leading to the loss of land to the West. 1 Furthermore, the Imperial Government and Republic

One can argue that all of Mao Zedong’s progress and reputation grew when the Chinese Communist Party made their rise to power; however, controversy and an aura of anxiety spread throughout China as Mao Zedong’s decisions were questioned by his own

Mao shifted his emphasis from the peasants and focused on the youth of China. 2 He urged a mass movement of youth and fight against the “four olds”: old customs, old culture, old thinking, and old habits.2 As a result, the Red Guards were created. This youth group would assault those whom they believed were followers of the old culture in China. It seemed as if Mao Zedong was going against the plan of building a “strong socialist state” because he still believed in the need for state power. Buildings, museums, homes, and colleges were burned if they represented any elements of the four olds.2 Furthermore, intellectuals, Mao’s old support group, were forced into hard labor in remote villages. Pandemonium had entered the country of China. This chaos messed with farm production and closed down all factories.2 Surprisingly, Mao Zedong admitted that the Cultural Revolution needed to conclude and it ultimately hindered China’s growth. After Mao assigned Zhou Enlai and Xiaoping to help save this revolution, he believed that they were threatening to end the whole revolution.3 This lead to more minor violent movements and Mao Zedong’s eventual decline. The Cultural Revolution had bad written all over it as soon as Mao and the country of China entered