Mao Zedong: A life Book Review

Mao Zedong: A life

“Mao Zedong: A life” was written by Jonathan Spence. It is an Autobiography of Mao’s life from when he was born to the day he died. In his early years, starting in 1893, Mao worked for his father on their village farm in Shaoshan. After working he deiced to go back to school. At the new Xiangxiang school he found new radical ideals and was swept up into joining the student army. After the stint in the the army Mao once again wanted to “go back to the books” he enrolled in another school where he was encouraged to study the Chinese text and other subjects of his choice. After graduating he made his way to Beijing where with the help of one his professors he was able to get a job in the library. Mao explored his writing and studying during this warlord time in which he and some colleagues formed a secret Cultural Book Society. From then, Mao became interested in the political aspects of the Russian communists and Karl Marx, he joined the Communist party and would later become one its most successful leaders. As the Chinese Nationalist went to war Against the Chinese communist many labor unions were broken up and dispersed throughout Shanghai and Beijing. The Nationalist were hot on their trail and forced them into the long March. This march across China would cripple the Communist, enough to make them retreat to a highly defensible position to give them time to rebuild. However, Surprise, Japan decides to attack china through the north. So Chang Kai Shek is forced to deal with two enemies at once. Mao suggests that the enemy of my enemy is my friend and asks Chang Kai Shek to team up and defeat the foreign invaders from China. Chang at first refuses, but after a Coup de tah, in his own group he is kidnapped. When returned his mind has been changed and decides to team up with Mao to fight back the Japanese. After the war ends with the Americans dropping the bombs on Japan, Mao and Chang race to clear out the rest of the forces in Manchuria. After the Japanese had left, the fighting between the Nationalist and the Communist had resumed. However, the Communist spread out a crossed the farm field of Manchuria were able to use Guerrilla tactics and wiped the floor with Nationalist. When their forces reached the Capital, October 1 1949, they announced at Tinamen gate, the formation of The Peoples Republic of China. From here Mao introduced his vision the great leap, where there would be evenness throughout all china. Everyone would have food and community shelter. Everything would be shared. An ideal Communist theory. But over time the growing season failed and harvest were down. In this time Mao had to deal with his control over the Newspaper written for him the People’s Daily, and how some articles would not promote the Great leap but would point out its failures. As Mao got older his view became more extreme for his people, with the failure of the great leap came the Cultural Revolution. Little Pamphlets were doled out to the people of china, and inside were description of what was to be and not to be. All foreign art work and foreign goods were destroyed and people were arrested for possessing such materials. Many students formed military groups called Red Guards in which they did the bidding of the Cultural Revolution. Mao never wrote about what he wanted to achieve with the Cultural Revolution. Mao died in 1976 and passed the goal of a unified and successful China on to the next generation.