Mao Zedong & China: Evolution of a Country, Influence of a Man

From peasant to national icon, no man’s sole existence has had such an affect on a country as Mao Zedong’s on China. Living his early life as a farmer, he was part of a class that would soon morph from being the dominated to the dominators, a class that he would lead. Engaged in a new sense of never-held power, much like China’s new role as a world power, Mao became a cultural God, abusing his authority to his full extent. Mao’s faults developed into China’s failures and Mao’s successes developed into China’s triumphs.

Mao’s first impact on China coincided with the beginnings of the Communist Revolution. Inducted to the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, Mao was nominated the head of the Peasant Training Centre1. With the Centre, Mao created his own form of Marxism, based on a revolution of the peasant class instead of the working class. Criticized by other members and eventually dismissed from the party for attempting to start a revolution with coal miners, Mao was in the minority in the CCP but never gave up his confidence in the peasantry. Though unsuccessful in his initial revolution attempts, his reputation among the peasants quickly grew, and by 1922 he led the Red Army.

Mao was able to introduce several of his principles into the Red Army that, Breslin states, proved significant to the Communist victory in the revolution. Mao wanted the army and party to be on the same ideological level to arouse a sense of loyalty among the soldiers. To do this he used “political indoctrination”, or the education of the army in Marxist literature2. The Red Army also took on a new military strategy with Mao as leader. Instead of standing and fighting in battles it could not win, the army began utilizing guerilla tactics that maximized enemy casualties and minimized Communist ones.

His most important policy, however, regarded the treatment of peasants. He set out the “Eight Points of Behaviour” and the “Three Rules”, which ensured the humanitarian treatment of the people in a Communist area3. Here, Mao separated the CCP from the previous movements that promised change but failed to deliver—such as the Guomindang. The policy deepened the support of the peasantry for Mao. They saw him as a man who actually did want to change things, and the army and party swelled with peasants eager to help. This was a crucial resolution in 20th century China for two reasons. One, the support of the peasants legitimized the soon to come Communist takeover, and two, that support provided Mao a secure power base. Ultimately Mao’s institution of the “Eight Points of Behaviour” and the “Three Rules” were essential to Communism sustaining itself throughout the 20th century in China.

The next phase of Mao’s influence over China followed the Communist victory in the revolution when Mao became the first Chairman of the Communist republic. Though Breslin recognizes Mao was not a totalitarian leader, he describes him as the “single most important figure in the country’s evolution after 1949”. The country was soon to become Mao-centric4. With his dictum “the revolution begins at the barrel of a gun” as the spur, Mao’s first initiative focused on developing an even stronger allegiance that could be successfully maintained between the Party, if not specifically Mao, and the People’s Liberation Army5. Mao created high-ranking positions for those generals who had served him well in the revolution, and put former soldiers into secure civilian posts. By giving former revolutionaries sure livelihoods, Mao guaranteed he had the loyalty of the army when he needed it against other party leaders, and ensured the military would not change allegiance to another government.

Mao’s greatest industrial and political contributions came in two steps: the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Mao was at the height of his power in 1959, when he instituted the Great Leap Forward6. Though the Great Leap Forward was not a success, as it lead to nation-wide famine and increased political opposition, its impact on China cannot be doubted. It forced China to become industrialized and streamlined farm production. “The Great Leap” proved a socialist country could motivate itself to take gigantic technological leaps and bounds. The experience also demonstrated how one man’s unchecked ambitions, Mao’s, could permanently alter a country. Breslin notes that the hunt for steel and coal caused massive deforestation still felt to this day, and caused soil erosion that affected the amount of crops produced7. Soon over zealous communes abandoned the growth of grain in search of steel and coal, and the Great Leap Forward became the Great Famine. Deflecting blame for the failures of the Great Leap onto local leaders and opposition, Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution.

The Cultural Revolution was the absorption of all things Chinese by the Communist party. Mao wanted everything to display the heroes, the views, and the strengths of the revolution. He wanted people to follow ardently the socialist goals he had worked so hard to achieve. He wanted people never to forget Communism or the beliefs, which would make them good comrades. He succeeded. Party membership grew; his opposition was openly attacked, and soon disposed of (specifically Lin Biao). Chinese culture became Communist centered. The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution which both sprang out of Mao’s socialist ideals had deep political, social, and industrial implications with long-lasting effects on China.

Next came the “indoctrination” of the people, not necessarily to the tenets of Communism, but to Mao's personality. Mao was paranoid. He was paranoid about his party, about the Russians, about the Americans and most of all about the support of the people. He thought if he lost his adherence from the workers and the peasants, the center of his power base, he would lose the ability to rule. To combat his fears of disloyalty, he created an environment akin to that of Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984. Mao’s face and name became almost God-like and the Chairman a mythological power that no one saw but everyone followed. Mao’s picture was like that of Big Brother: plastered everywhere, slyly following around every civilian, saying “remember who is in power and to whom you owe your loyalties.” In To Live, one sees this in the songs with verses such as “the Communists and Chairman Mao are the greatest things for China”8. A picture of Chairman Mao became a virtual necessity for everyone to have in his home. To Live subtly shows the power Mao exerted over everyone. A false or cruel word about him could be punishable by death9. Mao’s dominance over the country was political and cultural; he steeped an entire generation in ‘Mao’ ideals.

Mao was the most important man in China in the 20th century. His political views became those of the country. Visions for a Communist country were realized, and his desire for almost total power was almost attained. He redefined a country and became a cultural icon that the world will never forget.

Sources:

Shaun Breslin, Mao. Harlow, England: Longman, 1998.

To Live. Produced by Fu-Sheng Chui and directed by Bin Wang. 2 hr. 13 min. Samuel Goldwyn Company. 1994, Film.