Mao Zedong

== Early life ==
{{Main|Early life of Mao Zedong}}

=== Youth and the Xinhai Revolution: 1893–1911 ===
[[File:Mao Zedong ca1910.jpg|left|thumb|Mao Zedong {{circa|1910s}}]]
Mao Zedong was born on 26 December 1893, near [[Shaoshan]] village in [[Hunan]].{{sfnm|1a1=Schram|1y=1966|1p=19|2a1=Hollingworth|2y=1985|2p=15|3a1=Pantsov|3a2=Levine|3y=2012|3p=11}} His father, [[Mao Yichang]], was a formerly impoverished peasant who had become one of the wealthiest farmers in Shaoshan. Growing up in rural Hunan, Mao described his father as a stern disciplinarian, who would beat him and his three siblings, the boys [[Mao Zemin|Zemin]] and [[Mao Zetan|Zetan]], as well as an adopted girl, [[Mao Zejian|Zejian]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=19–20}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=4–5, 15}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|pp=13–14}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=13–}}.</ref> Mao's mother, [[Wen Qimei]], was a devout [[Buddhist]] who tried to temper her husband's strict attitude.<ref name="Schram1966 p20 Terrill 1980 11">{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=20}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=11}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=14, 17}}.</ref> Mao too became a Buddhist, but abandoned this faith in his mid-teenage years.<ref name="Schram1966 p20 Terrill 1980 11" /> At age 8, Mao was sent to Shaoshan Primary School. Learning the value systems of [[Confucianism]], he later admitted that he did not enjoy the [[Chinese classics|classical Chinese texts]] preaching Confucian morals, instead favouring [[Classic Chinese Novels|classic novels]] like ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'' and ''[[Water Margin]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=20–21}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=8}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=15, 20}}</ref> At age 13, Mao finished primary education, and his father united him in an [[arranged marriage]] to the 17-year-old [[Luo Yixiu]], thereby uniting their land-owning families. Mao refused to recognise her as his wife, becoming a fierce critic of arranged marriage and temporarily moving away. Luo was locally disgraced and died in 1910 at 20 years old.<ref>{{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=12}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=23}}, {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=25–28}}</ref>

[[File:Shaoshan 01.JPG|thumb|left|[[Former Residence of Mao Zedong|Mao Zedong's childhood home]] in Shaoshan, in 2010, by which time it had become a tourist destination]]

While working on his father's farm, Mao read voraciously<ref>{{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=15}} {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=10–11}}</ref> and developed a "political consciousness" from [[Zheng Guanying]]'s booklet which lamented the deterioration of Chinese power and argued for the adoption of [[representative democracy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=23}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=12–13}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=21}}</ref> Mao also read translations of works by Western authors including [[Adam Smith]], [[Montesquieu]], [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], [[Charles Darwin]], and [[Thomas Huxley]].<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |oclc=1348572572 |author-link=Christopher Marquis}}</ref>{{Rp|page=34}} Interested in history, Mao was inspired by the military prowess and nationalistic fervour of [[George Washington]] and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=25}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=20–21}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=29}}</ref> His political views were shaped by [[Gelaohui]]-led protests which erupted following a famine in [[Changsha]], the capital of Hunan; Mao supported the protesters' demands, but the armed forces suppressed the dissenters and executed their leaders.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=13}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=17–18}}</ref> The famine spread to Shaoshan, where starving peasants seized his father's grain. He disapproved of their actions as morally wrong, but claimed sympathy for their situation.<ref>{{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=18}}</ref> At age 16, Mao moved to a higher primary school in nearby Dongshan,<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Feigon|2002|p=15}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=18}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=28}}</ref> where he was bullied for his peasant background.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=26}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=19}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=28–30}}</ref>

In 1911, Mao began middle school in [[Changsha]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=26}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=22–23}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=30}}</ref> Revolutionary sentiment was strong in the city, where there was widespread animosity towards Emperor [[Puyi]]'s [[absolute monarchy]] and many were advocating [[republicanism]]. The republicans' figurehead was [[Sun Yat-sen]], an American-educated Christian who led the [[Tongmenghui]] society.<ref>{{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=32–34}}</ref> In Changsha, Mao was influenced by Sun's newspaper, ''The People's Independence'' (''Minli bao''),<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=27}};{{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=33}}</ref> and called for Sun to become president in a school essay.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=26–27}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=22–24}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=33}}</ref> As a symbol of rebellion against the [[Manchu]] monarch, Mao and a friend cut off their [[Queue (hairstyle)|queue]] pigtails, a sign of subservience to the emperor.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=26}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=23}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=33}}</ref>

Inspired by Sun's republicanism, the army rose up across southern China, sparking the [[Xinhai Revolution]]. Changsha's governor fled, leaving the city in republican control.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=30–32}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=32–35}}</ref> Supporting the revolution, Mao joined the rebel army as a [[private soldier]], but was not involved in fighting or combat. The northern provinces remained loyal to the emperor, and hoping to avoid a civil war, Sun—proclaimed "provisional president" by his supporters—compromised with the monarchist general [[Yuan Shikai]]. The monarchy was abolished, creating the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], but the monarchist Yuan became president. The revolution over, Mao resigned from the army in 1912, after six months as a soldier.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=34}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=34–35}}</ref> Around this time, Mao discovered [[socialism]] from a newspaper article; proceeding to read pamphlets by [[Jiang Kanghu]], the student founder of the Chinese Socialist Party, Mao remained interested yet unconvinced by the idea.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=34–35}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=23–24}}</ref>

=== Fourth Normal School of Changsha: 1912–1919 ===
Over the next few years, Mao Zedong enrolled and dropped out of a police academy, a soap-production school, a law school, an economics school, and the government-run [[Changsha Middle School]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=35–36}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=22, 25}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=35}}.</ref> Studying independently, he spent much time in Changsha's library, reading core works of [[classical liberalism]] such as [[Adam Smith]]'s ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'' and [[Montesquieu]]'s ''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'', as well as the works of western scientists and philosophers such as [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]], [[John Stuart Mill|Mill]], [[Rousseau]], and [[Herbert Spencer|Spencer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=36}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=26}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=35–36}}.</ref> Viewing himself as an intellectual, years later he admitted that at this time he thought himself better than working people.{{sfn|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=36–37}} He was inspired by [[Friedrich Paulsen]], a [[Neo-Kantianism|neo-Kantian]] philosopher and educator whose emphasis on the achievement of a carefully defined goal as the highest value led Mao to believe that strong individuals were not bound by moral codes but should strive for a great goal.{{sfn|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=40–41}} His father saw no use in his son's intellectual pursuits, cut off his allowance and forced him to move into a hostel for the destitute.{{sfn|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=36}}

[[File:Mao Zedong 1913.jpg|thumb|upright|Mao in 1913]]

Mao wanted to become a teacher and enrolled at the Fourth Normal School of Changsha, which soon merged with the [[First Normal School of Hunan]], widely seen as the best in Hunan.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=36–37}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=27}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=37}}.</ref> Befriending Mao, professor [[Yang Changji]] urged him to read a radical newspaper, ''[[New Youth]]'' (''Xin qingnian''), the creation of his friend [[Chen Duxiu]], a dean at [[Peking University]]. Although he was a supporter of [[Chinese nationalism]], Chen argued that China must look to the west to cleanse itself of superstition and autocracy.{{sfn|Schram|1966|pp=38–39}} In his first school year, Mao befriended an older student, [[Xiao Zisheng]]; together they went on a walking tour of Hunan, begging and writing literary couplets to obtain food.<ref>{{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=43}}; see also {{cite book |first=Hsiao |last=Yu |author-link=Xiao Zisheng |title=Mao Tse-Tung and I Were Beggars |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |date=1959}}</ref>

A popular student, in 1915 Mao was elected secretary of the Students Society. He organised the Association for Student Self-Government and led protests against school rules.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=42–43}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=32}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=48}}.</ref> Mao published his first article in ''New Youth'' in April 1917, instructing readers to increase their physical strength to serve the revolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=41}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=32}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=42}}.</ref> He joined the Society for the Study of Wang Fuzhi (''Chuan-shan Hsüeh-she''), a revolutionary group founded by Changsha literati who wished to emulate the philosopher [[Wang Fuzhi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|pp=40–41}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|pp=30–31}}.</ref> In spring 1917, he was elected to command the students' volunteer army, set up to defend the school from marauding soldiers.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=43}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=32}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=49–50}}.</ref> Increasingly interested in the techniques of war, he took a keen interest in [[World War I]], and also began to develop a sense of solidarity with workers.{{sfn|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=49–50}} Mao undertook feats of physical endurance with Xiao Zisheng and [[Cai Hesen]], and with other young revolutionaries they formed the Renovation of the People Study Society in April 1918 to debate Chen Duxiu's ideas. Desiring personal and societal transformation, the Society gained 70–80 members, many of whom would later join the Communist Party.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=44}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=33}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|pp=50–52}}.</ref> Mao graduated in June 1919, ranked third in the year.<ref>{{harvnb|Schram|1966|p=45}}; {{harvnb|Terrill|1980|p=34}}; {{harvnb|Pantsov|Levine|2012|p=52}}.</ref>