Mao Zedong
Chinese History
Mao Zedong was an advocate for communism in his home country of China. He played a critical role in the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, earning him the title of the founding father of the nation (Fenby, 2008). Due to his efforts, he became the first president of the PCR. He was the leader of the ruling party at the time. The party’s name was the Communist Party of China. His role as the chairman of this party earned him the title, Chairman Mao. He ruled the party from the point of its formation in 1949 to 1976, when he died. He founded Maoism, which is a collection of his political policies, military strategies, and theories (Goodman, 2013). Due to his efforts towards liberating China, the Chinese consider him the founder of modern China.
His legacy is widespread all around China, and many sectors still make use of his theories and ideologies in their teachings. For example, business schools in China often teach guerrilla marketing. The theory of guerilla marketing is supposedly derived from one of Mao’s theories. In this case, the particular approach highlighted is the theory of protected war. This theory, among other theories, is symbolic of the continued impact that Mao has over the Chinese, long after his death several years ago. The importance of his ideas becomes more evident because people sell ideas on online platforms such as eBay.
In his time, Mao was bold enough to go against the majority of the world and propose measures that did not seem practical at the time. There was immense pressure from the rest of the world to conform to practices that were universally accepted. However, Mao managed to withstand the pressure and go against the norms, introducing measures that helped his country experience a great spell of growth that was independent of external influence (Wilkinson, 2012). Consequently, his people admired him for his courage and assertiveness that helped shaped the country into what it is today (Spence, 1990).
Western Historical Discourse
People from the West have a completely different perspective concerning Mao’s case. Several people are of the opinion that Mao was a ruthless man. He took advantage of the gullible Chinese and did things in ways that were extremely beneficial to him. He was able to manipulate the Chinese into thinking that he was helping them by creating a better society for them when, in truth, his actions had selfish motives behind them. The debate has been ongoing for such a long time. Consequently, they have led to the detachment of some aspects of Maoism from their innovative meaning and ancient background.
Many scholars have written books that represent their different views on the matter. The different opinions attract numerous customers in the market, allowing the writers to earn from their different interpretations of Mao and his Maoism concepts. Therefore, these individuals’ ideals may be driven by their love for money rather than their desire to share historical knowledge with the rest of the world. Regardless of their motivation, they have come with different ideas that effectively rival the information portrayed by Chinese history regarding their founding father (Whitfield, 2015). The differences in ideology may be the reason that conflicts arise from time to time.
Relationship between ancient and contemporary developments
The developments enforced by Mao during his era set the background for the current practices in contemporary China. He set the foundation for communism in the People’s Republic of China (Karl, 2010). The presence of communism in the country stayed in the country well through the period of the Soviet Union and continues to exist to date. China is currently one of the world’s superpowers. This achievement may be due to the developments introduced by Mao during his time. Maoism theories remain relevant to date in the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, Maoist ideologies have been instrumental in shaping up China into developing into one of the most significant countries in the world. Consequently, it becomes evident why the Chinese have such high regard for the man, even though other people may have conflicting views about him. Western countries have a completely different perspective on communism, seeing it as a plot to oppress society members without their realization.
References
Fenby, J., 2008. The Penguin History of modern China: The fall and rise of high power, 1850-2009. Penguin UK.
Goodman, D.S., 2013. Rana Mitter, Modern China: A Very Short Introduction.
Karl, R.E., 2010. Mao Zedong and China in the twentieth-century world: A concise history. Duke University Press.
Spence, J.D., 1990. The search for modern China. WW Norton & Company.
Whitfield, R., 2015. Oxford AQA History: A Level and AS Component 2: The Transformation of China 1936-1997. Oxford University Press-Children.
Wilkinson, E.P., and Harvard University/Asia Center, 2012. Chinese history: A new manual (p. 609625). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center.