Introduction During the height of Maoism, China resembled present-day North Korea with its closed-off nature. However, amidst this isolation, a small number of Western foreigners chose to reside in the country. In the summer of 1966, they unexpectedly became firsthand witnesses to the tumultuous events that unfolded during the Cultural Revolution. Simultaneously, young leftist activists […]
Mao Zedong was a Chinese communist leader who played a significant role in the formation of the People’s Republic of China. Born on December 26, 1893, in Shaoshan, Hunan province, Mao was the son of a wealthy farmer. Mao’s early years were marked by poverty, and he received only a few years of formal education. […]
Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward” is considered to be one of the deadliest political campaigns in human history. In just a few years, millions of Chinese citizens lost their lives due to a combination of famine, disease, and political violence.