He was a Chinese revolutionary‚ political leader‚ and founding father of the People’s Republic of China. He played a central role in the Chinese Communist Party and led the country through a series of significant social and political transformations. But where did it all begin‚ and how did Mao Zedong climb the ranks?   Mao Zedong: Early Life Mao Zedong in early revolutionary years‚ via The Times   Mao Zedong (Tse-Tung) was born on December 26th‚ 1893‚ in Hunan‚ China‚ to one of the richest farmers in the village of Shaoshan. Although not materially deprived on the farm like much of China during this period‚ Mao and his two brothers‚ Zemin and Zetan‚ and adoptive sister Zejian were viciously beaten by their disciplinarian father‚ Mao Yichang. Their mother‚ Wen Qimei‚ however‚ tempered their father as best she could‚ likely due to her Buddhist beliefs. Mao adopted Buddhism from his mother but quickly discarded it in his teens. At thirteen‚ Mao was forcefully married to a local girl aged seventeen named Luo Yixiu in what essentially amounted to a business deal for his father. This practice of arranged marriage is one Mao would later denounce‚ and Yixiu would die in 1910‚ aged twenty-one‚ locally disgraced.   During these early years working on his father’s farm‚ Mao would feverishly devour intellectual material. He was particularly interested in writers such as Aldous Huxley‚ Jean-Jacques Rousseau‚ Charles Darwin‚ and Adam Smith. He also‚ perhaps foreshadowing his prowess in martial matters during the Civil War‚ fascinated himself with the military prowess and nationalist vigor of George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte.   In 1911‚ Mao began schooling in Changsha‚ a revolutionary hotbed at the time. The city’s fervor advocated for a republican future and‚ therefore‚ an end to Emperor Puyi’s absolute monarchy. The Republican figurehead was Sun Yat-sen‚ who‚ in a school essay‚ Mao would suggest should become president. Mao was heavily influenced by Sun’s revolutionary newspaper‚ The People’s Independence. The very same year that Mao started school in Changsha saw the start of the Xinhai Revolution.   Xinhai Revolution of 1911‚ via The China Project   As Changsha’s governor fled north‚ Mao joined Sun’s rebel army. However‚ Sun would claim the title of “provisional president” and avoid civil war with his monarchist counterpart. The Republic of China was founded‚ and monarchist general Yuan Shikai became president in a compromise with Sun’s nationalist-revolutionary movement. Mao would not see combat during this period‚ and after six months as a soldier‚ he resigned from the army in 1912.   After this ordeal‚ Mao tried his hand at many crafts; policing‚ law‚ and economics are a few disciplines he explored during his independent study in the libraries. By this point‚ Mao’s academic and intellectual pursuits had frustrated his father‚ who saw no future in them. His father cut off his allowance‚ leaving him destitute in a hostel. Mao was forced to beg on the streets and sell intellectual pamphlets to be able to eat.   After enrolling at the Fourth Normal School of Changsha‚ widely believed to be the best in Hunan‚ Mao published his first article in New Youth‚ a revolutionary paper. In the article‚ he suggests readers improve their physical capacities to strengthen the revolution. Mao was also involved in the formation of the Renovation of the People Study Society in 1918. This group would discuss the ideas of Chen Duxiu‚ a dean at Peking University who also desired radical change in Chinese society. The group gained 70-80 members‚ many of whom‚ like Mao‚ would join the Communist Party. In June 1919‚ Mao graduated with an impressive third-place ranking in his entire year group.   Journey to the Communist Party The Modern Chinese Communist Party‚ via The Times   In 1917‚ Mao moved to Beijing to become the library assistant to Li Dazhao‚ who would go on to become a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party. Li had documented Lenin’s revolution in Russia‚ and his influence would lead Mao quickly toward Marxism by the winter of 1919. Mao’s wage as an assistant was paltry‚ and he was forced to share a cramped room with seven other students. However‚ he felt Beijing’s beauty was “compensation” for this discomfort. Much like Stalin’s marginalization in intellectual groups because of his Georgian background‚ Mao was snubbed due to his rural Hunanese accent. Mao spent much time between Beijing and Shanghai‚ not deigning to visit his home village of Shaoshan for many more years. His mother would die there in 1919‚ shortly followed by his father in early 1920.   Mao began production of the radical magazine Xiang River Review‚ in which he used common vernacular to target the average reader rather than appealing to intellectualism. In the magazine‚ he would advocate for a “Great Union of the Popular Masses” as well as support feminist ideas and the liberation of women across China–an idea influenced by his early forced marriage.   In June 1920‚ alongside Kuomintang (KMT) member Yi Peiji and General Tan Yankai‚ Mao helped overthrow the governor of the Hunan province‚ Zhang. He assisted in organizing the students in Changsha and was awarded his first high-paying job as headmaster in the newly organized province. With his newly attained income‚ he married his second wife‚ Yang Kaihui‚ in the winter of the same year.   Mao would father ten children but would also become a father figure to all of China‚ via The Times   The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921 as an informal network‚ and it held its first session in Shanghai not long after. Thirteen delegates attended this meeting‚ and Mao was one of them. He soon became party secretary for the province of Hunan‚ and he aimed to build support for the party there through a variety of tactics.   He employed numerous methods‚ such as founding mass literacy movements and editing textbooks to include revolutionary sentiments. However‚ the most notable and successful episode was during the Anyuan coal mining strikes. Mao would form schools and cooperatives. His wife was also included in the process; she would address women’s rights and help raise literacy in nearby peasant communities. His marked success in the Anyuan mining strikes led to his being invited into the Central Committee of the Communist Party.   Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan‚ by Liu Chunhua‚ 1967‚ via Smart History   In July 1922‚ the Communist Party struck an alliance with the nationalist party still led by Sun Yat-sen‚ the KMT. Mao was enthused by the cooperation and became the propaganda chief for the KMT. During this period‚ Mao finally returned to Shaoshan to discover peasants had seized some land from rich owners to form communes. He was inspired by their actions and recognized the potential of their peasant masses. By 1925‚ Mao was forced to flee to Guangzhou due to the suspicions surrounding his growing revolutionary fervor. He would drill the peasants as if they were soldiers and expose them to introductory left-wing texts.   KMT leader Sun Yat-sen died on March 12th‚ 1925. His successor was Chiang Kai-Shek‚ a leader who opposed the communist party in which Mao had so deeply rooted himself and even opposed left-leaning members of his own party. In 1926‚ his National Revolutionary Army embarked on the “Northern Expedition” against Chinese warlords‚ a movement Mao agreed with. However‚ on Chiang’s return in 1927‚ he and his forces turned their attention against the increasingly powerful Communists.   Mao Zedong and the Civil War Mao addressing his followers during the Civil War‚ via Fox Photos/Hulton Archive   Chiang massacred thousands of communists; 15‚000 of the 25‚000 members were lost‚ including nineteen leading members in Beijing. Mao decided to stake his hope on his peasant militia‚ and the party would go on to found the “Workers and Peasants Army of China‚” more commonly known as the Red Army. Mao was appointed commander-in-chief of the Red Army and led four regiments against the KMT in the “Autumn Harvest.” His fourth regiment would desert to the KMT and attack his own army on September 9th. By the 15th‚ Mao was forced to admit defeat and retreat from Changsha to Jiangxi with only one thousand survivors‚ where he would establish a base.   Mao was ridiculed by orthodox communists for his goal of mobilizing the peasantry‚ but after his defeat‚ he successfully created another army of two thousand in his newly controlled territory around the mountains. In 1928‚ Mao married an eighteen-year-old revolutionary named He Zizhen‚ with whom he would have six children over the coming years. Two years later‚ his second wife‚ Yung Kaihui‚ was beheaded by a KMT general.   Path taken by Mao during The Long March‚ via Wikipedia   During this time‚ Japan was becoming an increasing distraction for Chiang’s KMT‚ and it allowed the Red Army’s influence to grow to an area with a population of three million. This situation led to the most important event for Mao’s rise to ultimate power: “The Long March.” In October 1934‚ a one-hundred-thousand-strong Communist force broke through KMT lines‚ and by January 1935‚ Mao was elected Chairman of the Politburo‚ making him in charge of both the army and the party. His candidacy was supported by Joseph Stalin.   Mao’s march aimed north to the Shenshi Soviet. He hoped to reach an area where he could fight the Japanese. The idea was to earn the trust of the Chinese people by fighting their imperialist invaders and‚ in turn‚ incentivizing them to denounce the KMT. During the march‚ Mao’s force fended off KMT forces‚ Islamic cavalry‚ and Manchu tribesmen to eventually reach the target with 7‚000 survivors. This achievement led to his being appointed chairman of the military commission in November 1935 and becoming the undisputed leader of the communist party.   Chairman Mao would lead China until his death in 1976‚ via The New York Times   Over the next 15 years‚ Mao would create a communist-led Chinese front with the KMT against the Japanese presence. By 1949‚ he had turned against the KMT and finally driven Chiang and the surviving members away to Taiwan. On October 1st‚ 1949‚ Mao proudly proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and announced to his people‚ “The Chinese people have stood up.”

She had two other would-be hits that were blacklisted. Continue reading…

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The Koch network‚ Americans for Prosperity‚ in a memo from its AFP Action PAC threw its support behind Nikki Haley‚ calling her “a candidate who can turn the page and win.” Haley has surged in New Hampshire polling‚ putting actual daylight between her and the GOP peloton consisting of Chris Christie‚ Ron DeSantis‚ and the despicable Vivek Ramaswamy. But she is a galaxy away from leading former President Donald Trump‚ who is consistently at the mid-40 percent mark where Haley has barely approached 20 percent. David French posted on Threads: This is good news–both because Nikki Haley is the best remaining viable GOP candidate and because it signals that the Koch network isn’t engaging in purity tests‚ but rather pragmatic efforts to save our democracy. I like Haley’s Reaganite foreign policy. Most libertarians don’t love it. So for a more libertarian network to endorse Haley demonstrates they understand the urgency of the moment. From the 50‚000-foot GOP strategy level‚ French is right. Purity tests only serve to divide the field and keep everyone from rising to challenge Trump‚ who is immune to such tests and has stayed out of the debates. Not everyone is going to like Haley’s positions on abortion‚ foreign policy‚ the border and migrants‚ and fiscal policy. But on those issues‚ she’s more-or-less within the guardrails of mainstream Republican thought. Where Haley has a problem is addressing the big orange guy she has to beat‚ lest she end up as a DeSantis ally acidly observed: “You won the Never Trump primary. Your prize is nothing.” Two challenges that Haley must deal with‚ are her equivocation regarding the seriousness of the events of January 6th‚ 2021; and her cheerful endorsement of his time in the White House. These together lead many Republican voters to believe Haley is running not for the GOP nomination‚ but to be Trump’s running mate in the general election. Asking the candidate if she’d take second place on a ticket with Trump would certainly and deservedly bring a dismissal of the question. But Haley refused to answer the simpler one: does she think Trump is a threat to democracy? New Hampshire teenage political wonk Quinn Mitchell posted on X‚ the site formerly known as Twitter‚ that he was “saving his hard questions” and “threw [Haley] an extreme softball line ‘D you think Donald Trump is a danger to democracy?’” at a candidate forum on November 22. He was brusquely whisked away by her staff; Haley never answered the question. Back in June‚ Haley told Trump-supporters Buck Sexton and Clay Travis that Trump was “reckless‚” but she’d be “inclined” to pardon him of any federal charges if she were president. To add context‚ the only federal charges Trump faced at the time were for mishandling classified documents. “…I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case‚” Haley said. Trump’s greatest legal threats come at him from state charges‚ such as Fulton County DA Fani Willis‚ who this week said she would not offer Trump a plea bargain‚ as she has with many of the racketeering cases she has brought in Atlanta. But Willis is tied up with another racketeering case involving rapper “Young Thug” that has wormed its way through her office for two years; it’s unlikely Trump will see the defendant’s chair in an Atlanta courtroom before November 2024. Even were Haley to win the presidency‚ she would have no power to pardon Trump in state cases. Haley needs to deal with January 6th head-on‚ which she’s never done. Back in 2022‚ she was saying that “Republicans ought to stop shooting at Republicans” in response to the RNC’s censure of then-Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. But in 2021‚ Haley told Politico that she was “disgusted” by the events of January 6th‚ and “we shouldn’t have followed him.” In May of this year‚ Haley told an Iowa town hall “It was not a beautiful day‚ it was a terrible day‚ and we don’t ever want that to happen again.” This week‚ Haley said Trump was “the right president for the right time‚” but then added‚ “I agree with a lot of his policies‚ but the truth is‚ rightly or wrongly‚ chaos follows him‚” speaking at a friendly town hall at the campus of the University of South Carolina‚ her home state which she led as governor before serving as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. Those statements lead reasonable people to conclude that Haley is a Trump supporter‚ and she’s never regretted her access to him or what he did during his term as president. Haley has never really placed the blame for January 6th squarely on Trump’s shoulders—not without qualifying herself. This strategy will not win Haley the GOP nomination. It will perpetually place her behind Trump‚ and as many think‚ put her in the running to be on his ticket‚ which in turn makes it more likely that Trump could indeed win another term. Does Haley think she could do better than Mike Pence at restraining Trump’s worst instincts? She’s delusional if she thinks a second-term Trump‚ bent on revenge and control‚ could be stopped by his Vice President. She’d end up in political Siberia so quickly she’d pass the current Vice President Kamala Harris making her way out. No.  At some point‚ soon‚ before the N.H. primary‚ Haley needs to make a turn. She needs to‚ unequivocally‚ give a full-throated denouncement of Trump‚ January 6th‚ and everything that goes with those events. Haley is well-positioned to do this‚ as she announced her departure from the Trump administration before the events leading to Trump’s first impeachment‚ and was gone well before the end of his term. Left-leaning political analysts say that Haley’s leading the “Never Trump” GOP‚ but that’s not really true. Chris Christie is leading that particular effort. Haley has sidled up to Trump while trying to maintain some kind of distance‚ which is not only awkward‚ but also confusing and impossible to maintain. Either Haley will turn on Trump. fully‚ or she will fade away. I believe if Haley turns‚ with her new Koch backers‚ and some momentum in the polls‚ she has a decent chance of knocking Trump out of the lead in N.H.‚ and then moving to South Carolina‚ she could begin to move ahead in a powerful way. If she doesn’t‚ well‚ then she might end up on the bottom half of a Trump ticket. That won’t earn my vote‚ and hopefully‚ won’t win Trump another term. I’d prefer the first option. Turn‚ Nikki‚ turn. Follow Steve on Twitter @stevengberman. The First TV contributor network is a place for vibrant thought and ideas. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of The First or The First TV. We want to foster dialogue‚ create conversation‚ and debate ideas. See something you like or don’t like? Reach out to the author or to us at ideas@thefirsttv.com.