Born December 26, 1893
Shaoshan, Hunan Province of China
Died September 9, 1976
Beijing, China

Chairman of the People's Republic of China

Mao Zedong imposed an ideology upon an entire society and created a regime that eliminated opposition. He led the long struggle that made China a communist nation in 1949. Communism is a system of government in which a single party, the Communist Party, controls all aspects of people's lives. In economic theory, it prohibits private ownership of property and business, so that goods produced and wealth accumulated are shared relatively equally by all. Communism was adapted from the theories of German philosopher Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Russian revolutionary Vladimir I. Lenin (1870–1924). Mao's interpretation of Marxism for colonial and peasant-based economies became known as Maoism.

Maoism was a model and an inspiration...