Mao Zedong
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Mao Zedong was the principal Chinese Marxist theorist, soldier, and statesman who led his nation's communist revolution.He became an early member of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Mao was responsible for commanding a part of the CPC's Red Army, and after several setbacks, rose to power in the party. When the Empire of Japan invaded China in 1937, sparking the Second Seno-Japan war, Mao agreed to a united front with the KMT, resulting in a CPC-KMT victory in 1945. The Chinese Civil War then resumed, in which Mao led the Red Army to victory. In 1949 Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of China, a one-party socialist state controlled by the Communist Party. He proceeded to lead a nationwide political campaign known as the Great Leap Forward from 1958 through to 1961, designed to modernize and industrialize the country, however agrarian problems worsened by his policies led to widespread famine. In 1966, he initiated the Cultural Revolution a program to weed out counter-revolutionary elements in Chinese society, which continued until his death.
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