Mao Zedong was the communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China, ruling as Chairman from 1949 until his death in 1976. Born to a peasant family in Hunan, Mao became a communist organizer and developed theories of peasant-based revolution that diverged from orthodox Marxism's focus on the urban proletariat.
After the Long March and victory in the Chinese Civil War, Mao proclaimed the People's Republic in 1949. His rule brought land reform and industrialization but also catastrophic campaigns: the Great Leap Forward (1958-62) caused a famine killing 15-55 million people, and the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) unleashed chaos, persecution, and destruction of cultural heritage.
Mao's ideology—'Mao Zedong Thought'—combined Marxism-Leninism with Chinese characteristics, emphasizing continuous revolution, peasant mobilization, and the primacy of will over material conditions. He remains deeply controversial: revered by some as the founder of modern China, condemned by others for mass death and tyranny.