A Critical Introduction to Mao by Unknown

by Timothy Cheek

Mao Zedong 's political career spanned more than half a century. The ideas he championed transformed one of the largest nations on earth and inspired revolutionary movements across the world. Even today Mao lives on in China, where he is regarded by many as a near-mythical figure, and in the West, where a burgeoning literature continues to debate his memory. In this book, leading scholars from different generations and around the world offer a critical evaluation of the life and legacy of China 's most famous some would say infamous son. In the first section, chapters explore the historical and political context of Mao 's emergence as a young man and revolutionary in the early twentieth century. Through this period it is possible to examine the nature of Mao 's ideology in its purest form and to see why it was attractive to so many. This section also chronicles the main events of his life and individual aspects of that his key relationships with allies and foes, his followers and his public persona, his philosophy, and his relationship with women. In the final part, chapters debate the positive and negative aspects of his legacy; in China Mao has become a metaphor for the promises and betrayals of the twentieth century, in developing countries he remains a beacon of revolutionary hope for some, and in the West Mao continues to be the mirror of our hopes and fears. The book brings the scholarship on Mao up to date, and its alternative perspectives equip readers to assess for themselves the nature of this mercurial figure and his significance in modern Chinese history.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Biography

Paperback

First published August 23, 2010

Reviews

[genevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

how the fuck did this man exist. it’s genuinely so mind boggling to me but i can’t stop researching humanities most depraved, for whatever reason. blame my neurodivergence.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but dry as the Desert Rats at Tobruk

[Renato Rojas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being an academic work you can kind of expect it to try to take a "nuance" stance but the only way to have a real critical introduction to Mao is to read him yourself. Much of the text engages with the context that Mao is in and some of the writings he deals with. Others however imply he was a new emperor of China or even had Borderline Personality Disorder.

The reading is very dry, unengaging and pretentious as most academic pieces are. The beginning chapters are the best while the last is anti-climatic and extremely difficult to get into. I would not recommend this for someone who considers themselves a student of Maoism, and much of it needs to be filtered with a Maoist lense. The purpose of bourgeois books such as this is to not only discredit revolution as a viable alternative but do it in a "sober way".

[Zulu Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As one would expect from a collection like this, some essays will probably hold your interest more than others. I find a common problem with publications like this, put together by specialists for a not-necessarily-specialist audience, is that they struggle to find the right middle ground between assuming no prior background and getting a little too into the weeds. To be sure, I learned some interesting stuff here, and there are one or two essays that do a great job of locating the historic Mao in particular times and places while tracing the evolution of his thinking, but if you’re relatively new to the subject matter and are looking to acquire an understanding of Mao and his Thought, you should probably look elsewhere.

One thing I think this collection could have done better is to make more of an effort, somewhere, to actually just lay out what Mao Zedong Thought actually was. The essays all assume the reader is already broadly familiar with Mao and never make an attempt to coherently articulate the basic tenets of any version of Maoism to the reader. For me this wasn’t really an issue, but for the people in my book club who were looking to be “critically INTRODUCED to Mao”, it certainly was. For a lot of readers, you’ll possibly find yourself visiting Wikipedia after reading this to get some clear and succinct answers to some basic questions about Mao and Maoism, which I think is an indictment of a book which claims to be an “introduction” to anything.

All that being said, for those willing to stay the course, there are some really interesting tidbits which helped round out my knowledge of certain parts of Mao’s life, so, for a very particular kind of reader their might be some value in reading a few of these essays.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good collection. I only wish I read it earlier. It’s ten years old now and could use an updated chapter or two given how much has changed in the last ten years. We can wait a bit longer, though, too. Some really great chapters are in here that should be classics.