Chairman Mao

Divorced Relationship facts

He Zizhen

Aged 13 he started work on the family farm and was forced into an arranged marriage. He left home and went into education eventually enlisting into the army after which he went back into education and founded a student organisation called the New People's Study Society. Some of these members were later recruited by Mao into the Communist Party.

In 1934 Mao organised The Long March. Over 100,000 communists trekked across the Chinese mountains and swampland retreating from the President's organised sweep to eliminate communist power. Its thought that only 30,000 people survived the 8,000 mile journey. Although Mao was able to recruit along the way and became the communist leader.

In 1937 Japan invaded China, leaving the President no choice but to join alliances with the communist party to fight the war. Japan were defeated in 1945. In 1949 The People's Republic of China was established and Mao stated that 'The Chinese people have stood up'

In 1958 Mao organised 'The Great Leap Forward' an initiative to increase agricultural and industrial production. Instead of growth, famine set in and approximately 40 million people died. Mao was pushed out of leadership and didn't return until 1966 launching the Cultural Revolution, formed the Red Guards and took control of the country and started closing schools and banishing intellectuals. The revolution destroyed the country's cultural heritage and caused chaos.

Mao's physician reports he died from a motor neurone disease called Lou Gehrig and not Parkinison's