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Mao Zedong

(Encyclopedia)Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung mou dzŭ-do͝ong [key], 1893–1976, founder of the People's Republic of China. Mao was one of the most prominent Communist theoreticians and his ideas on revolutionary stru...

Red Guards

(Encyclopedia)Red Guards, in Chinese history, politically active students of the Cultural Revolution (1966–69), who organized units to carry out Mao Zedong's aim of rerevolutionizing Chinese society. As their num...

Jiang Qing

(Encyclopedia)Jiang Qing or Chiang Ch'ing both: jyäng jĭng [key], 1914–91, Chinese Communist political leader, wife of Mao Zedong. Born Li Jinhai or Li Shumeng, she was later known as Li Yunhe and Li He and cha...

Mao Dun

(Encyclopedia)Mao Dun: see: Mao Tun.

Mao Tun

(Encyclopedia)Mao Tun or Mao Dun shəˈ yĕnˈbĭngˈ [key], 1896–1981, Chinese novelist and Minister of Culture (1949–65). His fiction offers a sympathetic portrayal of working-class life and praise of revolut...

Tiananmen Square

(Encyclopedia)Tiananmen Square, large public square in Beijing, China, on the southern edge of the Inner or Tatar City. The square, named for its Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), contains the monument to the her...

Great Leap Forward

(Encyclopedia)Great Leap Forward, 1957–60, Chinese economic plan aimed at revitalizing all sectors of the economy. Initiated by Mao Zedong, the plan emphasized decentralized, labor-intensive industrialization, ty...

Gang of Four

(Encyclopedia)Gang of Four, term of opprobrium given by the Chinese Communist authorities to four persons held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966–69). They were also accused of trying t...

Peng Dehuai

(Encyclopedia)Peng Dehuai or P'eng Teh-huai both: pŭngˈ dŭˈhwīˈ [key], 1898–1974, Communist Chinese general and political leader. He held various command positions in the Red Army, and in 1934–35 he joine...

Cultural Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Cultural Revolution, 1966–76, mass mobilization of urban Chinese youth inaugurated by Mao Zedong in an attempt to prevent the development of a bureaucratized Soviet style of Communism. Mao closed sc...

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