Claim: Mao Zedong is a military strategist.

Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung -LRB- -LSB- ˈmaʊ_dzəˈdʊŋ , _ zə - , _ - dɒŋ -RSB- December 26 , 1893September 9 , 1976 -RRB- , also known as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the People 's Republic of China , which he governed as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 , until his death in 1976 . His Marxist -- Leninist theories , military strategies , and political policies are collectively known as Maoism or Marxism-Leninism-Maoism .   Born the son of a wealthy farmer in Shaoshan , Hunan , Mao adopted a Chinese nationalist and anti-imperialist outlook in early life , particularly influenced by the events of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and May Fourth Movement of 1919 . Mao adopted Marxism -- Leninism while working at Peking University and became a founding member of the Communist Party of China -LRB- CPC -RRB- , leading the Autumn Harvest Uprising in 1927 . During the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang -LRB- KMT -RRB- and the CPC , Mao helped to found the Chinese Workers ' and Peasants ' Red Army , led the Jiangxi Soviet 's radical land policies and ultimately became head of the CPC during the Long March . Although the CPC temporarily allied with the KMT under the United Front during the Second Sino-Japanese War -LRB- 1937 -- 45 -RRB- , after Japan 's defeat China 's civil war resumed and in 1949 Mao 's forces defeated the Nationalists who withdrew to Taiwan .   On 1 October 1949 , Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People 's Republic of China -LRB- PRC -RRB- , a one-party state controlled by the CPC . In the following years Mao solidified his control through a campaign of classicide against landlords , and a mass purge of perceived enemies of the state he termed as `` counter-revolutionaries '' alleged to have caused between 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 deaths . -LRB- Mao himself admitting 800,000 deaths in the classicide and 712,000 in the suppression of Counterrevolutionaries -RRB- In 1957 , he launched the Great Leap Forward campaign that aimed to rapidly transform China 's economy from an agrarian economy to an industrial one . The campaign contributed to a widespread famine , whose death toll is estimated at between 15,000,000 and 55,000,000 . In 1966 , he initiated the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution , a program to remove `` counter-revolutionary '' elements of Chinese society that lasted 10 years and which was marked by violent class struggle that killed 400,000 to 10,000,000 people , widespread destruction of cultural artifacts and unprecedented elevation of Mao 's personality cult . In 1972 , Mao welcomed American President Richard Nixon in Beijing , signalling a policy of opening China , which was furthered under the rule of Deng Xiaoping -LRB- 1978 -- 1992 -RRB- . Mao suffered a series of heart attacks in 1976 , and died in September , aged 82 . He was succeeded as Paramount leader by Hua Guofeng -LRB- 1976 -- 1978 -RRB- , who was quickly sidelined and replaced by Deng .   A controversial figure , Mao is regarded as one of the most important individuals in modern world history , and is also known as a theorist , military strategist , poet and visionary . Supporters credit him with driving imperialism out of China , modernising China and building it into a world power , promoting the status of women , improving education and health care , and increasing life expectancy as China 's population grew from around 550 million to over 900 million under his leadership . In contrast , critics consider him a dictator comparable to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin who damaged traditional Chinese culture , as well as considering him a perpetrator of human rights abuses , and they estimate that Mao was responsible for 40 to 70 million deaths through starvation , prison labour and executions , which would rank his tenure as the top incidence of excess mortality in human history .