This Day in History: 9 September 2020
9 September 1976
44 years ago, today, Mao Zedong died. He had led the Chinese people through a long revolution and ruled the nation's communist party from its establishment in 1949. The leader's health had declined in his last years, most likely aggravated by his heavy chain-smoking. During his later years, it became a state secret that he suffered from multiple lung and heart problems. There are unconfirmed reports that he had Parkinson's disease, as well as Lou Gehrig's disease. Mao's body was embalmed, and one million Chinese paid their final respects by crying. More than a week later, his body was taken in a minibus to a hospital, where his internal organs were preserved in formaldehyde.
Mao's early days as a communist had not been easy, as he constantly feared arrest and execution by Chinese government forces. However, in 1935, he was able to take control of the Chinese Communist Party, which won the Chinese Civil War. Throughout his rule, he was invested in reinvigorating the nation with the Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s. Thousands of Chinese were killed or imprisoned by Mao's young supporters, named the Red Guards. Meanwhile, Mao was seeking closer relations with the Americans than the Soviet Union, as he hoped to use them as allies in his battles against the Soviets, taking a dramatic turn in the Cold War.
Want to find out more about the life of Mao Zedong? Click here for more information, or here for a video about China's Cultural Revolution.
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