文革与伟大领袖毛泽东（英文版）

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao was worshiped as the Great Teacher, Great Leader, Great Commander and Great Helmsman (Four Greats).

文革期间，毛泽东一时成为全国人民崇拜的对象，堪称“伟大的导师、伟大的领袖、伟大的统帅、伟大的舵手”(四个伟大)。

However, Li Rui, who was Mao's personal secretary, slashed the man-made God as the follows:

Mao was too autocratic. He couldn't bear to hear disagreements. He had a superstitious belief that he was always and absolutely right. But Mao's problem is also a problem of the system.

Mao's methods were even harsher than the emperors of ancient times. He tried to control the minds of the people.

Yet, Li accepts the official party judgment that Mao was three parts bad, seven parts good, because his revolutionary achievements in expelling the colonial powers outweighed his failures once in power.

Here are more comments on Mao's deeds after the liberation of China.

Hundred Flowers Campaign

百花齐放，百家争鸣

Mao decided in April 1957 to relax censorship and invite constructive criticism about his rule. "Let a hundred flowers bloom" in the arts, he said. But such was the flood of complaints that the Great Helmsman quickly changed his stance. Within six months, 300,000 intellectuals were killed, imprisoned, sacked or branded "rightists" in need of political re-education.

Great Leap Forward

“大跃进”

Mao was personally responsible for this disastrous attempt to jumpstart the economy by collectivizing agricultural production and establishing smelting kilns in every village to match Britain's industrial output in 10 years. The radical experiment started with the attempted abolition of money and private property, and ended with a famine after the failure of harvests in 1959 and 1960.

Cultural Revolution

文化大革命

An aging Mao attempted to build a new political base through the spread of a personality cult. From 1966 devoted students across the country formed Red Guard units, which spearheaded a vicious purge against Mao's opponents - real and imagined. Anything related to the Four Olds - old ideas, old customs, old culture and old habits - was a target. The violence and destruction were unleashed with Mao’s tacit connivance.