I recently started listening to the new biography of Mao by Jung Chang and Jon Haliday on CD. It’s absolutely mind blowing. They expose Mao for the murderer he really was, how he used people, abandoned his wives and children, etc. I knew Mao was responsible for millions and millions of deaths, but I had no idea that the murdering started so early in his communist career or that he was so callous so early.
I was also surprised to learn (and I have only listened to about 7 of the 29 hours and 51 minutes of the CD set so far) that Chiang (who was always something of a hero of mine) had made numerous blunders in dealing with the communists that allowed them to survive again and again when he could have wiped them out.
I kept thinking...are we doing the same thing with the Islamic terrorists today? Aren’t we making the same mistake?
There’s another book, an old one, called “The China Tangle” that describes America’s efforts to persuade Chiang to fight harder against the Japanese. Apparently, Mao’s forces were much fiercer in this regard and it helps explain why he gained such popularity among the masses.
Mao was a demon, no question. But put it in the context of the Japanese genocidal invasion and everything kind of blends together into a not so hard to digest stew.
By the way, I have a “Mao number” of 3. My good friend’s father was a close associate of his.
Good points.