BEIJING — China on Wednesday marked 50 years since the death of Mao Zedong, the revolutionary leader who founded the People’s Republic of China and transformed the country while leaving a deeply contested legacy shaped by political upheaval, famine and the decade-long Cultural Revolution. The anniversary comes as President Xi Jinping has reinforced Communist Party authority and revived elements of Mao-era political symbolism.
Mao died in Beijing on Sept. 9, 1976, at age 82 after nearly three decades as China’s dominant leader. His portrait still hangs over the entrance to Tiananmen in central Beijing, while his preserved body remains in the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in Tiananmen Square. The memorial extended its opening hours Wednesday for the anniversary, and all available reservations were filled in advance.
There was no major national ceremony announced ahead of the anniversary, but Chinese media and social platforms carried tributes, while visitors traveled to Beijing to pay their respects. The continued public interest illustrates Mao’s unusual place in modern China: officially revered as the founder of the communist state but also held responsible for policies that brought enormous suffering.
Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, after Communist forces defeated the Nationalists in a civil war. His government unified mainland China under Communist Party rule, expanded literacy and public health programs and transformed the country’s political and economic system. His leadership also imposed sweeping political campaigns and strict state control over society.
One of the most devastating episodes was the Great Leap Forward, Mao’s campaign beginning in 1958 to rapidly industrialize China and collectivize agriculture. The effort contributed to a catastrophic famine from 1959 to 1961. Precise casualty figures remain disputed, but demographic research has estimated that about 30 million people died during the famine.
An even more politically sensitive chapter began in 1966, when Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. Young people organized as Red Guards were encouraged to attack perceived political enemies and challenge officials, teachers and intellectuals. Schools and institutions were disrupted, people were publicly humiliated or imprisoned, families were separated and violence spread across the country. The turmoil lasted until Mao’s death in 1976.
Xi also has a personal connection to the Cultural Revolution. His father, Xi Zhongxun, a senior Communist official, was purged and persecuted, while the younger Xi was sent to rural Shaanxi province as a teenager and spent years living and working in a poor village. Joseph Torigian, a China specialist at American University, told Reuters that the experience was “profoundly disillusioning” for Xi but also shaped his views about political disorder and the importance of Communist Party control.
Since becoming China’s top leader in 2012, Xi has concentrated political authority, strengthened party discipline and placed greater emphasis on ideology and loyalty to the Communist Party. His political philosophy has been written into both party and state constitutions. Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, told Reuters that Mao-era political symbols and language remain “immensely powerful” in contemporary China.
Mao’s appeal has also taken new forms among some younger Chinese. Online communities have rediscovered his writings, sometimes portraying Mao as a symbol of resilience, equality and resistance to economic inequality. Maoist phrases have circulated during periods of economic pressure and tensions with foreign powers, even as open discussion of the darkest episodes of his rule remains politically sensitive.
The anniversary carries significance well beyond China. Maoism influenced revolutionary and communist movements across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe during the Cold War. China, meanwhile, has grown from the largely poor and isolated country Mao ruled into the world’s second-largest economy and one of its most influential diplomatic and military powers.
Fifty years after his death, Mao therefore remains more than a historical figure. His image is embedded in the identity of the Communist Party, his portrait still dominates one of China’s most recognizable landmarks and debates over his achievements and failures continue to influence how the country understands its past — and how Xi’s China defines its political future.
