Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before — and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him — this is the most authoritative life of Mao ever written. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; and he schemed, poisoned and blackmailed to get his way. After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history. In all, well over 70 million Chinese perished under Mao's rule — in peacetime.Combining meticulous research with the story-telling style of Wild Swans, this biography offers a harrowing portrait of Mao's ruthless accumulation of power through the exercise of terror: his first victims were the peasants, then the intellectuals and, finally, the inner circle of his own advisors. The reader enters the shadowy chambers of Mao's court and eavesdrops on the drama in its hidden recesses. Mao's character and the enormity of his behavior toward his wives, mistresses and children are unveiled for the first time.This is an entirely fresh look at Mao in both content and approach. It will astonish historians and the general reader alike.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
List of Abbreviations in Text
Note about Spelling in Text
PART ONE
1 On the Cusp from Ancient to Modern (1893–1911; age 1–17)
2 Becoming a Communist (1911–20; age 17–26)
3 Lukewarm Believer (1920–25; age 26–31)
4 Rise and Demise in the Nationalist Party (1925–27; age 31–33)
PART TWO
5 Hijacking a Red Force and Taking Over Bandit Land (1927–28; age 33–34)
6 Subjugating the Red Army Supremo (1928–30; age 34–36)
7 Takeover Leads to Death of Second Wife (1927–30; age 33–36)
8 Bloody Purge Paves the Way for “Chairman Mao” (1929–31; age 35–37)
9 Mao and the First Red State (1931–34; age 37–40)
10 Troublemaker to Figurehead (1931–34; age 37–40)
11 How Mao Got onto the Long March (1933–34; age 39–40)
12 Long March I: Chiang Lets the Reds Go (1934; age 40)
13 Long March II: The Power behind the Throne (1934–35; age 40–41)
14 Long March III: Monopolizing the Moscow Connection (1935; age 41)
PART THREE
15 The Timely Death of Mao’s Host (1935–36; age 41–42)
16 Chiang Kai-shek Kidnapped (1935–36; age 41–42)
17 A National Player (1936; age 42–43)
18 New Image, New Life and New Wife (1937–38; age 43–44)
19 Red Mole Triggers China — Japan War (1937–38; age 43–44)
20 Fight Rivals and Chiang — Not Japan (1937–40; age 43–46)
21 Most Desired Scenario: Stalin Carves up China with Japan (1939–40; age 45–46)
22 Death Trap for His Own Men (1940–41; age 46–47)
23 Building a Power Base through Terror (1941–45; age 47–51)
24 Uncowed Opponent Poisoned (1941–45; age 47–51)
25 Supreme Party Leader at Last (1942–45; age 48–51)
PART FOUR
26 “Revolutionary Opium War” (1937–45; age 43–51)
27 The Russians Are Coming! (1945–46; age 51–52)
28 Saved by Washington (1944–47; age 50–53)
29 Moles, Betrayals and Poor Leadership Doom Chiang (1945–49; age 51–55)
3 °China Conquered (1946–49; age 52–55)
31 Totalitarian State, Extravagant Lifestyle (1949–53; age 55–59)
PART FIVE
32 Rivalry with Stalin (1947–49; age 53–55)
33 Two Tyrants Wrestle (1949–50; age 55–56)
34 Why Mao and Stalin Started the Korean War (1949–50; age 55–56)
35 Mao Milks the Korean War (1950–53; age 56–59)
36 Launching the Secret Superpower Program (1953–54; age 59–60)
37 War on Peasants (1953–56; age 59–62)
38 Undermining Khrushchev (1956–59; age 62–65)
39 Killing the “Hundred Flowers” (1957–58; age 63–64)
40 The Great Leap: “Half of China May Well Have to Die” (1958–61; age 64–67)
41 Defense Minister Peng’s Lonely Battle (1958–59; age 64–65)
42 The Tibetans Rebel (1950–61; age 56–67)
43 Maoism Goes Global (1959–64; age 65–70)
44 Ambushed by the President (1961–62; age 67–68)
45 The Bomb (1962–64; age 68–70)
46 A Time of Uncertainty and Setbacks (1962–65; age 68–71)
PART SIX
47 A Horse-trade Secures the Cultural Revolution (1965–66; age 71–72)
48 The Great Purge (1966–67; age 72–73)
49 Unsweet Revenge (1966–74; age 72–80)
50 The Chairman’s New Outfit (1967–70; age 73–76)
51 A War Scare (1969–71; age 75–77)
52 Falling Out with Lin Biao (1970–71; age 76–77)
53 Maoism Falls Flat on the World Stage (1966–70; age 72–76)
54 Nixon: The Red-baiter Baited (1970–73; age 76–79)
55 The Boss Denies Chou Cancer Treatment (1972–74; age 78–80)
56 Mme Mao in the Cultural Revolution (1966–75; age 72–81)
57 Enfeebled Mao Hedges His Bets (1973–76; age 79–82)
58 Last Days (1974–76; age 80–82)
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
List of Interviewees
Archives Consulted
Notes
Bibliography of Chinese-language Sources
Bibliography of Non-Chinese-language Sources
Photo Insert
1. The room where Mao was born.
2. Mao with his mother and younger brothers, 1919.
3. Mao, his father, uncle and brother, Tse-tan, 1919.
4. Yang Kai-hui, Mao’s second wife, with their two eldest sons, 1924.
5. Grigori Voitinsky.
6. Maring.
7. Mikhail Borodin with Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Ching-wei.
8. Mao on the day he first became “Chairman Mao,” 1931.
9. The first formal meeting of the Red state, 1931.
10. The bridge over the Dadu River at Luding.
11. Mao in Yenan in 1937, with participants in the “Autumn Harvest Uprising.” 12. Mao with Zhu De, Lin Biao and other Red Army officers, 1937.
13. Shao Li-tzu.
14. General Zhang Zhi-zhong.
15. General Hu Tsung-nan.
16. General Wei Li-huang.
17. Chiang Kai-shek with Chang Hsueh-liang, the “Young Marshal.” 18. Mao with Chang Kuo-tao, 1937.
19. Mao with Wang Ming.
20. The Politburo in Yenan, 1938.
21. Red Army troops entering Yenan, 1937.
22. Yenan: the Congress Hall and cave dwellings.
23. The Spanish Franciscan cathedral, Yenan.
