A Chinese Communist Revolutionary and the founding father of the People’s Republic of China

He governed as Chairman of CPC (Communist Party of China) from its establishment in 1949 until his death 1976

Mao Zedong had four wives who conceived a total of 10 children. These were:Luo Yixiu: (罗一秀 , October 20, 1889 – 1910) of Shaoshan: married 1907 to 1910Yang Kaihui: (杨开慧 , 1901–1930) of Changsha: married 1921 to 1927, executed by the KMT in 1930; mother to Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao AnlongHe Zizhen: (贺子珍 , 1910–1984) of Jiangxi: married May 1928 to 1939; mother to Mao Anhong, Li Min, and four other childrenJiang Qing: (江青 , 1914–1991), married 1939 to Mao's death; mother to Li Na

His Marxist-Leninist theories, military strategies and political policies are collectively known as Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought.

supporters regard him as a great leader and credit him with numerous accomplishments, including;

Modernizing China and building it into a world power

Promoting the status of Women

Improving education and healthcare

Providing universal housing, and increasing life expectancy as China’s population grew from around 550 over 900 million during the period of his leadership

Maoist promote his role as theorists, statesman, poet and visionary

Critics and historians have characterized him as a dictator who oversaw systematic human rights abuses and whose rule is estimated to have contributed to the deaths of 40–70 million people through starvation, forced labor and executions, ranking his tenure as the top incidence of democide in human history.

Mao had been in poor health for several years and had declined visibly for at least six months prior to his death. A heavy smoker and drinker during most of his adult life, he was also overweight and had multiple lung and heart ailments during his later years

He suffered two major heart attacks in 1976, one in March and another in July, before a third struck on September 5, rendering him an invalid

Mao Zedong died on September 9, 1976 at age of 82

Mao was a prolific writer of political and philosophical literature

He wrote several other philosophical treatises, both before and after he assumed power. These include: On Guerilla Warfare( 《游击战》 ); 1937

On Practice(《实践论》); 1937

On Contradiction (《矛盾论》); 1937 On Protracted War ( 《论持久战》 ); 1938

In Memory of Norman Bethune ( 《纪念白求恩》 ); 1939

On New Democracy ( 《新民主主义论》 ); 1940

“ON PRACTICE”

Mao Zedong’s main text on Marxist epistemology that is in the Marxist theory of knowledge

He examines from Marxist point of view, the problem of how people learn, how their consciousness develops, and how correct theory is developed through practice

Mao is talking about ideology, the kind of thinking that is enforced and produced by the mode of production (be it capitalist, feudal, etc.)

A big part of our thinking is ideological, it is socialized or conditioned by the mode of production under which we live, and it makes it difficult for us to come up with clear understanding of what is really going on

Mao makes the point that through social practice we can cut through this and come collectively toward higher levels of understanding and consciousness.

Process of the development of knowledge – Two stages of cognition;

Perceptual stage of cognition

Rational stage of cognition 

the stage of sense perceptions and impressions

refers to man's use of concepts in the brain to form judgment’s and inferences

“If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it. If you want to know the structure and properties of the atom, you must make physical and chemical experiments to change the state of the atom. If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution”

“ON CONTRADICTION”

To challenge dogmatist and subjectivist thinking inside the Chinese Communist Party

Its purpose is to explain the analytic tools provided by Marxism-Leninism that should be used to look at problems scientifically, looking at their inner workings and the internal contradictions that drive them so as to come to the best and most progressive resolution possible under the given circumstances and conditions

In dialectical materialism, contradiction, as derived by Karl Marx, usually refers to an opposition of social forces

He uses the concept of contradiction to explain different Chinese historical time periods and social events

Mao suggests that all movement in life is a result of contradiction

The Two World Outlooks Metaphysical and Dialectical Concepts

The Universality of Contradiction

The Particularity of Contradiction

The Identity and Struggle of Aspects of Contradiction

The place of antagonism in contradiction

Conclusion

As Mao makes clear, contradiction is the most important central element of Marxist dialectical materialism. In fact, these other categories are really aspects of contradiction, aspects of the core dialectical principle of the unity of opposites. Understanding the contradictions at work in any situation or process is the key to be able to act on the situation and make progress. 

Mao said:"Whatever is to be done is to be done by human beings; ideas and action represent the dynamic role peculiar to human beings. Human consciousness and dynamic participation is a characteristic which distinguishes the human from all other beings."