Women
hold up
half the
sky.
THE Greek-Roman archetype and the
shape of the male. How the persuasive
notion of the idealman still
equally haunts and fascinates us
to this day.
SCULPTING THE VITRUVIAN MAN:
MAO was born on 26 December 1893 into a peasant family
in Shaoshan, in Hunan province, central China. After
training as a teacher, he travelled to Beijing
where he worked in the University Library. It was
during this time that he began to read Marxist
literature. In 1921, he became a founder member
of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and set up
a branch in Hunan. In 1923, the Kuomintang (KMT)
nationalist party had allied with the CCP to
defeat the warlords who controlled much of northern
China. Then in 1927, the KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek
launched an anti-communist purge.
MAO and other communists retreated to south east China.
In 1934, after the KMT surrounded them, Mao led his
followers on the 'Long March', a 6,000 mile journey
to northwest China to establish a new base.
THE COMMUNISTS and KMT were again temporarily allied
during eight years of war with Japan (1937-1945), but s
hortly after the end of World War Two, civil war broke
out between them. The Communists were victorious, and
on 1 October 1949 Mao proclaimed the founding of the
People's Republic of China (PRC). Chiang Kai-shek fled
to the island of Taiwan.
MAO and other Communist leaders set out to reshape
Chinese society. Industry came under state ownership
and China's farmers began to be organised into
collectives. All opposition was ruthlessly suppressed.
The Chinese initially received significant help from the
Soviet Union, but relations soon began to cool.
IN 1958, in an attempt to introduce a more 'Chinese'
form of communism, Mao launched the 'Great Leap Forward'.
This aimed at mass mobilisation of labour to improve
agricultural and industrial production. The result,
instead, was a massive decline in agricultural output,
which, together with poor harvests, led to famine and
the deaths of millions. The policy was abandoned and
Mao's position weakened.
Politics is war
without bloodshed
while war
is politics with
bloodshed.
IN an attempt to re-assert his authority, Mao launched the
'Cultural Revolution' in 1966, aiming to purge the country
of 'impure' elements and revive the revolutionary spirit.
One-and-a-half million people died and much of the
country's cultural heritage was destroyed. In September
1967, with many cities on the verge of anarchy, Mao sent
in the army to restore order.
MAO appeared victorious, but his health was deteriorating.
His later years saw attempts to build bridges with the
United States, Japan and Europe. In 1972, US President
Richard Nixon visited China and met Mao.
MAO died on 9 September 1976.
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