Summary
Leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949 until his death in 1976, Chairman Mao reshaped the nation's course of history, founding the People's Republic of China and implementing sweeping socio-political reforms that dramatically changed the country. However, his rule was marred with controversies and disastrous policies, leading to widespread suffering, trauma, and ultimately the deaths of millions.
In the first episode of our new Dictators series, James is joined by author Jung Chang to talk about her and her family's experiences under Mao's rule, and to help shed a light on who exactly Mao was. Looking at the devastating loss' she faced during the Cultural Revolution, her eventual move to the UK, and how Mao's political relationships reached even to Russia - what legacy has Mao rule left on not only China, but the rest of the globe?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Who was he the real Chairman Mao? |
| 0:04.0 | Was he the fighter for his people, a guerrilla rebel against China's autocratic government, |
| 0:09.0 | who rose up from poverty to rebuild and lead China as a communist nation or was he simply a |
| 0:15.0 | totalitarian dictator who had a secret personal goal to dominate the world and |
| 0:20.8 | in doing so caused the death of 38 million of his own people during the |
| 0:26.6 | greatest famine in history. |
| 0:29.4 | I'm your host James Patton Rogers, this is Warfare, and all this month on the podcast is Dictators Month. |
| 0:36.0 | To kick off, I wanted to explore the life and legacy of the world's most brutal dictator, |
| 0:40.5 | Mao, and to debunk the myths around his rule. |
| 0:44.0 | Young Chang is our guest. |
| 0:46.0 | Young was born in Sichuan Province, China in 1952. |
| 0:50.0 | She lived under Mao's rule. |
| 0:51.0 | Her parents were officials in the Communist Party and during the |
| 0:55.1 | Cultural Revolution she worked as a peasant, a barefoot doctor, a steel worker, an electrician |
| 1:00.7 | before leaving for Britain in 1978. |
| 1:04.0 | Young is also the author of Mao, The Unknown Story, co-authored with John Halladay, and Wild Swans, |
| 1:11.0 | Three Daughters of China, which has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, except in China where it's banned. |
| 1:18.0 | I know you're going to find this one fascinating. |
| 1:21.0 | So if you want to listen to the rest of the mini series, add free and a day early, |
| 1:25.0 | subscribe to History Hit using the code Warfare, which gives you 50% off your first three months. |
| 1:31.2 | But now, here is Young Chang on Mao history's most brutal dictator. |
| 1:36.0 | Hi young welcome to warfare and thank you so much for taking the time to |
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