In the epilogue to her biography of Mao Tse-tung, Jung Chang and her husband
and cowriter Jon Halliday lament that, "Today, Mao's portrait and his corpse
still dominate Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital."
For Chang, author of Wild Swans, this fact is an affront, not just to history,
but to decency. Mao: The Unknown Story does not contain a formal dedication,
but it is clear that Chang is writing to honor the millions of Chinese who
fell victim to Mao's drive for absolute power in his 50-plus-year struggle to
dominate China and the 20th-century political landscape. From the outset, Chang
and Halliday are determined to shatter the "myth" of Mao, and they succeed with
the force, not just of moral outrage, but of facts. The result is a book, more
indictment than portrait, that paints Mao as a brutal totalitarian, a thug, who
unleashed Stalin-like purges of millions with relish and without compunction,
all for his personal gain. Through the authors' unrelenting lens even his would-
be heroism as the leader of the Long March and father of modern China is exposed
as reckless opportunism, subjecting his charges to months of unnecessary hardship
in order to maintain the upper hand over his rival, Chang Kuo-tao, an experienced
military commander.
Using exhaustive research in archives all over the world, Chang and Halliday
recast Mao's ascent to power and subsequent grip on China in the context of global
events. Sino-Soviet relations, the strengths and weakness of Chiang Kai-shek, the
Japanese invasion of China, World War II, the Korean War, the disastrous Great Leap
Forward, the vicious Cultural Revolution, the Vietnam War, Nixon's visit, and the
constant, unending purges all, understandably, provide the backdrop for Mao's
unscrupulous but invincible political maneuverings and betrayals. No one escaped
unharmed. Rivals, families, peasants, city dwellers, soldiers, and lifelong allies
such as Chou En-lai were all sacrificed to Mao's ambition and paranoia.
Appropriately, the authors' consciences are appalled. Their biggest fear is that
Mao will escape the global condemnation and infamy he deserves. Their astonishing
book will go a long way to ensure that the pendulum of history will adjust itself
accordingly.
Breakdown of a BIG Book: 5 Things You'll Learn from Mao: The Unknown Story
1. Mao became a Communist at the age of 27 for purely pragmatic reasons: a job
and income from the Russians.
2. Far from organizing the Long March in 1934, Mao was nearly left behind by his
colleagues who could not stand him and had tried to oust him several times. The
aim of the March was to link up with Russia to get arms. The Reds survived the
March because Chiang Kai-shek let them, in a secret horse-trade for his son and
heir, whom Stalin was holding hostage in Russia.
3. Mao grew opium on a large scale.
4. After he conquered China, Mao's over-riding goal was to become a superpower
and dominate the world: "Control the Earth," as he put it.
5. Mao caused the greatest famine in history by exporting food to Russia to buy
nuclear and arms industries: 38 million people were starved and slave-driven to
death in 1958-61. Mao knew exactly what was happening, saying: "half of China may
well have to die."
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