Reflections on the Scene at Shaoshan’s Commemoration of Mao’s Birthday

Chinese paramilitary police stand guard at Tiananmen Square. (China Photos/Getty Images)

People News - While studying at New York University, film director Peng Xiaolian dated a German boyfriend. Upon hearing Peng recount her family’s tragic experiences, the boyfriend, puzzled, asked: "As evil as Hitler was, most of the people he killed were Jews and foreigners. Why did Mao Zedong kill so many Chinese?"

I must add this: Mao Zedong, who caused the deaths of more Chinese people than anyone in history—even during peacetime—is still revered by some Chinese as the great leader of the Chinese people. He is even venerated as a totem of the Chinese nation!

According to CCP state media reports, December 26 saw throngs of people pouring into Mao Zedong’s birthplace in Shaoshan, Hunan. The massive statue of Mao welcomed visitors from across the country. Wreaths covered the ground at its base, and the incense-burning area was shrouded in smoke. People held up red flags, sang “The East Is Red,” and commemorated the 131st anniversary of Mao’s birth.

This phenomenon, however, has only emerged in recent years. In the 1980s, Mao’s former residence was largely deserted. Even in the early 1990s, buses heading to Shaoshan during Mao’s birthday on December 26 were mostly filled with migrant workers, with few pilgrims. Overall, the resurgence of "Mao fever" began gradually after the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. Under Xi Jinping, this phenomenon has been greatly accelerated, resulting in the absurd scenes observed in Shaoshan in recent years on December 26.

Shaoshan, Mao’s hometown, received significant favor and benefits during his reign. Yet, even there, Mao’s era brought disasters. For example, during the Great Famine, many people in Shaoshan also starved to death.

On April 14, 1961, Mao’s secretary Hu Qiaomu submitted a report titled “Investigation on the Issue of Communal Dining Halls” to Mao. After Mao reviewed it, the report was forwarded to Liu Shaoqi and others. In it, Hu Qiaomu explicitly confirmed instances of starvation deaths in Hunan:

"Here is the investigation team’s report on resolving the issue of communal dining halls for your review. Yesterday, I visited the Xiangxiang County Party Committee with Comrades Wang Li, Mao Huachu, and He Bingxian from the Provincial Agricultural Office. We initially planned to investigate reports of severe starvation in the Longdong Commune (formerly Dongjiao Commune) near Shaoshan, where 707 people—13.5% of the current population—died from October 1958 to March 1961. However, due to impassable roads, we instead visited several production teams in Nanshan Brigade, Qixing Brigade, Shuidi Brigade, and Shijiang Brigade in Chen Geng Commune (formerly Dongjiao Commune). The situation there was equally severe. In Nanshan and Shijiang, the mortality rate over the past three years reached about 20%. According to the Xiangtan County Party Committee, approximately 30,000 people died in the county over three years, with 20,000 deaths last year alone, the most severe at the year’s end. Xiangxiang, classified as a 'Category One County,' faces issues as serious as Xiangtan, and even worse in terms of the late-year mortality surge.”

Hu Qiaomu's investigation report was included in Selected Important Documents Since the Founding of the PRC (Volume 14), compiled by the Central Party Literature Research Office and published by the Central Party Literature Press.

In 1958, Mao Zedong launched the Great Leap Forward and the People’s Commune movement, which led to widespread famine and mass starvation. By August 1959, at the Lushan Conference, Mao was already somewhat aware of food shortages and starvation in various regions. Initially, Mao intended to correct the leftist errors of the Great Leap Forward and the People’s Communes. However, after receiving a critical letter from Peng Dehuai at the conference—a "10,000-character" document criticizing these policies—Mao felt his absolute power was being challenged. He responded by weaponizing ideological struggle, labeling Peng and others as an “anti-Party clique,” and shifting the focus from correcting leftist errors to suppressing rightists. This reversal exacerbated the mistakes and fueled the tragic famine that claimed millions of lives. Hu Qiaomu’s report revealed that 1960, the year after the Lushan Conference, saw the peak of abnormal deaths.

Subsequently, under the efforts of pragmatic leaders like Liu Shaoqi, Mao reluctantly agreed to policy adjustments. The Party also reviewed and rehabilitated cadres wrongly accused of opportunism during the Lushan Conference. However, Mao, harboring deep resentment toward Peng Dehuai, insisted on branding him a traitor who colluded with foreign powers, leaving him politically crushed. In September 1965, Mao summoned the exiled Peng Dehuai in Zhongnanhai, assigning him as deputy commander for the Third Front Construction project in the southwest, seemingly signaling Peng’s political rehabilitation. During their conversation about the Lushan Conference, Mao even remarked, “Perhaps the truth was on your side.” Yet, at the same time, Jiang Qing orchestrated a political campaign behind the scenes, with Yao Wenyuan penning the essay "Criticism of the Newly Compiled Historical Play 'Hai Rui Dismissed from Office'". Published in the Wenhui Daily on November 10, 1965, this marked the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. On December 21, 1965, Mao remarked, “The key issue in 'Hai Rui Dismissed from Office' is the concept of dismissal. Emperor Jiajing dismissed Hai Rui, and in 1959, we dismissed Peng Dehuai. Peng is also ‘Hai Rui.’”

This statement revealed Mao’s intentions: the Cultural Revolution was, in part, a campaign to politically and personally destroy Peng Dehuai, ensuring his permanent downfall. Like Peng, Liu Shaoqi was also targeted. In Mao’s Big Character Poster from August 5, 1966, he criticized certain Central Committee leaders and referenced the “rightist tendencies” of 1962, signaling his aim to retaliate against pragmatists who had corrected his catastrophic mistakes.

Mao’s ruthlessness is evident in his Five Criteria for Successors in Revolution, which emphasized: “Be good at uniting the majority, especially those who opposed you but were later proven wrong by practice.” A fitting annotation could be added: “For those who opposed you and were later proven right, they must be resolutely suppressed and destroyed.” Mao’s unparalleled malice and cruelty remain rare even among tyrants throughout history.

(Adapted from Radio Free Asia)