The son of a peasant, Mao Zedong was born in the village of Shaoshan, Hunan Province in China. At the age of 27, Mao attended the First Congress（代表大会） of the Chinese Communist Party（共产党） convened（召开） in Shanghai in July 1921. Two years later he was elected to the Central Committee（中央委员会） of the Party at the Third Congress.

From 1931 to 1934, Mao helped establish the Chinese Soviet Republic（苏维埃政权） in China, and was elected the chairman.

Starting in October 1934, "The Long March" （长征）began — a retreat（撤退） from the Southeast to Northwest China. In 1937, Japan launched a full-scaled（全面的） war of aggression（侵略） against China, which gave the Chinese Communist Party cause to unite with the nationalist forces（民族主义力量） of the Guomintang. After defeating（击败） the Japanese, in an ensuing（跟着发生的） civil war, the Communists defeated the Guomintang, and established the People’s Republic of China in October 1949.

Mao served as Chairman of the People’s Republic of China until after the failure of the Great Leap Forward in 1959. Still chairman of the Communist Party, in 1966, Mao initiated the Great Cultural Revolution（文化大革命）.

He Served as Party chairman until his death in 1976.