Chairman Mao, the father of Chinese Communism, is one of the giants of world history - military strategist, statesman, visionary, philosopher, poet, revolutionary and politician of genius. In making this four-part series the Chinese authorities opened their archives for the first time to tell the full story of the Communist leader's life. This documentary surveys the history of China from the time of its last Emperor, when it was degraded and controlled by Western powers following the Opium Wars, through to the emerging capitalist China of today. It tells the story of Mao Zedong, born to a country farmer and raised among peasants, who went on to become a brilliant scholar, a member of the Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and, ultimately, Party Chairman. |
