Not OP (I'm Chinese-American, born in the USA), but my grandparents and many family friends/acquaintances lived through that period and I've heard their thoughts on it. Since most deaths were due to famine, not everyone blamed the government for mass murder (which was essentially what happened). But most people realized that shitty government leaders/policies were behind their hardships. Many educated Chinese (e.g. students/professionals) resented the Communist government ever after, but even the least educated (e.g. rural farmers), reflecting old Chinese views of dynastic change, felt that Mao was "losing his touch" so to speak. My grandmother once commented that the many deaths/disasters during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution were divine signs that Mao had lost his mandate to rule.
tldr: Despite all the portraits/idolatry of him, Mao has a very mixed political legacy, at least from my limited sample of opinions.
sharpie100672 karma
Not OP (I'm Chinese-American, born in the USA), but my grandparents and many family friends/acquaintances lived through that period and I've heard their thoughts on it. Since most deaths were due to famine, not everyone blamed the government for mass murder (which was essentially what happened). But most people realized that shitty government leaders/policies were behind their hardships. Many educated Chinese (e.g. students/professionals) resented the Communist government ever after, but even the least educated (e.g. rural farmers), reflecting old Chinese views of dynastic change, felt that Mao was "losing his touch" so to speak. My grandmother once commented that the many deaths/disasters during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution were divine signs that Mao had lost his mandate to rule.
tldr: Despite all the portraits/idolatry of him, Mao has a very mixed political legacy, at least from my limited sample of opinions.
View HistoryShare Link