More murderous than Hitler, more powerful than Stalin, in the battle of the communist leaders Mao Zedong triumphs over everyone. Born into a wealthy peasant family, Mao would become the great leader of China. After driving the Communists away from Kuomintang rule, he set out to modernize China, but the results of this bold move were terrifying. He repeatedly recovered from his failures and used his influence to eliminate his enemies and cleanse China of its old ways. Mao saw a better future for China, but it was not within his reach; his Cultural Revolution was not as successful as he would have liked. Liberator, oppressor, revolutionary, Mao Zedong was the greatest emancipator in the history of China, as his reforms and actions changed the history of China and the rest of the world. Mao Zedong was born in 1893, in a China that suffered greatly. The Qing Dynasty was hurtling towards disaster, but while most Chinese peasants suffered, Mao's peasant family was doing quite well. Becoming increasingly restless, Mao left home at age 17 to study, and in 1918 he qualified to become a teacher. He went to Beijing, but found that there was little work for teachers. Instead he began working in a university library and reading Marxist literature. It was the time of the Russian Revolution and Mao was passionate and interested in politics. In 1921 he became a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). The ruling party in China at the time was the Kuomintang (KMT). They had overthrown the Qing emperor, but had been unable to truly unite the country. In 1923, the KMT and CCP briefly allied to defeat the warlords in northern China, but this was not an alliance we intended to last; KMT leader Chia... center of paper... Speeches and writings of Mao Zedong (1927-1947).” Columbia University. Accessed November 27, 2013. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1900_mao_speeches.htm. Chanel Biography website. "Mao Tse-tung." The Biography Channel website. Accessed 27 November 2013. http://www.biography.com/people/mao-tse-tung-9398142.The British Broadcasting Corporation. “Mao Zedong”. BBC. Accessed November 27, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mao_zedong.shtml.Spence, Jonathan D. “Mao Zedong.” TIME magazine. April 13, 1998. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988161-1,00.html (accessed November 13, 2013). Szczepanski, Kellie. “What was the Great Leap Forward?” About.com. Accessed November 27, 2013. http://asianhistory.about.com/od/asianhistoryfaqs/f/greatleapfaq.htm.Wong, Jan. Red China Blues. Toronto: Double Day Canada, 1996.