Mao Zedong had an inclination toward politics since childhood
Mao developed his political ideas by reading extensively because of his early interest in politics. Numerous historical figures, including George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte, were major inspirations for him. Despite his passion of study, he had to quit school at the age of 13 to work on the family farm alongside his father.
On December 26, 1893, in the Hunan town of Shaoshan, Mao was born. Mao Yichang, his father, rose from a lowly peasant to become one of Shaoshan's richest farmers. Mao entered Shaoshan Primary School when he was 8 years old. Despite learning the Confucian values, he subsequently stated that he preferred classic novels like The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin above the traditional Chinese classics that preached Confucian morals. When Mao was 13 years old, he completed his primary education. His father then had him marry the 17-year-old Luo Yixiu in an arranged union, bringing together their respective land-owning families. Mao refused to acknowledge her as his wife, turning into a vehement opponent of arranged marriage, and temporarily relocating.
Mao read voraciously and gained "political consciousness" from Zheng Guanying's booklet, which bemoaned the decline of Chinese authority and pushed for the adoption of representative democracy while working on his father's farm. Mao was interested in history and was motivated by the valor and fervor of George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte. Mao endorsed the demonstrators' demands, but the armed forces repressed the dissidents and murdered their leaders. These protests, led by Gelaohui, broke out in Changsha, the capital of Hunan, during a famine. Starving peasants took his father's food when the famine reached Shaoshan. Though he thought their behavior was morally reprehensible, he expressed sympathy for their predicament.
