A Chinese porcelain statuette of Mao Zedong from the late 20th century, depicting him seated on a armchair with June style purple and blue glaze. Created in China during the last quarter of the 20th century, this porcelain statuette depicts Mao Zedong (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao. Seated on a low back armchair with out-scrolling arms and purple and blue glaze, Mao is crossing his legs, his right hand resting on his knees and his left on the arms. Mao was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China, which he led as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, his theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism.
Mao was the son of a prosperous peasant in Shaoshan, Hunan. He supported Chinese nationalism and had an anti-imperialist outlook early in his life, and was particularly influenced by the events of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and May Fourth Movement of 1919. He later adopted Marxism–Leninism while working at Peking University as a librarian and became a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party, leading the Autumn Harvest Uprising in 1927.