Primary sources
Here are a few examples of primary sources related to Mao Zedong's China, including one of Mao's speeches and a selection of his poetry.
Zhou, X. (2012). The great famine in China, 1958-1962: A documentary history. Yale University Press.
This book explores the great famine in China following the implementation of Mao's Great Leap Forward policy. The book includes both primary and secondary information. Look for pages with "document" in their titles for primary documents. The first, a report on the outbreak of famine and related deaths from 1959, can be found on page 4.
Mao, T. (1949). The Chinese people have stood up! Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung, Vol. 5.
This speech was Mao's opening address to the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, just days before he officially proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. The phrase, "The Chinese people have stood up," was widely attributed as a slogan for the Chinese Communist Party.
Searching for More
Here are some additional resources that you can use as you continue your research. The following resources are online collections of Mao Zedong's works. They are not library databases, but it are extensive collections of his writings and other primary sources.
- Mao Zedong - Internet ArchiveThe Marxist Internet Archive's collections of Mao Zedong's writings, from 1917 to 1970.
- Fordham University Asian History SourcebookThe Internet History Sourcebooks Project is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use.
- Wilson Center Digital Archive: China's Great Leap Forward, 1958-1961Timeline of the Great Leap Forward with associated primary documents.
The following library databases include primary sources, but you may want to limit your searches to see only primary sources. You can use Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung as keywords to search in these resources. To broaden your research, think about some of the other key figures in the communist government or the resistance movement (hint: use the Research Starter and our tips for Background Research to identify other people's names).
- History Reference Center - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowDesigned for secondary schools, public libraries, junior/community colleges and undergraduate research, this database features full text for thousands of primary source documents and informational texts.
- World History In Context - Gale This link opens in a new windowWorld History In Context reaches back to the ancient world — and forward to today's headlines — to deliver a chronicle of the great cultures and societies that have formed the history of the human race. Includes primary sources, reference, and multi-media content.
