Autocracy and China’s Rebel Founding Emperors: Comparing Chairman Mao and Ming Taizu

What kind of ruler was Mao Zedong? Utilizing a rich mix of analysis and new translations, this book examines other imperial predecessors and the elements linking Mao and Ming Taizu, the fourteenth-century peasant rebel who founded the Ming dynasty, as well as critiques of Western and Chinese scholarship. The book then presents translations with commentary of PRC scholars on Taizu and Mao, showing the evolution in Chinese though toward both rulers from the Cultural Revolution to the Deng Xiaoping reform era.