History Uncovered — Season 1, Episode 4: Mao, Father of Modern China
Documentary, War & Politics • 52 min • 4 seasons, 20 episodes • ★ 7.1/10
Episode synopsis
October 1, 1949. After years of struggle and revolutionary commitment, Mao Zedong proclaims the advent of the People's Republic of China. By coming to power, he has only one ambition: to restore his country's legendary power, restore its former glory. The year zero of modern China has just begun - However, if the great Helmsman opened a new era for the Middle Empire, it was not he who brought his country from immobility and confinement to the rank of great world power.
About History Uncovered
Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.