The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957 (Peoples Trilogy Book 2)

by Frank Dikötter

‘To be Poor is Glorious,’ the party proclaimed. But the villagers not only took pride in their poverty, they became fearful of wealth.

Aware of the need to earn his master’s recognition, Mao spared no effort vociferously to condemn Tito. ‘Stalin suspected that ours was a victory of the Tito type, and in 1949 and 1950 the pressure on us was very strong indeed,’ Mao later recollected.