ChineseSocialist: Judging by the material conditions of China of his time, having a strong hand to build up his country is necessary and in his early days, he was a great man, but after the GLF and the Cultural Revolution, what can one say, really?
^ my take on it as well though totalitarianism is a bit much even for such situations
ChineseSocialist: Tbh I agree with what you said. He has made some grave and very severe mistakes, however, it's unfair to condemn him as being "literally le ebil communist totalitarian satan" considering how Chiang and the Japs razed down China and basically destroyed whatever China had along with the warlords. Other than Sun Yat Sen, I do agree pre-Mao China is horrible. Without Mao, China wouldn't have been able to stand up against centuries of Imperialist domination and wouldn't have been able to progress into the technological anti-atlanticist fortress it is today.
Plus, love him or hate him, you have to admit that improving rights for women, helping the peasants, killing Imperialists, and building China into a torn country into a livable place is based. Chiang was the one that destroyed China while Mao fought for it.