title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: The most notable victories in his first 8 fights came against German prospect Florian Muller, who he defeated by TKO in the second round on 13 March 2008.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Later that year, after another TKO victory against Matteo Minonzio, he replaced his former opponent Florian Muller on less than 24 hours notice against Krzysztof Kulak, who at the time was a top prospect in Poland, on 13 September 2008, at KSW Extra. He won the fight knocking Kulak down several times, earning the unanimous decision victory.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: In his last fight before he was signed to the UFC, Gustafsson fought European veteran Vladimir Shemarov on 30 May 2009 at Superior Challenge 3. He won the fight by knockout in the first round.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson made his UFC debut against Jared Hamman on 14 November 2009, at UFC 105. Gustafsson dropped Hamman with a straight right punch and won the fight via KO at 0:41 in the first round.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson's next fight was against Phil Davis on 10 April 2010, at UFC 112. Gustafsson lost the fight via submission due to an anaconda choke. Prior to this, Gustafsson showed good wrestling and takedown defense which Joe Rogan praised him for. After being softened up by brutal elbows, Gustafsson was sprawled by Davis and was forced to tap out at 4:55 of the first round.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson faced MMA and kickboxing veteran Cyrille Diabaté at UFC 120. In advance of this bout, Gustafsson traveled to San Diego, California, to train with Alliance MMA for a month. At the training camp, Gustafsson trained with notable UFC fighters like his former opponent Phil Davis, Dominick Cruz, Brandon Vera, Joey Beltran and Travis Browne. He also took grappling tips from Davis and worked to improve his strength and speed. After dominating the first round in stand up as well as on the ground, dropping Diabate twice, Gustafsson defeated Diabate via submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round. In post-fight interviews Gustafsson said that the main reason for his success against Diabate was the time that he spent at Alliance MMA in the training camp.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson won his second straight UFC fight on 27 February 2011, at UFC 127 where he defeated James Te-Huna in the first round by submission due to a rear-naked choke.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was expected to face Vladimir Matyushenko on 6 August 2011, at UFC 133. But Matyushenko pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Matt Hamill. In the 2nd round, Gustafsson dropped Hamill with a straight punch followed by two uppercuts, finishing Hamill by TKO, with punches and elbows from the mount. Hamill announced his retirement shortly after the fight.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson eventually faced Matyushenko on 30 December 2011, at UFC 141. He defeated Matyushenko by TKO in the first round after dropping him with a jab and finishing with punches on the ground. After the win UFC President Dana White said that a first round finish of Matyushenko, who he referred to as a gatekeeper at the time, made it clear that Gustafsson was a force to be reckoned with and that he would get a step up in competition for his next fight.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was expected to face Antônio Rogério Nogueira on 14 April 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 2 in Stockholm, Sweden, but Nogueira pulled out of the fight due to an injury and was replaced by Thiago Silva. Gustafsson was able to effectively use his reach and jab to largely outstrike Silva, scoring points by knocking him down early in the first round as well as scoring a takedown in the second. His dominant performance earned him the unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28) victory. Just like after his previous win, it was again clear that Gustafsson was in need of another step up in competition, and UFC President Dana White said that his next fight would be against someone in the top of the rankings.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson faced Maurício Rua on 8 December 2012, at UFC on Fox 5. He was able to use his reach and powerful striking, as well as his wrestling, from which he was able to land six takedowns, to defeat Rua via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–26). It was said that a victory over 'Shogun' Rua would likely ensure Gustafsson of a shot at the title in his next fight, but since he didn't want to sit out of competition for a long time to wait for his chance, Gustafsson said he was fine with having another fight before that could happen.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was expected to face former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi on 6 April 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 9 and it was said that a victory would ensure him of a shot at the title. However, on 30 March it was revealed that Gustafsson had suffered a cut during a sparring session. On 2 April it was announced by Swedish MMA Federation that he was not cleared to compete. Gustafsson was replaced by UFC newcomer Ilir Latifi, one of his main training partners.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson earned a title shot and faced UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones on 21 September 2013 in the main event at UFC 165. Despite being looked at as a big underdog coming into this fight, Gustafsson challenged Jones unlike any previous contender, taking the champion down for the first time in his career, picking him apart on the feet and cutting Jones badly above the right eye early in the fight. Jones later rallied, and dominated the final rounds and in the end out landed Gustafsson in strikes, 137–114. Gustafsson ultimately lost via unanimous decision. After the fight, before being sent to hospital, Jones said Gustafsson had given him the hardest fight of his career. Gustafsson and Jones were awarded the "Fight of the Night" bonus award for their performances. The fight was critically acclaimed by mixed martial arts media outlets and fighters, with many considering it to be the greatest light heavyweight title fight of all time.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: The fight was later named 2013 Fight of the Year by World MMA Awards along with various other major MMA media outlets, Gustafsson also won the prize for 2013 International Fighter of the Year. On 8 March 2020, it was announced that the fight will be inducted to UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing on 9 July.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: It was indicated by Dana White that he was interested in an immediate Jones vs. Gustafsson rematch, without confirming anything. Gustafsson ended up not getting the rematch after it was confirmed that Jones would be defending his belt next against Glover Teixeira. It was said that the next opponent for Gustafsson was not confirmed yet, but that the fight would take place in Sweden or England in early 2014. It was also said that Gustafsson, if victorious in his next fight, would get another shot at the title. When asked about all this, Gustafsson said that his main goal was to get another shot at the title and that he's happy to fight anybody to get there, he also said that as long as Jon Jones still is the champion, he will be the main target.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: At a post-fight press conference in Manchester, Dana White said that Gustafsson would be facing Antônio Rogério Nogueira on 8 March 2014, at UFC Fight Night 37.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: He also stated that if both he and Jones won their next bouts, then the rematch would be set for the title. However, just 5 days after the fight was announced news came that Nogueira had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury. Later, reports came that said that Nogueira had never agreed to take the fight against Gustafsson at all. Instead, he faced undefeated striker Jimi Manuwa at the same event. He won the fight by TKO after dropping Manuwa with a knee followed by a flurry of punches in the clinch, in the second round, handing Manuwa the first loss of his career.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: On 27 April 2014, UFC President Dana White confirmed that a rematch with the champion Jon Jones would be next for Gustafsson, and stated the possibility of the match taking place in a stadium in Sweden on pay-per-view. On 24 May 2014, it was indicated that the rematch would take place in Las Vegas on 30 August 2014, at UFC 177. The statement, and the time and venue, wasn't official however, since Gustafsson was the only one who still had agreed to take the fight. On 2 June, the fight was still on hold, and UFC President Dana White explained the situation as: "Jones doesn't want to fight Gustafsson".


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: On 5 June 2014, the UFC confirmed that the Jones/Gustafsson rematch would take place on 27 September 2014, at UFC 178. At first, the fight was expected to take place in Toronto, but the venue was later changed to Las Vegas. However, Gustafsson was forced to pull out of the bout due to a torn meniscus and was replaced by fellow top contender Daniel Cormier.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: At first, a fight against Anthony Johnson was reported to be in the makings, but the bout would later be scratched by the UFC.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was briefly linked to a potential bout with Rashad Evans on 24 January 2015, at UFC on Fox 14. Subsequently, Evans announced he would not be ready during that time line as he was still rehabilitating a knee injury. Gustafsson instead faced Anthony Johnson at the event with the winner guaranteed a title shot against Jon Jones. Gustafsson lost the fight via TKO in the first round, marking the first time in his career that he had been stopped due to strikes.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was expected to face Teixeira on 20 June 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69. However, it was announced that Gustafsson had been removed from the card due to an injury in his back.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: In June 2015, news then came that Gustafsson was about to be booked against Daniel Cormier who recently had won the vacant title. At first, the matchup seemed to be set for 5 September 2015, at UFC 191. However, Cormier wasn't able to make it due to an injury and the fight was delayed.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: The title fight against Cormier took place on 3 October 2015, at UFC 192. It was a back and forth fight that saw Gustafsson land two takedowns in round 2 and also drop Cormier by a knee and following punches in the end of round 3. He lost the fight by split decision. Their performance earned both fighters the "Fight of the Night" awards. In interviews after the fight, Cormier told reporters that the fight with Gustafsson had been the hardest of his career. As a result of the injuries Gustafsson sustained during the fight, a preliminary medical suspension was set for him until April.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson next fought Jan Błachowicz on 3 September 2016, at UFC Fight Night 93. He won the fight by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27).


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: A pairing with Antônio Rogério Nogueira was scheduled for a third time and was expected to take place on 19 November 2016, at UFC Fight Night 100. However just days after the fight was announced, Gustafsson pulled out of the bout citing an injury. In turn, he was replaced by Ryan Bader. It was later revealed that he had sustained a back injury, which would sideline him from training and competition indefinitely.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: A rescheduled fight with Teixeira took place on 28 May 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 109. After dominating the fight for four rounds, Gustafsson won the fight via knockout early in the fifth round. Their performance earned both fighters the "Fight of the Night" awards.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: After some time of hiatus from competition due to a shoulder injury, Gustafsson was first targeted to face Luke Rockhold, but Rockhold would have to pull out of the fight, citing an injury. Gustafsson was instead scheduled to face Volkan Oezdemir on 4 August 2018 at UFC 227. However, on 19 July 2018 it was reported that Oezdemir was removed from the bout due to a broken nose. It was reported that on 22 July 2018, Gustafsson also pulled out from the bout due to injury. It was later revealed that Gustafsson had suffered a hamstring injury, and that the UFC was hoping for him to be back before the end of the year.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: On 10 October, it was announced that Gustafsson would have a rematch with the returning Jon Jones on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232 for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. Gustafsson suffered an injured groin during the fight, as a result of a knee from Jones.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson next faced Anthony Smith on 1 June 2019, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 153. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round. In his post-fight interview, Gustafsson announced his retirement from MMA by taking off his gloves, laying them on the floor of the octagon, and saying "The show is over, guys".


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Just a few months after Gustafsson's retirement from competition, rumors about a potential comeback were already in motion. On 7 November 2019, UFC President Dana White confirmed that Gustafsson was showing interest in returning.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: On 11 December 2019, Gustafsson competed in a grappling match in Sweden, against Swedish MMA prospect Anton Turkalj. He was victorious by points.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: In an interview on 3 April 2020, Gustafsson revealed that he was planning a training trip to the United States as soon as the travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. He said that the outcome of this trip would determine if he was going to make a comeback or not.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: On 5 June 2020, Gustafsson announced his return to active MMA competition in the UFC as part of the heavyweight division. Gustafsson faced former UFC heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum on 26 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14. He lost the fight via an armbar submission in round one.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was scheduled to face Paul Craig in a light heavyweight bout on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191. However, a week before the event, Gustafsson withdrew due to injury.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Instead, Gustafsson was scheduled to remain at heavyweight and face Ben Rothwell on 21 May 2022. However, at the end of March, it was announced that Rothwell was released from the UFC roster.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson faced Nikita Krylov at UFC Fight Night 208. He lost the fight via knockout early in the first round.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson was scheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux on 10 December 2022, at UFC 282. However, Gustafsson withdrew due to undisclosed reason and was replaced by Philipe Lins.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson has been training in his native Sweden for the most part of his career, mainly at Allstar Training Center in Stockholm, which is run by Gustafsson himself (as a co-owner) and his head coach Andreas Michael, who is a former boxing coach and former amateur boxing coach for the Swedish Olympic team.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Since his loss to Phil Davis at UFC 112, Gustafsson has also been training part-time with Davis and the others at Alliance MMA in San Diego, California.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: After his title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 165, rumors came out that Gustafsson would leave Alliance to train only in Sweden, but Gustafsson and his team later came out saying that the rumors were false and that he would still mix up his training by spending time at Alliance as well as flying people in from the United States to train with him in Sweden for his future fights.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Since then, Gustafsson has been training mainly in Sweden at Allstar Training Center, but the team has kept their close relationship with Alliance MMA in San Diego, having the two teams working together. Gustafsson and others from Allstar has travelled to train in San Diego in between fights. At numerous occasions, Alliance fighters has also travelled to Sweden to be a part of Gustafsson's training camps. Phil Davis was there helping him to prepare for Teixeira, in 2017.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: In addition to Gustafsson and his long time training partner Ilir Latifi, the Allstar team has also added other big names from the heavier divisions. Names such as Gustafsson's former opponent Jimi Manuwa (who moved there after his loss to Gustafsson) and Gökhan Saki.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson's fighting style is striking heavy. The strongest foundation comes from his boxing background. He uses good technique and fast movements with great footwork, to set up his combinations. He also uses his reach and mobility to circle and stay on the outside of his opponents range to find his own openings. During his UFC career he's also made big improvements in his wrestling and grappling. His offensive and defensive wrestling is now at a high level.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: In 2015, Gustafsson began a relationship with his present girlfriend, Moa. The couple has a daughter, Ava, born in May 2017. Later in May 2017, the couple became engaged inside the octagon right after Gustafsson defeated Teixeira in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. In September 2018, the couple had their second child, a son.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: He grew up in Arboga, a small town about hour drive west of Stockholm, together with his mother, step-father and four younger sisters. In interviews, his mother has said that she named him after Alexander the Great. He had a close relationship with his biological father, who lived in another city and was struggling with alcohol abuse. His biological father died a few weeks prior to Gustafsson's fight in London against Jimi Manuwa on 8 March 2014. In interviews after the fight he said he wanted to dedicate the victory to him.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: His nickname, "The Mauler", was given to him early in his career by his training partners, referring to his powerful striking, killer instinct and the reckless ways he finishes his fights.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: When asked about his idols in combat sports, Gustafsson always names MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko as his biggest inspiration coming in to the sport.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson is a Christian, and he had a close personal relationship with his pastor, Wiggo Carlsson, until his death in 2012.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: He is a long time friend, and former occasional training and sparring partner, of two-division boxing world champion Badou Jack. With both being Swedish and Gustafsson coming from a boxing background, their paths crossed on the amateur boxing scene in Stockholm in 2007–2008. He has often, both before and after his title fight at UFC 165, been compared to Swedish Heavyweight boxer Ingemar Johansson who won the world title in 1959, focusing both on similarities and differences in their respective fighting styles.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson had a troubled youth which led to him ending up in fights often as a teenager, for which he was first convicted when he was 15. As an 18-year-old in 2005, he was sentenced to prison for aggravated assault, having assaulted a brother and sister unprovoked together with two accomplices, after a night of drinking. He was released in 2006, turned his life around, got back into training, found MMA and moved to another city to leave the trouble behind him. He has said that it was getting involved in MMA that finally changed his life for the better.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Before embarking on his fight career, Gustafsson had various other jobs. He was a construction worker and also worked security as a bouncer in night clubs. He also had a license to work as a divemaster for scuba diving. It was after his fight with Phil Davis he quit his regular job to fully commit to MMA.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: Gustafsson played a role in the Swedish mainstream movie "Johan Falk – Blood Diamonds" which premiered in 2015.


title: Alexander Gustafsson

text: As of 2019, Gustafsson is a part owner at the Swedish mixed martial arts promotion AK Fighting Championship. In 2021, the Allstar Training Center, of which Gustafsson is a co-owner, is expanding and opening a second training location, this time in Torrevieja, Spain.


title: Maoism

text: Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Republic of China. The philosophical difference between Maoism and traditional Marxism–Leninism is that the peasantry is the revolutionary vanguard in pre-industrial societies rather than the proletariat. This updating and adaptation of Marxism–Leninism to Chinese conditions in which revolutionary praxis is primary and ideological orthodoxy is secondary represents urban Marxism–Leninism adapted to pre-industrial China. Later theoreticians expanded on the idea that Mao had adapted Marxism–Leninism to Chinese conditions, arguing that he had in fact updated it fundamentally, and that Maoism could be applied universally throughout the world. This ideology is often referred to as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism to distinguish it from the original ideas of Mao.


title: Maoism

text: From the 1950s until the Chinese economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s, Maoism was the political and military ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and Maoist revolutionary movements worldwide. After the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s, the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union each claimed to be the sole heir and successor to Joseph Stalin concerning the correct interpretation of Marxism–Leninism and the ideological leader of communism.


title: Maoism

text: At the turn of the 20th century, the contemporary Chinese intellectual tradition was defined by two central concepts: (i) iconoclasm and (ii) nationalism.


title: Maoism

text: By the turn of the 20th century, a proportionately small yet socially significant cross-section of China's traditional elite (i.e., landlords and bureaucrats) found themselves increasingly sceptical of the efficacy and even the moral validity of Confucianism. These sceptical iconoclasts formed a new segment of Chinese society, a modern intelligentsia whose arrival—or as the historian of China Maurice Meisner would label it, their defection—heralded the beginning of the destruction of the gentry as a social class in China.


title: Maoism

text: The fall of the last imperial Chinese dynasty in 1911 marked the final failure of the Confucian moral order, and it did much to make Confucianism synonymous with political and social conservatism in the minds of Chinese intellectuals. This association of conservatism and Confucianism lent to the iconoclastic nature of Chinese intellectual thought during the first decades of the 20th century.


title: Maoism

text: Chinese iconoclasm was expressed most clearly and vociferously by Chen Duxiu during the New Culture Movement, which occurred between 1915 and 1919. Proposing the "total destruction of the traditions and values of the past", the New Culture Movement was spearheaded by the "New Youth", a periodical published by Chen Duxiu and profoundly influenced the young Mao Zedong, whose first published work appeared in the magazine's pages.


title: Maoism

text: Along with iconoclasm, radical anti-imperialism dominated the Chinese intellectual tradition and slowly evolved into a fierce nationalist fervor which influenced Mao's philosophy immensely and was crucial in adapting Marxism to the Chinese model. Vital to understanding Chinese nationalist sentiments of the time is the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed in 1919. The Treaty aroused a wave of bitter nationalist resentment in Chinese intellectuals as lands formerly ceded to Germany in Shandong were—without consultation with the Chinese—transferred to Japanese control rather than returned to Chinese sovereignty.


title: Maoism

text: The adverse reaction culminated in the 4 May Incident in 1919, during which a protest began with 3,000 students in Beijing displaying their anger at the announcement of the Versailles Treaty's concessions to Japan. The protest turned violent as protesters began attacking the homes and offices of ministers who were seen as cooperating with or being in the direct pay of the Japanese. The 4 May Incident and Movement which followed "catalyzed the political awakening of a society which had long seemed inert and dormant".


title: Maoism

text: Another international event would have a significant impact not only on Mao but also on the Chinese intelligentsia. The Russian Revolution elicited great interest among Chinese intellectuals, although the socialist revolution in China was not considered a viable option until after the 4 May Incident. Afterward, "[t]o become a Marxist was one way for a Chinese intellectual to reject both the traditions of the Chinese past and Western domination of the Chinese present".


title: Maoism

text: Immediately following the Long March, Mao and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were headquartered in Yan'an, a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi province. During this period, Mao established himself as a Marxist theoretician and produced most of the works that would later be canonised as the "thought of Mao Zedong". The rudimentary philosophical base of Chinese Communist ideology is laid down in Mao's numerous dialectical treatises and was conveyed to newly recruited party members. This period established ideological independence from Moscow for Mao and the CCP.


title: Maoism

text: Although the Yan'an period did answer some of the ideological and theoretical questions raised by the Chinese Communist Revolution, it left many crucial questions unresolved, including how the Chinese Communist Party was supposed to launch a socialist revolution while wholly separated from the urban sphere.


title: Maoism

text: Marxist thinking employs imminent socioeconomic explanations, whereas Mao's reasons were declarations of his enthusiasm. Mao did not believe education alone would transition from capitalism to communism for three main reasons. (1) Psychologically, the capitalists would not repent and turn towards communism on their own; (2) the rulers must be overthrown by the people; (3) "the proletarians are discontented, and a demand for communism has arisen and had already become a fact". These reasons do not provide socioeconomic explanations, which usually form the core of Marxist ideology.


title: Maoism

text: In this period, Mao avoided all theoretical implications in his literature and employed a minimum of Marxist category thought. His writings in this period failed to elaborate on what he meant by the "Marxist method of political and class analysis". Before this period, Mao was concerned with the dichotomy between knowledge and action. He was more concerned with the dichotomy between revolutionary ideology and counter-revolutionary objective conditions. There was more correlation drawn between China and the Soviet model.


title: Maoism

text: Intellectually, this was Mao's most fruitful time. The orientation shift was apparent in his pamphlet "Strategic Problems of China's Revolutionary War" (December 1936). This pamphlet tried to provide a theoretical veneer for his concern with revolutionary practice. Mao started to separate from the Soviet model since it was not automatically applicable to China. China's unique set of historical circumstances demanded a correspondingly unique application of Marxist theory, an application that would have to diverge from the Soviet approach.


title: Maoism

text: Unlike the Mature period, this period was intellectually barren. Mao focused more on revolutionary practice and paid less attention to Marxist theory. He continued to emphasise theory as practice-oriented knowledge. The most crucial topic of theory he delved into was in connection with the Cheng Feng movement of 1942. Here, Mao summarised the correlation between Marxist theory and Chinese practice: "The target is the Chinese revolution, the arrow is Marxism–Leninism. We Chinese communists seek this arrow for no other purpose than to hit the target of the Chinese revolution and the revolution of the east". The only new emphasis was Mao's concern with two types of subjectivist deviation: (1) dogmatism, the excessive reliance upon abstract theory; (2) empiricism, excessive dependence on experience.


title: Maoism

text: To Mao, the victory of 1949 was a confirmation of theory and practice. "Optimism is the keynote to Mao's intellectual orientation in the post-1949 period". Mao assertively revised the theory to relate it to the new practice of socialist construction. These revisions are apparent in the 1951 version of "On Contradiction". "In the 1930s, when Mao talked about contradiction, he meant the contradiction between subjective thought and objective reality. In "Dialectal Materialism" of 1940, he saw idealism and materialism as two possible correlations between subjective thought and objective reality. In the 1940s, he introduced no new elements into his understanding of the subject-object contradiction. In the 1951 version of "On Contradiction", he saw contradiction as a universal principle underlying all processes of development, yet with each contradiction possessed of its own particularity".


title: Maoism

text: Maoism and Marxism differ in how the proletariat is defined and in which political and economic conditions would start a communist revolution.


title: Maoism

text: Shortly after Mao died in 1976, Deng Xiaoping initiated socialist market reforms in 1978, thereby beginning the radical change in Mao's ideology in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Although Mao Zedong Thought nominally remains the state ideology, Deng's admonition to "seek truth from facts" means that state policies are judged on their practical consequences, and in many areas, the role of ideology in determining policy has thus been considerably reduced. Deng also separated Mao from Maoism, making it clear that Mao was fallible, and hence the truth of Maoism comes from observing social consequences rather than by using Mao's quotations as holy writ, as was done in Mao's lifetime.


title: Maoism

text: Contemporary Maoists in China criticise the social inequalities created by the revisionist Communist Party. Some Maoists say that Deng's "Reform and Opening" economic policies that introduced market principles spelled the end of Maoism in China. However, Deng asserted that his reforms were upholding Mao Zedong Thought in accelerating the output of the country's productive forces. A recent example of a Chinese politician regarded as neo-Maoist in terms of political strategies and mass mobilisation via red songs was Bo Xilai in Chongqing.


title: Maoism

text: In addition, the party constitution has been rewritten to give the socialist ideas of Deng prominence over those of Mao. One consequence of this is that groups outside China that describe themselves as Maoist generally regard China as having repudiated Maoism and restoring capitalism, and there is a broad perception both inside and outside China that China has abandoned Maoism. However, while it is now permissible to question the particular actions of Mao and talk about excesses taken in the name of Maoism, there is a prohibition in China on either publicly questioning the validity of Maoism or whether the current actions of the CCP are "Maoist".


title: Maoism

text: Although Mao Zedong Thought is still listed as one of the Four Cardinal Principles of the People's Republic of China, its historical role has been re-assessed. The Communist Party now says that Maoism was necessary to break China free from its feudal past, but it also says that the actions of Mao are seen to have led to excesses during the Cultural Revolution.


title: Maoism

text: The official view is that China has now reached an economic and political stage, known as the primary stage of socialism, in which China faces new and different problems completely unforeseen by Mao, and as such, the solutions that Mao advocated are no longer relevant to China's current conditions. The official proclamation of the new CCP stance came in June 1981, when the Sixth Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee took place. The 35,000-word "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China" reads:


title: Maoism

text: Chief responsibility for the grave 'Left' error of the 'cultural revolution,' an error comprehensive in magnitude and protracted in duration, does indeed lie with Comrade Mao Zedong [...] [and] far from making a correct analysis of many problems, he confused right and wrong and the people with the enemy [...] herein lies his tragedy.


title: Maoism

text: Scholars outside China see this re-working of the definition of Maoism as providing an ideological justification for what they see as the restoration of the essentials of capitalism in China by Deng and his successors, who sought to "eradicate all ideological and physiological obstacles to economic reform". In 1978, this led to the Sino-Albanian split when Albanian leader Enver Hoxha denounced Deng as a revisionist and formed Hoxhaism as an anti-revisionist form of Marxism.


title: Maoism

text: Mao Zedong Thought is defined in the CCP's Constitution as "Marxism–Leninism applied in a Chinese context", synthesised by Mao and China's "first-generation leaders". It asserts that class struggle continues even if the proletariat has already overthrown the bourgeoisie and there are capitalist restorationist elements within the Communist Party itself. Maoism provided the CCP's first comprehensive theoretical guideline regarding how to continue the socialist revolution, the creation of a socialist society, and socialist military construction and highlights various contradictions in society to be addressed by what is termed "socialist construction". While it continues to be lauded to be the major force that defeated "imperialism and feudalism" and created a "New China" by the Chinese Communist Party, the ideology survives only in name on the Communist Party's Constitution as Deng Xiaoping abolished most Maoist practices in 1978, advancing a guiding ideology called "socialism with Chinese characteristics".


title: Maoism

text: The CCP officially regards Mao himself as a "great revolutionary leader" for his role in fighting against the Japanese fascist invasion during the Second World War and creating the People's Republic of China, but Maoism, as implemented between 1959 and 1976, is regarded by today's CCP as an economic and political disaster. In Deng's day, support of radical Maoism was regarded as a form of "left deviationism" and based on a cult of personality, although these "errors" are officially attributed to the Gang of Four rather than Mao himself. Thousands of Maoists were arrested in the Hua Guofeng period after 1976. The prominent Maoists Zhang Chunqiao and Jiang Qing were sentenced to death with a two-year-reprieve, while others were sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for 15 years.


title: Maoism

text: After the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Mao's influence was even weaker than Jin Yong's wuxia novels. However, in the 2020s, influenced by the growing wealth gap and the 996 working hour system, Mao's thoughts are being revived in China's generation Z, as they even question authority of the CCP. Chinese government has censored some Maoist posts.


title: Maoism

text: After the death of Mao in 1976 and the resulting power struggles in China that followed, the international Maoist movement was divided into three camps. One group, composed of various ideologically nonaligned groups, gave weak support to the new Chinese leadership under Deng Xiaoping. Another camp denounced the new leadership as traitors to the cause of Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought. The third camp sided with the Albanians in denouncing the Three Worlds Theory of the CCP (see the Sino-Albanian split).


title: Maoism

text: The pro-Albanian camp would start to function as an international group as well (led by Enver Hoxha and the APL) and was also able to amalgamate many of the communist groups in Latin America, including the Communist Party of Brazil. Later, Latin American Communists, such as Peru's Shining Path, also embraced the tenets of Maoism.


title: Maoism

text: The new Chinese leadership showed little interest in the foreign groups supporting Mao's China. Many of the foreign parties that were fraternal parties aligned with the Chinese government before 1975 either disbanded, abandoned the new Chinese government entirely, or even renounced Marxism–Leninism and developed into non-communist, social democratic parties. What is today called the international Maoist movement evolved out of the second camp—the parties that opposed Deng and said they upheld the true legacy of Mao.


title: Maoism

text: The theory of the New Democracy was known to the Chinese revolutionaries from the late 1940s. This thesis held that for most people, the long road to socialism could only be opened by a "national, popular, democratic, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolution, run by the communists".


title: Maoism

text: Holding that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun", Maoism emphasises the "revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people against the exploiting classes and their state structures", which Mao termed a "people's war". Mobilizing large parts of rural populations to revolt against established institutions by engaging in guerrilla warfare, Maoist Thought focuses on "surrounding the cities from the countryside".


title: Maoism

text: Maoism views the industrial-rural divide as a major division exploited by capitalism, identifying capitalism as involving industrial urban developed First World societies ruling over rural developing Third World societies. Maoism identifies peasant insurgencies in particular national contexts as part of a context of world revolution, in which Maoism views the global countryside as overwhelming the global cities. Due to this imperialism by the capitalist urban First World toward the rural Third World, Maoism has endorsed national liberation movements in the Third World.


title: Maoism

text: Building on the theory of the vanguard party by Vladimir Lenin, the theory of the mass line outlines a strategy for the revolutionary leadership of the masses, consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and strengthening of the party and the building of socialism. The mass line can be summarised as "from the masses, to the masses". It has three components or stages:


title: Maoism

text: These three steps should be applied repeatedly, reiteratively uplifting practice and knowledge to higher and higher stages.


title: Maoism

text: The theory of the Cultural Revolution - rooted in Marxism-Leninism thought - states that the proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat do not wipe out bourgeois ideology; the class struggle continues and even intensifies during socialism. Therefore a constant struggle against bourgeois ideology, traditional cultural values, and the social roots that encourage both of them must be conducted in order to create and maintain a society in which socialism can succeed.


title: Maoism

text: Practical examples of this theory's application can be seen in the rapid social changes underwent by post-revolution Soviet Union in the late 1920's -1930's as well as pre-revolution China in the New Culture and May Fourth movements of the 1910's-1920's. Both of these sociocultural movements can be seen as shaping Maoist theory on the need for and goals of Cultural Revolution, and subsequently the mass cultural movements enacted by the CCP under Mao, which include the Great Leap Forward, the Anti-rightist movement of the 1950's and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the 1960's-1970's.


title: Maoism

text: The social upheavals that occurred from the New Culture Movement - as well as the May Fourth Movement that followed it - largely focused around the dismantling of traditional Han Chinese cultural norms in which the majority of the populace were illiterate and largely uneducated. This consequence of this social dynamic was that political and economic power largely resided in the hands of a small group of educated elites, and Han Chinese culture formed around principles of respect and reverence for these educated and powerful authority figures. The aforementioned movements sought to combat these social norms through grassroots educational campaigns which were focused primarily around giving educational opportunities towards to people from traditionally uneducated families and normalizing all people to be comfortable making challenges towards traditional figures of authority in Confucian society.


title: Maoism

text: The cultural revolution experienced by the Soviet Union was similar to the New Culture and May Fourth movements experienced by China in that it also placed a great importance on mass education and the normalization of challenging of traditional cultural norms in the realizing of a socialist society. However, the movements occurring in the Soviet Union had a far more adversarial mindset towards proponents of traditional values, with leadership in the party taking action to censor and exile these "enemies of change" on over 200 occasions, rather than exclusively putting pressure on these forces by enacting additive social changes such as education campaigns.


title: Maoism

text: The most prominent example of a Maoist application of Cultural Revolution can be seen in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the 1960's and 1970's wherein Mao claimed that "Revisionist" forces had entered society and infiltrated the government, with the goal of reinstating traditionalism and capitalism in China. Leaning more on the example of the Soviet Union, which involved the silencing and subjugation of adversarial political forces to help bring about a cultural change, Mao called for his followers to speak openly and critically about revisionist forces that they were observing in society and to expel them, assuring them that their actions would be endorsed by the party and that their efforts would in now way be interfered with. This warrant granted to the public ultimately lead to roughly ten years in which those seen as "Revisionist" forces - largely understood to mean landlords, rich peasants, and the so called "bourgeoise academic" - were publicly criticized and denounced in places of gathering, and in more extreme examples had physical violence inflicted on them, including being beaten, tortured and/or killed for their perceived crimes.


title: Maoism

text: Mao drew from the writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin in elaborating his theory. Philosophically, his most important reflections emerge on the concept of "contradiction" ("maodun"). In two major essays, "On Contradiction" and "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People", he adopts the positivist-empiricist idea (shared by Engels) that contradiction is present in matter itself and thus also in the ideas of the brain. Matter always develops through a dialectical contradiction: "The interdependence of the contradictory aspects present in all things and the struggle between these aspects determine the life of things and push their development forward. There is nothing that does not contain contradiction; without contradiction nothing would exist".


title: Maoism

text: Mao held that contradictions were the essential feature of society, and a wide range of contradictions dominates society, this calls for various strategies. Revolution is necessary to resolve antagonistic contradictions between labour and capital fully. Contradictions within the revolutionary movement call for an ideological correction to prevent them from becoming antagonistic. Furthermore, each contradiction (including class struggle, the contradiction holding between relations of production and the concrete development of forces of production) expresses itself in a series of other contradictions, some dominant, others not. "There are many contradictions in the process of development of a complex thing, and one of them is necessarily the principal contradiction whose existence and development determine or influence the existence and development of the other contradictions".


title: Maoism

text: The principal contradiction should be tackled with priority when trying to make the fundamental contradiction "solidify". Mao elaborates on this theme in the essay "On Practice", "on the relation between knowledge and practice, between knowing and doing". Here, "Practice" connects "contradiction" with "class struggle" in the following way, claiming that inside a mode of production, there are three realms where practice functions: economic production, scientific experimentation (which also takes place in economic production and should not be radically disconnected from the former) and finally class struggle. These are the proper objects of economy, scientific knowledge, and politics.


title: Maoism

text: These three spheres deal with matter in its various forms, socially mediated. As a result, they are the only realms where knowledge may arise (since truth and knowledge only make sense in relation to matter, according to Marxist epistemology). Mao emphasises—like Marx in trying to confront the "bourgeois idealism" of his time—that knowledge must be based on empirical evidence. Knowledge results from hypotheses verified in the contrast with a real object; this real object, despite being mediated by the subject's theoretical frame, retains its materiality and will offer resistance to those ideas that do not conform to its truth. Thus in each of these realms (economic, scientific, and political practice), contradictions (principle and secondary) must be identified, explored, and put to function to achieve the communist goal. This involves the need to know "scientifically" how the masses produce (how they live, think and work), to obtain knowledge of how class struggle (the central contradiction that articulates a mode of production in its various realms) expresses itself.


title: Maoism

text: Three Worlds Theory states that during the Cold War, two imperialist states formed the "first world"—the United States and the Soviet Union. The second world consisted of the other imperialist states in their spheres of influence. The third world consisted of non-imperialist countries. Both the first and the second world exploit the third world, but the first world is the most aggressive party. The first- and second-world workers are "bought up" by imperialism, preventing socialist revolution. On the other hand, the people of the third world have not even a short-sighted interest in the prevailing circumstances. Hence revolution is most likely to appear in third-world countries, which again will weaken imperialism, opening up for revolutions in other countries too.


title: Maoism

text: Maoism departs from conventional European-inspired Marxism in that it focuses on the agrarian countryside rather than the urban industrial forces—this is known as agrarian socialism. Notably, Maoist parties in Peru, Nepal, and the Philippines have adopted equal stresses on urban and rural areas, depending on the country's focus on economic activity. Maoism broke with the framework of the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev, dismissing it as "state capitalist" and "revisionist", a pejorative term among communists referring to those who fight for capitalism in the name of socialism and who depart from historical and dialectical materialism.


title: Maoism

text: Although Maoism is critical of urban industrial capitalist powers, it views urban industrialisation as a prerequisite to expanding economic development and the socialist reorganisation of the countryside, with the goal being the achievement of rural industrialisation that would abolish the distinction between town and countryside.


title: Maoism

text: From 1962 onwards, the challenge to the Soviet hegemony in the world communist movement made by the CCP resulted in various divisions in communist parties around the world. At an early stage, the Albanian Party of Labour sided with the CCP. So did many of the mainstream (non-splinter group) Communist parties in South-East Asia, like the Communist Party of Burma, the Communist Party of Thailand, and the Communist Party of Indonesia. Some Asian parties, like the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Workers' Party of Korea, attempted to take a middle-ground position.


title: Maoism

text: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge is said to have been a replica of the Maoist regime. According to the BBC, the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) in Cambodia, better known as the Khmer Rouge, identified strongly with Maoism and is generally labelled a Maoist movement today. However, Maoists and Marxists generally contend that the CPK strongly deviated from Marxist doctrine and the few references to Maoist China in CPK propaganda were critical of the Chinese.


title: Maoism

text: Various efforts have sought to regroup the international communist movement under Maoism since Mao's death in 1976. Many parties and organisations were formed in the West and Third World that upheld links to the CCP. Often they took names such as Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist) or Revolutionary Communist Party to distinguish themselves from the traditional pro-Soviet communist parties. The pro-CCP movements were, in many cases, based on the wave of student radicalism that engulfed the world in the 1960s and 1970s.


title: Maoism

text: Only one Western classic communist party sided with the CCP, the Communist Party of New Zealand. Under the leadership of the CCP and Mao Zedong, a parallel international communist movement emerged to rival that of the Soviets, although it was never as formalised and homogeneous as the pro-Soviet tendency.


title: Maoism

text: Another effort at regrouping the international communist movement is the International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organisations (ICMLPO). Three notable parties participating in the ICMLPO are the Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD), the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and Marxist–Leninist Communist Organization – Proletarian Way. The ICMLPO seeks to unify around Marxism–Leninism, not Maoism. However, some parties and organisations within the ICMLPO identify as Mao Zedong Thought or Maoist.


title: Maoism

text: The Progressive Youth Organization was a Maoist organisation in Afghanistan. It was founded in 1965 with Akram Yari as its first leader, advocating the overthrow of the then-current order through people's war.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan was founded in 2004 through the merger of five MLM parties.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) is a Maoist organisation in Australia. It was founded in 1964 as a pro-Mao split from the Australian Communist Party.


title: Maoism

text: The Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party is a Maoist party in Bangladesh. It was founded in 1968 with Siraj Sikder as its first leader. The party played a role in the Bangladesh Liberation War.


title: Maoism

text: The Sino-Soviet split had a significant influence on communism in Belgium. The pro-Soviet Communist Party of Belgium experienced a split of a Maoist wing under Jacques Grippa. The latter was a lower-ranking CPB member before the split, but Grippa rose in prominence as he formed a worthy internal Maoist opponent to the CPB leadership. His followers were sometimes referred to as Grippisten or Grippistes. When it became clear that the differences between the pro-Moscow leadership and the pro-Beijing wing were too significant, Grippa and his entourage decided to split from the CPB and formed the Communist Party of Belgium – Marxist–Leninist (PCBML). The PCBML had some influence, mainly in the heavily industrialised Borinage region of Wallonia, but never managed to gather more support than the CPB. The latter held most of its leadership and base within the pro-Soviet camp. However, the PCBML was the first European Maoist party and was recognised at its foundation as the largest and most important Maoist organisation in Europe outside of Albania.


title: Maoism

text: Although the PCBML never really gained a foothold in Flanders, there was a reasonably successful Maoist movement in this region. Out of the student unions that formed in the wake of the May 1968 protests, Alle Macht Aan De Arbeiders (AMADA), or All Power To The Workers, was formed as a vanguard party under construction. This Maoist group originated primarily from students from the universities of Leuven and Ghent but did manage to gain some influence among the striking miners during the shutdowns of the Belgian stone coal mines in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This group became the Workers' Party of Belgium (PVDA-PTB) in 1979 and still exists today, although its power base has shifted somewhat from Flanders towards Wallonia. The WPB stayed loyal to the teachings of Mao for a long time, but after a general congress held in 2008, the party formally broke with its Maoist/Stalinist past.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist Party of Ecuador – Red Sun, also known as "Puka Inti", is a small Maoist guerrilla organisation in Ecuador.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is the leading Maoist organisation in India. The CPI (Maoist) is designated as a terrorist organzation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.


title: Maoism

text: The Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran) was an Iran Maoist organisation. The UIC (S) was formed in 1976 after the alliance of Maoist groups carrying out military actions within Iran. In 1982, the UIC (S) mobilised forces in forests around Amol and launched an insurgency against the Islamist Government. The uprising was eventually a failure, and many UIC (S) leaders were shot. The party dissolved in 1982.


title: Maoism

text: Following the dissolution of the Union of Iranian Communists, the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) was formed in 2001. The party is a continuation of the Sarbedaran Movement and the Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran). CPI (MLM) believes Iran is a 'semifeudal-semicolonial' country and is trying to launch a 'People's war' in Iran.


title: Maoism

text: The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Maoist political and military organisation. The DFLP's original political orientation was based on the view that Palestinian national goals could be achieved only through a revolution of the masses and people's war.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist Party of the Philippines is the largest communist party in the Philippines, active since December 26, 1968 (Mao's birthday). It was formed due to the First Great Rectification Movement and a split between the old Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930, which the founders saw as revisionist. The CPP was formed on Maoist lines in stark contrast with the old PKP, which focued primarily on the parliamentary struggle. The CPP was founded by Jose Maria Sison and other cadres from the old party.


title: Maoism

text: The CPP also has an armed wing that it exercises absolute control over, namely the New People's Army. It currently wages a guerrilla war against the government of the Republic of the Philippines in the countryside and is still currently active. The CPP and the NPA are part of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, a consolidation of Maoist sectoral organisations such as Kabataang Makabayan as part of the united front strategy. The NDFP also represents the people's democratic government in peace talks.


title: Maoism

text: In the late 1970s, the Peruvian Communist Party, Shining Path developed and synthesised Maoism into Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, a contemporary variety of Marxism–Leninism that is a supposed higher level of Marxism–Leninism that can be applied universally.


title: Maoism

text: Maoist movements in Portugal were very active during the 1970s, especially during the Carnation Revolution that led to the fall of the nationalist government (the Estado Novo) in 1974.


title: Maoism

text: Portugal's most significant Maoist movement was the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party. The party was among the most active resistance movements before the Portuguese democratic revolution of 1974, especially among students of Lisbon. After the revolution, the MRPP achieved fame for its large and highly artistic mural paintings.


title: Maoism

text: Intensely active between 1974 and 1975, during that time, the party had members that later came to be significant in national politics. For example, a future Prime Minister of Portugal, José Manuel Durão Barroso, was active in Maoist movements in Portugal and identified as a Maoist. In the 1980s, the Forças Populares 25 de Abril was another far-left Maoist armed organisation operating in Portugal between 1980 and 1987, aiming to create socialism in post-revolutionary Portugal.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist Party of Spain (Reconstituted) was a Spanish clandestine Maoist party. The party's armed wing was the First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups.


title: Maoism

text: In 1968, a small extremist Maoist sect called Rebels () was established in Stockholm. Led by Francisco Sarrión, the group unsuccessfully demanded that the Chinese embassy admit them into the Chinese Communist Party. The organisation only lasted a few months.


title: Maoism

text: The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML) is a Maoist organisation in Turkey currently waging a people's war against the Turkish government. It was founded in 1972 as a split from another illegal Maoist party, the Revolutionary Workers' and Peasants' Party of Turkey (TİİKP), which Doğu Perinçek founded in 1969, led by İbrahim Kaypakkaya. The party's armed wing is named the Workers' and Peasants' Liberation Army in Turkey (TİKKO).


title: Maoism

text: After the tumultuous 1960s (particularly the events of 1968, such as the launch of the Tet Offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., nationwide university protests, and the election of Richard Nixon), proponents of Maoist ideology constituted the "largest and most dynamic" branch of American socialism. From this branch came a collection of "newspapers, journals, books, and pamphlets," each of which spoke on the unreformability of the American system and proclaimed the need for a concerted social revolution. Among the many Maoist principles, the group of aspiring American revolutionaries sympathized with the idea of a protracted people's war, which would allow citizens to address the oppressive nature of global capitalism martially.


title: Maoism

text: Mounting discontent with racial oppression and socioeconomic exploitation birthed the two largest, officially-organized Maoist groups: the Revolutionary Communist Party and the October League. However, these were not the only groups: a slew of organizations and movements emerged across the globe as well, including I Wor Kuen, the Black Workers Congress, the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Workers Organization, the August Twenty-Ninth Movement, the Workers Viewpoint Organization, and many others—all of which overtly supported Maoist doctrine.


title: Maoism

text: Orchestrated by "The Guardian," in the spring of 1973, an attempt to conflate the strands of American Maoism was made with a series of sponsored forums titled "What Road to Building a New Communist Party?" The forums drew 1,200 attendees to a New York City auditorium that spring. The central message of the event revolved around "building an anti-revisionist, non-Trotskyist, non-anarchist party". From this, other forums were held worldwide, covering topics such as "The Role of the Anti-Imperialist Forces in the Antiwar Movement" and "The Question of the Black Nation"—each forum rallying, on average, an audience of 500 activists, and serving as a "barometer of the movement's strength."


title: Maoism

text: The Americans' burgeoning Maoist and Marxist–Leninist movements proved optimistic for a potential revolution, but "a lack of political development and rampant rightist and ultra-leftist opportunism" thwarted the advancement of the greater communist initiative. In 1972, Richard Nixon made a landmark visit to the People's Republic of China to shake hands with Chairman Mao Zedong; this simple handshake marked the gradual pacification of Eastern–Western hostility and the re-formation of relations between "the most powerful and most populous" global powers: the United States and China. Nearly a decade after the Sino-Soviet split, this newfound amiability between the two nations quieted American-based counter-capitalist rumblings and marked the steady decline of American Maoism until its unofficial cessation in the early-1980s.


title: Maoism

text: The Black Panthers Party (BPP) was another American-based, left-wing revolutionary party to oppose American global imperialism; it was a self-described Black militant organization with metropolitan chapters in Oakland, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles, and an overt sympathizer with global anti-imperialistic movements (e.g., Vietnam's resistance of American neo-colonial efforts). In 1971, a year before Nixon's monumental visit, BPP leader Huey P. Newton landed in China, whereafter he was enthralled with the mystical East and the achievements of the Chinese Communist Revolution. After his return to the United States, Newton said that "[e]verything I saw in China demonstrated that the People's Republic is a free and liberated territory with a socialist government" and "[t]o see a classless society in operation is unforgettable". He extolled the Chinese police force as one that "[served] the people" and considered the Chinese antithetical to American law enforcement, which, according to Newton, represented "one huge armed group that was opposed to the will of the people". In general, Newton's first encounter with anti-capitalist society commenced a psychological liberation and embedded within him the desire to subvert the American system in favor of what the BPP called "revolutionary intercommunalism". Furthermore, the BPP was founded on a similar politico-philosophical framework as that of Mao's CCP, that is, "the philosophical system of dialectical materialism" coupled with traditional Marxist theory. The words of Mao, quoted liberally in BPP speeches and writings, served as a guiding light for the party's analysis and theoretical application of Marxist ideology.


title: Maoism

text: Chairman Mao says that death comes to all of us, but it varies in its significance: to die for the reactionary is lighter than a feather; to die for the revolution is heavier than Mount Tai. [...] When I presented my solutions to the problems of Black people, or when I expressed my philosophy, people said, "Well, isn't that socialism?" Some of them were using the socialist label to put me down, but I figured that if this was socialism, then socialism must be a correct view. So I read more of the works of the socialists and began to see a strong similarity between my beliefs and theirs. My conversion was complete when I read the four volumes of Mao Tse-tung to learn more about the Chinese Revolution.


title: Maoism

text: Maoism has fallen out of favor within the Chinese Communist Party, beginning with Deng Xiaoping's reforms in 1978. Deng believed that Maoism showed the dangers of "ultra-leftism", manifested in the harm perpetrated by the various mass movements that characterized the Maoist era. In Chinese communism, the term "left" can be considered a euphemism for Maoist policies. However, Deng stated that the revolutionary side of Maoism should be considered separate from the governance side, leading to his famous epithet that Mao was "70% right, 30% wrong". Chinese scholars generally agree that Deng's interpretation of Maoism preserves the legitimacy of Communist rule in China but simultaneously criticizes Mao's brand of economic and political governance.


title: Maoism

text: Critic Graham Young says that Maoists see Joseph Stalin as the last true socialist leader of the Soviet Union but allows the Maoist assessments of Stalin to vary between the extremely positive and the more ambivalent. Some political philosophers, such as Martin Cohen, have seen in Maoism an attempt to combine Confucianism and socialism—what one such called "a third way between communism and capitalism".


title: Maoism

text: Enver Hoxha critiqued Maoism from a Marxist–Leninist perspective, arguing that New Democracy halts class struggle and allows unrestricted capitalist exploitation, that the theory of the three worlds is "counter-revolutionary", and questioned Mao's guerilla warfare methods.


title: Maoism

text: Some say Mao departed from Leninism not only in his near-total lack of interest in the urban working class but also in his concept of the nature and role of the party. For Lenin, the party was sacrosanct because it was the incarnation of the "proletarian consciousness", and there was no question about who were the teachers and who were the pupils. On the other hand, for Mao, this question would always be virtually impossible to answer.


title: Maoism

text: The implementation of Maoist thought in China was responsible for as many as 70 million deaths during peacetime, with the Cultural Revolution, the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957–1958, and the Great Leap Forward. Some historians have argued that because of Mao's land reforms during the Great Leap Forward which resulted in famines, thirty million perished between 1958 and 1961. By the end of 1961, the birth rate was nearly cut in half because of malnutrition. Active campaigns, including party purges and "reeducation", resulted in imprisonment or the execution of those deemed contrary to the implementation of Maoist ideals. The incidents of destruction of cultural heritage, religion, and art remain controversial. Some Western scholars saw Maoism as specifically engaged in a battle to dominate and subdue nature and was a catastrophe for the environment.


title: Maoism

text: Mao also believed strongly in the concept of a unified people. These notions prompted him to investigate the peasant uprisings in Hunan while the rest of China's communists were in the cities and focused on the orthodox Marxist proletariat. Many of the pillars of Maoism, such as the distrust of intellectuals and the abhorrence of occupational speciality, are typical populist ideas. The concept of "people's war", central to Maoist thought, is directly populist in its origins. Mao believed that intellectuals and party cadres would first become students of the masses and teachers of the masses later. This concept was vital to the aforementioned "people's war" strategy.


title: Maoism

text: Mao's nationalist impulses also played a crucially important role in adapting Marxism to the Chinese model and in the formation of Maoism. Mao believed that China was to play a crucial preliminary role in the socialist revolution internationally. This belief, or the fervor with which Mao held it, separated Mao from the other Chinese communists and led Mao onto the path of what Leon Trotsky called "Messianic Revolutionary Nationalism", which was central to his philosophy. German post–World War II far-right activist Michael Kühnen, a former Maoist, once praised Maoism as a Chinese form of Nazism.


title: Maoism

text: Mao-Spontex refers to a Maoist interpretation in western Europe that stresses the importance of the cultural revolution and overthrowing hierarchy.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. She was originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, but her career prospects improved greatly following her portrayal of Nora Charles in "The Thin Man" (1934).


title: Myrna Loy

text: Born in Helena, Montana, Loy was raised in rural Radersburg during her early childhood, before relocating to Los Angeles with her mother in her early adolescence. There, she began studying dance, and trained extensively throughout her high school education. She was discovered by production designer Natacha Rambova, who helped facilitate film auditions for her, and she began obtaining small roles in the late 1920s, mainly portraying vamps. Her role in "The Thin Man" helped elevate her reputation as a versatile actress, and she reprised the role of Nora Charles five more times.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Loy's performances peaked in the 1940s, with films like "The Thin Man Goes Home", "The Best Years of Our Lives", "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer", and "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House". She appeared in only a few films in the 1950s, including a lead role in the comedy "Cheaper by the Dozen" (1950), as well as supporting parts in "The Ambassador's Daughter" (1956) and the drama "Lonelyhearts" (1958). She appeared in only eight films between 1960 and 1981, after which she retired from acting.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Although Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award, in March 1991 she received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her life's work both onscreen and off, including serving as assistant to the director of military and naval welfare for the Red Cross during World War II, and a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO. In 2009, "The Guardian" named her one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Loy died in December 1993 in New York City, aged 88.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905, in Helena, Montana, the daughter of Adelle Mae (née Johnson) and rancher David Franklin Williams. Her parents had married in Helena in 1904, one year before Loy was born. She had one younger brother, David Frederick Williams ( 1982). Loy's paternal grandfather, David Thomas Williams, was Welsh, and emigrated from Liverpool, England to the United States in 1856, arriving in Philadelphia. Unable to read or write in English, he later settled in the Montana Territory where he began a career as a rancher. Loy's maternal grandparents were Scottish and Swedish immigrants. During her childhood, her father worked as a banker, real estate developer, and farmland appraiser in Helena, and was the youngest man ever elected to serve in the Montana state legislature. Her mother had studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, and at one time considered a career as a concert performer, but instead devoted her time to raising Loy and her brother. Loy's mother was a lifelong Democrat, while her father was a staunch Republican. She was raised in the Methodist faith.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Loy spent her early life in Radersburg, Montana, a rural mining community approximately southeast of Helena. During the winter of 1912, Loy's mother nearly died from pneumonia, and her father sent his wife and daughter to La Jolla, California. Loy's mother saw great potential in Southern California, and during one of her husband's visits, she encouraged him to purchase real estate there. Among the properties he bought was land that he would later sell, at a considerable profit, to filmmaker Charlie Chaplin for his film studio there. Although her mother tried to persuade her husband to move to California permanently, he preferred ranch life and the three eventually returned to Montana. Soon afterward, Loy's mother needed a hysterectomy and insisted Los Angeles was a safer place to have it done, so she, Loy, and Loy's brother David moved to Ocean Park, where Loy began to take dancing lessons. After the family returned to Montana, Loy continued her dancing lessons, and at the age of 12, Myrna Williams made her stage debut performing a dance she had choreographed based on "The Blue Bird" from the "Rose Dream" operetta at Helena's Marlow Theater.


title: Myrna Loy

text: When Loy was 13, her father died during the 1918 flu pandemic in November of that year. Loy's mother permanently relocated the family to California, where they settled in Culver City, outside Los Angeles. Loy attended the exclusive Westlake School for Girls while continuing to study dance in downtown Los Angeles. When her teachers objected to her extracurricular participation in theatrical arts, her mother enrolled her in Venice High School, and at 15, she began appearing in local stage productions.


title: Myrna Loy

text: In 1921, Loy posed for Venice High School sculpture teacher Harry Fielding Winebrenner as "Inspiration"; the full length figure was central in his allegorical sculpture group "Fountain of Education". Completed in 1922, the sculpture group was installed in front of the campus outdoor pool in May 1923 where it stood for decades. Loy's slender figure with her uplifted face and one arm extending skyward presented a "vision of purity, grace, youthful vigor, and aspiration" that was singled out in a "Los Angeles Times" story that included a photo of the "Inspiration" figure along with the model's name—the first time her name appeared in a newspaper. A few months later, Loy's "Inspiration" figure was temporarily removed from the sculpture group and transported aboard the battleship for a Memorial Day pageant in which "Miss Myrna Williams" participated. "Fountain of Education" can be seen in the opening scenes of the 1978 film "Grease". After decades of exposure to the elements and vandalism, the original concrete statue was removed from display in 2002, and replaced in 2010 by a bronze duplicate paid for through an alumni-led fundraising campaign.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Loy left school at the age of 18 to begin to help with the family's finances. She obtained work at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, where she performed in what were called prologues, elaborate musical sequences that were related to and served as preliminary entertainment before the feature film. During this period, Loy saw Eleonora Duse in the play "Thy Will Be Done", and the simple acting techniques she employed made such an impact on Loy that she tried to emulate them throughout her career.


title: Myrna Loy

text: While Loy was dancing in prologues at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, portrait photographer Henry Waxman took several pictures of her that were noticed by Rudolph Valentino when the actor went to Waxman's studio for a sitting. Valentino was looking for a leading lady for "Cobra", the first independent project he and his wife Natacha Rambova were producing. Loy tested for the role, which went to Gertrude Olmstead instead, but soon after that she was hired as an extra for "Pretty Ladies" (1925), in which she and fellow newcomer Joan Crawford were among a bevy of chorus girls dangling from an elaborate chandelier.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Rambova hired Loy for a small but showy role opposite Nita Naldi in "What Price Beauty?", a film she was producing. Shot in May 1925, the film remained unreleased for three years; but stills of Loy in her exotic makeup and costume appeared in "Motion Picture" magazine and led to a contract with Warner Bros. There, her surname was changed from Williams to Loy.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Loy's silent film roles were mainly as a vamp or "femme fatale", and she frequently portrayed characters of Asian or Eurasian background in films such as "Across the Pacific" (1926), "A Girl in Every Port" (1928), "The Crimson City" (1928), "The Black Watch" (1929), and "The Desert Song" (1929), which she later recalled "kind of solidified my exotic non-American image." In 1930 she appeared in "The Great Divide". It took years for her to overcome this typecasting, and as late as 1932, she was cast as a villainous Eurasian in "Thirteen Women" (1932). She also played, opposite Boris Karloff, the depraved sadistic daughter of the title character in "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932).


title: Myrna Loy

text: In 1932, Loy began dating producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., when he was still married to his wife, Juliette Crosby.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Prior to that, Loy appeared in small roles in "The Jazz Singer" and a number of early lavish Technicolor musicals, including "The Show of Shows", "The Bride of the Regiment", and "Under a Texas Moon". As a result, she became associated with musical roles, and when they began to lose favor with the public, her career went into a slump. In 1934, Loy appeared in "Manhattan Melodrama" with Clark Gable and William Powell. When gangster John Dillinger was shot to death after leaving a screening of the film at the Biograph Theater in Chicago, the film received widespread publicity, with some newspapers reporting that Loy had been Dillinger's favorite actress.


title: Myrna Loy

text: After appearing with Ramón Novarro in "The Barbarian" (1933), Loy was cast as Nora Charles in the 1934 film "The Thin Man". Director W. S. Van Dyke chose Loy after he detected a wit and sense of humor that her previous films had not revealed. At a Hollywood party, he pushed her into a swimming pool to test her reaction, and felt that her aplomb in handling the situation was exactly what he envisioned for Nora. Louis B. Mayer at first refused to allow Loy to play the part because he felt she was a dramatic actress, but Van Dyke insisted. Mayer finally relented on the condition that filming be completed within three weeks, as Loy was committed to start filming "Stamboul Quest". "The Thin Man" became one of the year's biggest hits, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Loy received excellent reviews and was acclaimed for her comedic skills. Her costar William Powell and she proved to be a popular screen couple and appeared in 14 films together, one of the most prolific pairings in Hollywood history. Loy later referred to "The Thin Man" as the film "that finally made me... after more than 80 films."


title: Myrna Loy

text: Her successes in "Manhattan Melodrama" and "The Thin Man" marked a turning point in her career, and she was cast in more important pictures. Such films as "Wife vs. Secretary" (1936) with Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, and "Petticoat Fever" (1936) with Robert Montgomery gave her opportunity to develop comedic skills. She made four films in close succession with William Powell: "Libeled Lady" (1936), which also starred Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy; "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936), in which she played Billie Burke opposite Powell's Florenz Ziegfeld; the second Thin Man film, "After the Thin Man" (1936), with Powell and James Stewart; and the romantic comedy "Double Wedding" (1937). Loy married Arthur Hornblow in 1936, in between filming the successive productions. She was later rumored to have had affairs with co-star Tracy between 1935 and 1936, while filming "Whipsaw" and "Libeled Lady". Later, Loy revealed to educator Alan Greenberg that she was in love with Spencer Tracy: "I loved him and I really did love him. I loved him. I mean I was in love with him and she [Katharine Hepburn] got in the way".


title: Myrna Loy

text: She also made three more films with Gable at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM): "Parnell" (1937) was a historical drama and one of the most poorly received films of either Loy's or Gable's career, but their other pairings in "Test Pilot" and "Too Hot to Handle" (both 1938) were successes. While working for MGM, Loy was outspoken about the studio's casting hierarchy, especially based on race, and was quoted as saying: "Why does every black person in the movies have to play a servant? How about a black person walking up the steps of a court house carrying a briefcase?"


title: Myrna Loy

text: During this period, Loy was one of Hollywood's busiest and highest-paid actresses, and in 1937 and 1938 she was listed in the annual "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars", which was compiled from the votes of movie exhibitors throughout the United States for the stars who had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year.


title: Myrna Loy

text: By the late 1930s, Loy was highly regarded for her performances in romantic comedies, and she was anxious to demonstrate her dramatic ability. She was cast in the lead female role in "The Rains Came" (1939) opposite Tyrone Power. She filmed "Third Finger, Left Hand" (1940) with Melvyn Douglas and appeared in "I Love You Again" (1940), "Love Crazy" (1941), and "Shadow of the Thin Man" (1941), all with William Powell.


title: Myrna Loy

text: On June 1, 1942, Loy divorced husband Hornblow in Reno, citing "mental cruelty" as the impetus for separating. Five days after the divorce, she married John D. Hertz, Jr. an advertising executive and founder of Hertz Rent A Car, at his sister's home in New York City. They remained married for two years, eventually divorcing in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on August 21, 1944, with Loy again citing mental cruelty.


title: Myrna Loy

text: With the outbreak of World War II the same year, Loy all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and began devoting her time working with the Red Cross. She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist, resulting in her films being banned in Germany. She also helped run a Naval Auxiliary canteen and toured frequently to raise funds for the war efforts. Around 1945, Loy began dating producer and screenwriter Gene Markey, who had previously been married to actresses Joan Bennett and Hedy Lamarr. The two were married in a private ceremony on January 3, 1946, at the chapel on Terminal Island, while Markey was serving in the military.


title: Myrna Loy

text: She returned to films with "The Thin Man Goes Home" (1945). In 1946, she played the wife of returning serviceman Fredric March in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946). Loy was paired with Cary Grant in David O. Selznick's "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" (1947). The film co-starred a teenaged Shirley Temple. Following its success, she appeared again with Grant in "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" (1948).


title: Myrna Loy

text: In 1950, Loy co-starred with Clifton Webb in "Cheaper by the Dozen" (1950), which was a box-office hit, grossing $4.4 million in the United States. The same year, she divorced Markey. Her fourth and final husband was Howland H. Sargeant, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and president of Radio Liberty, whom she married on June 2, 1951, in Fort Myer, Virginia. Sargeant, a Presbyterian, wanted the marriage officiated in the church, but they were unable to do so due to Loy's recent divorce.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Throughout the 1950s, Loy assumed an influential role as co-chairman of the Advisory Council of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing. In 1948, she had become a member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, the first Hollywood celebrity to do so. In 1952, she starred in the "Cheaper by the Dozen" sequel, "Belles on Their Toes". In 1956, she appeared in "The Ambassador's Daughter" along with John Forsythe and Olivia de Havilland. She played opposite Montgomery Clift and Robert Ryan in "Lonelyhearts" (1958), Dore Schary's adaptation of Nathanael West's classic 1933 novel "Miss Lonelyhearts". In 1960, she appeared in "Midnight Lace" and "From the Terrace", but was not in another film until 1969 in "The April Fools". In 1965, Loy won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. Loy, a lifelong Democrat, publicly supported the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, finding Richard Nixon to be an unscrupulous man. Loy also dedicated herself to fighting for African-American civil rights, serving as co-chair of the Advisory Council of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing. She would endorse Eugene McCarthy, and later Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and George McGovern in 1972.


title: Myrna Loy

text: After divorcing her fourth husband Sargeant in 1960, Loy relocated to 23 East 74th Street in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She later lived at 425 East 63rd Street. In 1967, she was cast in the television series "The Virginian", appearing in an episode titled "Lady of the House." Also in 1967, she appeared on "Family Affair" in the episode "A Helping Hand" as a woman out of work and taking on hired-help and cook work, comically aided by Mr. French, though, the job did not work out, and she takes the failure out on John Williams, who was temporarily substituting for Sebastian Cabot in the role of Mr. French. In 1972, she appeared as the suspect's mother-in-law in an episode of the television series "Columbo" titled "Étude in Black". In 1974, she had a supporting part in "Airport 1975" playing Mrs. Devaney, a heavy-drinking woman imbibing Jim Beam and Olympia Beer mixed together; a foil to the character played by Sid Caesar. In 1975, Loy was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent two mastectomies to treat the disease. She kept her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment from the public until the publication of her autobiography in 1987.


title: Myrna Loy

text: In 1978, she appeared in the film "The End" as the mother of the main character played by Burt Reynolds. Her last motion picture performance was in 1980 in Sidney Lumet's "Just Tell Me What You Want". She also returned to the stage, making her Broadway debut in a short-lived 1973 revival of Clare Boothe Luce's "The Women". She toured in a 1978 production of Alan Ayckbourn's "Relatively Speaking", directed by David Clayton.


title: Myrna Loy

text: In 1981, she appeared in the television drama "Summer Solstice", which was Henry Fonda's last performance. Her last acting role was a guest spot on the sitcom "Love, Sidney", in 1982.


title: Myrna Loy

text: In January 1985 Loy was honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a special salute held at Carnegie Hall in New York City, which she attended along with 2,800 guests. Her autobiography, "Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming", was published in 1987. The following year she received a Kennedy Center Honor. Although Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award for any single performance, after an extensive letter-writing campaign and years of lobbying by screenwriter and then-Writers Guild of America, West board member Michael Russnow, who enlisted the support of Loy's former screen colleagues and friends such as Roddy McDowall, Sidney Sheldon, Harold Russell, and many others, she received a 1991 Academy Honorary Award "for her career achievement". She accepted via camera from her New York City home, simply stating, "You've made me very happy. Thank you very much." It was her last public appearance in any medium.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Loy died at age 88 on December 14, 1993, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan during surgery following a long, unspecified illness. She had been frail and in failing health, which had resulted in her being unable to attend the 1991 Academy Awards ceremony, where she was to receive a lifetime achievement Oscar. She was cremated in New York and her ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery in her native Helena, Montana.


title: Myrna Loy

text: For her contribution to the film industry, Loy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6685 Hollywood Boulevard.


title: Myrna Loy

text: A building at Sony Pictures Studios, formerly MGM Studios, in Culver City is named in her honor. A cast of her handprint and her signature are in the sidewalk in front of Theater 80, on St. Mark's Place in New York City.


title: Myrna Loy

text: Steel Pole Bathtub has a song on their 1991 album "Tulip" that is both named after Loy and samples dialogue from one of her films ("Stinky Davis" story, excerpted from "The Thin Man Goes Home", 1945).


title: Myrna Loy

text: In 1991, the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing and Media Arts opened in downtown Helena, not far from Loy's childhood home. Located in the historic Lewis and Clark Country Jail, it sponsors live performances and alternative films for underserved audiences.


title: May Pang

text: May Fung Yee Pang (born October 24, 1950) is an American former music executive. She worked for John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a personal assistant and production coordinator, and when Lennon and Ono separated in 1973, Pang and Lennon began a relationship that lasted more than 18 months. Lennon later referred to this time as his "Lost Weekend". Pang subsequently produced two books about their relationship—a memoir called "Loving John" (Warner, 1983) and a book of photographs, "Instamatic Karma" (St. Martin's Press, 2008).


title: May Pang

text: Pang was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and grew up in New York's Spanish Harlem with an elder sister and an adopted brother, both of whom were born in China. Pang's mother had a laundry business in the area. The Pang family left when the tenements where they lived were scheduled to be razed, and moved to an apartment near 97th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.


title: May Pang

text: After graduating from Saint Michael Academy, Pang attended New York City Community College. She wanted to be a model, but the modeling agencies told her she was too "ethnic". Pang's early jobs included being a song-plugger, which meant encouraging artists to record songs written by songwriters. In 1970, she began work in New York as a receptionist at ABKCO Records, Allen Klein's management office, which at that time represented Apple Records and three former Beatles: Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.


title: May Pang

text: Pang was asked to help Lennon and Ono with their avant-garde film projects, "Up Your Legs Forever" and "Fly", in December 1970. Pang was then asked to be Lennon and Ono's secretary and factotum/gofer in New York and Britain, which led to a permanent position as their personal assistant when the Lennons moved from London to New York in 1971. Pang coordinated an art exhibition in Syracuse, New York, on October 9, 1971, for Ono's "This Is Not Here" art show at the Everson Museum. Ono's show coincided with Lennon's 31st birthday, and a party was held at the Hotel Syracuse, which was attended by Ringo Starr, Phil Spector, and Elliot Mintz, among others.


title: May Pang

text: In mid-1973, Pang was working on the recording of Lennon's "Mind Games" album. Lennon and Ono were having marital problems and Ono suggested to Pang that she become Lennon's companion. Ono explained that she and Lennon were not getting along, had been arguing and were growing apart, and said that Lennon would start seeing other women. She pointed out that Lennon had said he found Pang sexually attractive. Pang replied that she could never start a relationship with Lennon, as he was her employer and married. Ono ignored Pang's protests and said that she would arrange everything. Ono later confirmed this conversation in an interview.


title: May Pang

text: At the time Lennon had his 18-month relationship with Pang, he was in a period of his life that he would later refer to as his "Lost Weekend", in reference to the film and novel of the same title.


title: May Pang

text: In October 1973, Lennon and Pang left New York for Los Angeles to promote "Mind Games", and decided to stay for a while, living at lawyer Harold Seider's apartment for a couple of days and then Lou Adler's house. While there, Lennon was inspired to embark on two recording projects: to make an album of the old rock 'n' roll songs that inspired him to become a musician, and to produce another artist. In December 1973, Lennon collaborated with Phil Spector to record the oldies album "Rock 'n' Roll". The alcohol-fueled recording sessions became legendary. Every musician in L.A. wanted to participate, but soon Lennon's drinking and Spector's erratic behavior (which included his firing a gun in the studio control room) caused the sessions to break down. Then Spector, who claimed to have been in a car accident, took the session tapes and became unreachable.


title: May Pang

text: In March 1974, Lennon began producing Harry Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album, thus named to counter the "bad boy" image the pair had earned in the media with two drinking incidents at The Troubadour. The first was when Lennon placed a Kotex on his forehead and scuffled with a waitress at a concert given by Ann Peebles, who had released one of Lennon's favorite records at the time, 'I Can't Stand The Rain'; and the second, two weeks later, when Lennon and Nilsson were ejected from the same club after heckling the Smothers Brothers. Lennon thought it would be a good idea for the musicians to live under one roof to ensure they would get to the studio on time, so Pang rented a beach house in Santa Monica for her, Lennon, Nilsson, Ringo Starr and Keith Moon to live in. At this time, Pang encouraged Lennon to reach out to family and friends. He and Paul McCartney mended fences and played together for the first and only time after the breakup of the Beatles (see "A Toot and a Snore in '74"). Pang also arranged for Julian Lennon to visit his father for the first time in almost four years.


title: May Pang

text: Julian began to see his father more regularly. Lennon bought Julian a Gibson Les Paul copy guitar and a drum machine for Christmas in 1973, and encouraged Julian's interest in music by showing him some chords. "Dad and I got on a great deal better then," recalls Julian. "We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and had a great time in general when he was with May Pang. My memories of that time with Dad and May are very clear—they were the happiest time I can remember with them." The cover of Julian's seventh album, "Jude," features a childhood photo of him taken by Pang.


title: May Pang

text: In June 1974, Lennon and Pang returned to live in Manhattan. Lennon stopped drinking and concentrated on recording. Lennon previously had cats while he lived at his Aunt Mimi's house in Liverpool; he and Pang adopted two cats that they named Major and Minor. In the early summer, Lennon was working on his "Walls and Bridges" album when the couple moved into a penthouse apartment at 434 East 52nd Street. On August 23, Lennon and Pang claimed to have seen a UFO from their terrace, which had a panoramic view of Queens. To gain access to the deck, Lennon and Pang had to climb out of their kitchen window. On the night in question, a naked Lennon excitedly called Pang to join him on the deck outside and they both watched a circular object silently floating less than 100 feet away. Lennon called Bob Gruen—Lennon's "official" photographer—and told him what had happened. Gruen suggested Lennon should call the police, but Lennon laughed it off, saying, "I’m not going to call up the newspaper and say, 'This is John Lennon and I saw a flying saucer last night.'" Gruen called the local police precinct which confirmed that three other people had reported a sighting, and the "Daily News" said that five people had reported a sighting in the same area of New York where Lennon and Pang lived. Lennon references the incident in the song, "Nobody Told Me".


title: May Pang

text: "Walls and Bridges" rose to the top spot on the album charts. Lennon achieved his only number-one solo US single in his lifetime with "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night". Pang's is the voice whispering Lennon's name on "#9 Dream". Another song, "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)", was written about her. Julian played drums on the album's last track, "Ya Ya". While recording "Walls and Bridges", Al Coury, vice president of promotion for Capitol Records, got possession of the chaotic Spector session tapes and brought them to New York. Lennon would complete his oldies album, which would be called "Rock 'n' Roll", with the same musicians he used on "Walls and Bridges". Pang received an RIAA gold record award for her work on "Walls and Bridges" and continued her work as production coordinator of Lennon's "Rock 'n' Roll" album, where she was credited as "Mother Superior". Pang also worked on albums by Nilsson, Starr, Elton John and David Bowie.


title: May Pang

text: While visiting Mick Jagger at Andy Warhol's compound in Montauk, New York, Lennon and Pang saw a Scottish-style cottage for sale close to the Montauk Point Lighthouse. Lennon asked a real estate broker to put in an offer for it in February 1975. In the same month, Lennon and Pang were also planning on visiting Paul and Linda McCartney in New Orleans, where Wings were recording the "Venus and Mars" album, but Lennon reconciled with Ono the day before the planned visit, after Ono said she had a new cure for Lennon's smoking habit. After the meeting, he failed to return home or call Pang. When Pang telephoned the next day, Ono told her that Lennon was unavailable because he was exhausted after a hypnotherapy session. Two days later, Lennon reappeared at a joint dental appointment; he was stupefied and confused to such an extent that Pang believed he had been brainwashed. Lennon told Pang he had reconciled with Ono and their relationship was over. Over the coming years, Pang quietly met Lennon a few times but their relationship was never rekindled.


title: May Pang

text: Lennon would lament this period publicly but not in private. Journalist Larry Kane, who befriended Lennon in 1964, wrote a comprehensive biography of Lennon which detailed the "Lost Weekend" period. In the interview with Kane, Lennon explained his feelings about his time with Pang; "You know Larry, I may have been the happiest I've ever been... I loved this woman (Pang), I made some beautiful music and I got so fucked up with booze and shit and whatever."


title: May Pang

text: After Lennon returned to Ono, Pang started working for United Artists Records and Island Records as a PR manager, working on albums by Bob Marley and Robert Palmer.


title: May Pang

text: Pang published her memoir, "Loving John", in 1983. It was later updated and renamed "John Lennon: The Lost Weekend". The original 500-page "Loving John" book focused mainly on Pang's role on Lennon's albums and sessions. It was edited down to 300 pages, concentrating mostly on the sensational aspects of their relationship. It also included postcards that Lennon had written to Pang during his travels throughout the world in the late 1970s. Pang claims that she and Lennon remained lovers until 1977, and stayed in contact until his death.