The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-57

The observation – still oft-heard in China – that Mao Zedong's reign was "seventy percent good and thirty percent bad" relies heavily on the persistent notion that the early years of Communist rule in China were something of a golden age, in which Mao diligently rebuilt the economic and military force of a China that had been ailing for the last century, instituted key social reforms, and united the country around a common sense of purpose. Partly this perception has evolved by virtue of its relative truth: when compared to the wars which preceded it and the man-made famine which followed, 1949-57 perhaps cannot help but seem prosperous and peaceful.