September 30, 2009: The Empire State Building in New York, lit in red and yellow to honor the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Today is the 60th anniversary of the official founding of the modern Chinese state, when Mao Zedong (1893—1976) made the now historic declaration: “China has stood up!” Memories of Mao in the 20th century don’t have a lot to do with what is going on in China in the early 21st century. But just who he was and what he contributed to the China that has become such a growing presence in the world economy remain big questions.

As a very small contribution to commemorating what the revived ancient culture of China has accomplished over the past 60 years, our resident Ontario historian Randall White has prepared a very short introduction to Chairman Mao and China today. Among other things, Mao was a poet. And White has called his piece “Beware of breaking your heart with too much sadness,” after a line from one of Mao’s poems. CLICK HERE to read on, or see the Countries of the World category to the right of the page.