Hi, I am currently in my last year of high school and one of my subjects is Modern History. I am struggling to get my head around the massive subject matter for my current assignment, which is Mao and Communist China in the 40's ish. We had to set a question ourselves based on the unit we've learnt throughout the term - my key question was 'Why did Mao's communist China begin with the promise of change but ultimately result in a Republic wrought with human rights abuses?' and then I have to answer 3 sub questions throughout my essay, while still answering the overall key question. My sub questions are: 'What were the goals and ideals set by the Chinese Communist party at the beginning of their rule?' 'Did the policies created by Mao Zedong infringe on universal human rights?' and 'Were the issues created in Mao Zedong's China resolved or expounded upon after his death?'
For the most part, with all the research I have done I have information to fill and support my questions. But I am just struggling to find good, reputable sources or readings that I can reference in the essay. Wikipedia and the like are not counted as good references, but first hand accounts are, I think I need some more Primary Sources as well. I am really struggling with writing the essay, and getting any research I have into words if that makes sense.
Hi - we as mods have approved this thread, because while this is a homework question, it is asking for clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself, which is fine according to our rules. This policy is further explained in this Rules Roundtable thread and this META Thread.
As a result, we'd also like to remind potential answerers to follow our rules on homework - please make sure that your answers focus appropriately on clarifications and detailing the resources that OP could be using.
Additionally, while users may be able to help you out with specifics relating to your question, we also have plenty of information on /r/AskHistorians on how to find and understand good sources in general. For instance, please check out our six-part series, "Finding and Understanding Sources", which has a wealth of information that may be useful for finding and understanding information for your essay.
Try Frank Dikötter's 3-part series, The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Communist Revolution, 1945–1957 (2013), Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958–62 (2010), and The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962–1976 (2016) for a really focussed look into Mao. Alternatively, there's Jonathan Spence's The Search for Modern China (1990) which covers China from the Qing onwards.