Mao Zedong , also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao (December 26, 1893September 9, 1976), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and the founding father of the People's Republic of China, which he governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. His Marxist–Leninist theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought.