Article Author: Yinhao Zhang

The Material Basis of a Spectre: Why China’s Youth Are Rediscovering Mao

April 1, 2026

Yinhao Zhang explains the aspects of contemporary Chinese society contributing to the resurgent interest in Mao Zedong among China's youth. Mao, Zhang writes, is capturing the interest of a generation dissatisfied with the entrenched power structures and class privilege accompanying the neoliberalization of markets over recent decades. Indeed, these youth are revisiting the very roots of the Chinese Revolution, signaling a yearning for a radical political future.