Tsetung

Tsetung is an older transliteration of the Chinese leader Mao Zedong's name, appearing in some English-language and other-language texts. It reflects transliteration practices such as Wade-Giles and other non-pinyin systems that circulated in the mid-20th century, where 毛泽东 was rendered in variants like Mao Tsetung or Mao Tse-tung.

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) was a Chinese communist leader and one of the founders of the Communist Party of China. Born in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, he helped organize the party, led the Long March (1934–1935), and emerged as its paramount leader. After a civil war, the CCP established the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, and Mao served as the party’s chairman and, later, as the state's head until his death in 1976.

His tenure included large-scale campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962), which aimed to rapidly transform China’s economy and led to famine and the deaths of millions, according to historians; and the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), a political movement that caused significant social and cultural upheaval. Assessments of these policies are varied, with supporters crediting modernization efforts and detractors noting human costs and governance problems.

In modern English usage, the spelling Mao Zedong is standard, with Mao Tse-tung and related variants found in historical sources. The specific rendering Tsetung is largely obsolete today except in certain archival materials.