Chapter 03 Upon arriving in Changsha,
I learned that Empress Dowager Cixi had already passed away 1911

Journalist: “When did you go to Changsha?”

Mao: “There was a middle school in Changsha specifically established for people from Xiangxiang. After studying at Dongshan School for half a year, I requested to go to Changsha for further education. A teacher recommended me for enrollment, and despite not being from Xiangxiang, they accepted me. In 1911, at the age of over 17, filled with excitement, I arrived in Changsha and joined Xiangxiang Provincial Middle School.”

Journalist: “How did you feel upon arriving in Changsha?”

Mao: “When I arrived in Changsha, my eyes were opened wide. I realized that my hometown was too isolated. In Changsha, I learned that Empress Dowager Cixi had passed away three years earlier, Emperor Guangxu has also passed away, and the young Emperor Xuantong had ascended the throne. The country had undergone such significant changes, but the countryside was unaware of it.”

Journalist: “The changes in the court didn’t have much impact on the rural peasants, right? They were just focused on farming and livelihood?”

Mao: “Yes, but the death of Empress Dowager Cixi had a tremendous impact on the nation. Without her death, the Xinhai Revolution wouldn’t have succeeded.”