China marked half a century since the death of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic, who brought roughly a quarter of the world's population under Communist Party rule and whose specter still haunts China's future ↧ Mao, Cultural Revolution cast long shadow over China 50 years on China on Wednesday marked half a century since the death of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic, who ​brought roughly a quarter of the world's population under Communist Party rule and whose spectre still haunts China's future.