Born in the Hunan Province of the Qing Dynasty, Mao was born into a family of prosperous peasants and became involved with revolutionary politics, nationalism, and anti-imperialism, particularly influenced by the events of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and the May Fourth Movement of 1919. He became involved with Marxism-Leninism when he studied in Peking and became a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party, leading the PRC as a paramount leader until his death on September 9, 1976.