Sun Yatsen, who advocated nationalism, socialism and democracy and believed that the country ought to be governed by the Chinese people, not foreigners (Gay, K. 2008). Throughout his school life, Mao and his peers read radical newspapers, studied world history and, according to Jonathan Spence, Chinese history specialist and former Professor of History at Yale University, Mao would read "whatever he could find on Sun Yatsen." (Gay, K. 2008). Nearing the end of his education, Mao and his fellow peers learned of student uprisings in the city.
This rebellion and other influences during Mao's adolescence, such as the writings and sermons of revolutionaries (Constructed Worlds, 2014), convinced him that unless he was prepared to use unyielding methods, he would achieve little (Spence, J.D. 1999). .
"These incidents, occurring close together, made lasting impressions on my young mind, already rebellious. In this period also I began to have a certain amount of political consciousness I felt depressed about the future of my country and began to realize that it was the duty of all the people to help save itFour or five days after hearing this speech I determined to join the revolutionary army of Li Yuan-hung." (Davies, J. 1999).
After six months of service, Mao left secondary school in Changsha and dedicated his time to studying and publishing articles in local journals about "the new culture" and promoting cultural reform (Columbia, Asia for Educators.edu, 2004). This could be seen as a period of 'self-education' for young Mao, as he filled his time devouring Western books that molded the thought of China's Westernised Intelligentsia (Meisner, M. 2007). Professor Timothy Cheek, PhD qualified from Harvard University in History and East Asia studies, now director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, reflects on other influences of Mao's generation, stating that this generation was known as the "May Fourth Generation".