Folkerepublikken Kina blev grundlagt den 1. oktober 1949. Det var kulminationen på over to årtiers borgerkrige og internationale krige. Maos berømte frase "Det kinesiske folk har rejst sig" ({{zh|c=中國人民從此站起來了}}) associeret med etableringen af Folkerepublikken Kina blev dog ikke brugt i talen, som han holdt fra [[Den Himmelske Freds Port]] den 1. oktober.<ref>{{cite book | quote = The phrase is often mistakenly said to have been delivered during the speech from the Gate of Heavenly Peace, but was first used on September 21, at the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, then repeated on several occasions | editor = Cheek T | title = Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions: A Brief History with Documents | url = https://archive.org/details/maozedongchinasr0000chee | location = New York | publisher = [[Palgrave Macmillan]] | year = 2002 | page = [https://archive.org/details/maozedongchinasr0000chee/page/125 125] | isbn = 978-0-312-25626-5 }}</ref>
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