Mao Zedong is primarily associated with the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. After years of civil war between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and the Communist Party of China (CPC), the latter emerged victorious. Mao proclaimed the new state on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square. His leadership marked the beginning of a new era characterized by communist ideology, land reforms, and significant changes in Chinese society and governance, as well as the eventual establishment of socialist principles that guided the nation for decades.