Abstract: Whether Mao Zedong’s theories and practice contain modernity factors and whether he is a modernist is an important issue in the history of modern Chinese politics and thought.Four modes of interpretation are found in present study.The first is the affirmative mode which admits that he is a modernist;the second is the special modernity mode which transcends western modernity value;the third the expanding modes which is based on the theoretic resources and symbolic sensation of the new left wing;and the fourth is the post interpretation mode which starts from post-modernity and post-structuralism.The four modes of interpretation are more of general descriptions,and need to be deepened theoretically.The relationship between Mao Zedong and modernity is not a proposition of one-way linear theory;rather it is a complex one,which should be interpreted from the dual perspectives combining Marxist criticism on capitalism modernity with the special historical context of the issues of modern Chinese modernity.

Key words: Mao Zedong, modernity, four modes of interpretation, theoretical analysis, Marxism, historical context