LOLZ. Your Great Mao ZeDong was enslaved by Communist ideology that was hardly Chinese of origin...
While not called as such, all elements of socialism were already present as far back as Tang Dynasty.
Putting the people first: 民为贵,社稷次之,君为轻。- the people are the most valuable, then gods, and finally, the king.
Equality before the law: 王子犯法与庶民同罪。- the prince who commits a crime is equally guilty as the commoner.
"from each according to ability, to each according to need" - the civil examination system (科举制度)meant that anyone, regardless of birth, could rise to whatever position according to ability alone.
"means of production owned by the people" - 均田制: the equal field system, where the government took control of all land and distributed it equally among peasants, making it so that no family was destitute and without land.
state owned enterprises: the first ones in history were the state owned salt and iron monopolies: 榷盐榷铁
slogans: even Confucius said: 故人不独亲其亲,不独子其子,使老有所终,幼有所长,矜寡孤独废疾者,皆有所养。
- Don't care only for your relatives, and only for your children, but let the old have their rest, let the young have their care, and let all take care of the the widowed, the sick and the handicapped.
first income tax in history: instituted by Wang Mang in the Han dynasty, even before Tang.
Mao never read Das Kapital but was very well versed in classical Chinese history and literature.