Who Is Deng Xiaoping: A National Hero?

The economy of China boomed once Deng opened its market to foreign investment. It was this shift that caused Wong to start to feel “schizophrenic” (186), and made her reflect on exactly who she was and what she truly believed in. It was also here that a small sentiment of democracy begin to upheave.

One of the most significant changes in the Communist Party has been the distribution of power. In the days of Deng and Mao, for instance, the leader held the majority of power in the Chinese political system. In more recent years, however, the Communist Party has dictated more of the government's actions while the leader, Hu, has relinquished a fair amount of power and authority. This shift is exemplified by the author's idea, “In Mao’s and Deng’s days, the leaders towered

Mao Zedong’s rise to political power as chairmen of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was made possible by the failings of the GouMinDan (GMD). After the fall of the Qing dynasty, in 1911, China fell into disarray where warlords had power, rather than a national government. Sun Yat-sen began a nationalist group whose militaristic tacts allowed them to unite china under a singular party, the GMD. Despite many revolutionary promises very little positive changes were made by Chiang Kai-shek, who became leader of the GMD in 1925.However because of the party’s lack of political knowledge and poor socio-economic abilities the GMD’s rule was a failure. Mao used this to project his own ideology on China in the form of Maoism. Mao’s ability to take advantage of China’s bad situation allowed him to receive the support he required in order to rise to power.

Mao and Deng’s tyrannical reign proved that China had remained similar to a dynasty with some differences that Mao used to prevent an overthrow. To understand what Mao and Deng created, one must first understand how a dynasty had worked in the past and how China ran under the CCP. Based on a traditional Chinese dynasty, a new dynasty will come into power through a political, cultural and economic summit. The new leader will receive the Mandate of Heaven, and things during the beginning will thrive. This is a time of advancements and satisfaction in the proletariat. Then, the dynasty will begin to decline due to corruption within the government. The people will decide that through a rebellion, they will end the tyranny and they come

“The Party: The Secret World Of China’s Communist Rulers,” by Richard McGregor is a book which provides detailed insight into the Communist Party of China, revealing many of the secret underpinnings of how the party is run, and explores the question of how they have continued to stay in power for so long. While other strong socialist powers, such as the Soviet Union and Eastern Germany, fell at the end of the 20th century, the CPC was able to stay in control and ultimately come out of that period even stronger. In McGregor’s own words “the party picked itself up off the ground, reconstituted its armor and reinforced its flank. Somehow, it has outlasted, outsmarted, outperformed, or simply outlawed its critics, flummoxing the pundits who have predicted its demise at numerous junctures.” Instead of letting its own ideologies weaken its power, the CPC has continually adapted and transformed its policies and goals in order to maintain their stronghold over the nation. Through his impressive list of Chinese scholars and political contacts, McGregor is able to lay out the fundamental workings inside the Chinese government and the impressive actions they’ve taken to remain such a powerful organization.

This paper aims to find out the differences between the developmental strategies of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping are important characters of China's history. Both great leaders and both tried to bring about reform with China. In addition, through the facts that society in China has been changing in recent decades, evaluate the achievements of each in the contribution to economic and social development of China.

I"It matters not whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice." Deng Xiaoping

When people hear the name “Mao Zedong”, they immediately think of a stubby communist dictator responsible for the death of millions. Although many of his reforms failed and millions died, many argue that he his “good” outweigh his “bad”. He saved the ailing nation of China, molding it to the nation it is today.

China's transition from the leadership under the iron fist of Mao Zedong to the more liberal Deng Xiao Ping gave the People's Republic a gradual increase in economic freedom while maintaining political stability. During Mao's regime, the country focused on bolstering and serving the community, while subsequently encumbering individual growth and prosperity. Deng advocated a more capitalist economic ideology, which established China as an economic force in the global community while endowing its citizens with more liberties and luxuries than previously granted.

Deng Xiaoping felt that the quickest way to build a better China was to improve living conditions immediately, to give people the level of morale they need for further development. At that time, he realized that China’s economic need to reform; he found very effective ways to reform the China’s economic. His goals were to open up the China’s market to the outside world,

Under Mao Zedong, China experienced profound social and economic changes. Industry increased, prostitution and opium use was reduced, and many experienced an increase in social standing as land was redistributed to the peasants, prior to collectivization. But many of the policies that were enacted had negative, even disastrous consequences, which were never properly apologized for or rectified. In 1981, 5 years after Mao’s death, the Chinese Communist Party stated that Mao was essentially 70% good and 30% bad. But Mao’s disconnect from the actualities of his policies, paranoia towards his status in the Party and his public image, and lack of foresight in regards to the consequences of his decisions had extreme ramifications on China that not only led to the death of millions, but fundamentally undermined legitimacy of the government. Through the specific policies of the Hundred Flowers campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution, Mao’s lack of understanding of his actions, and his poor treatment of those who criticized him are very apparent. And while not all of Mao’s policies and actions were disastrous, his errors outweighed his merits. In actuality, Mao’s actions were more likely 80% bad and 20% good.

The Chinese Communist Party had made many promises when they had taken over in 1949 and while some had been kept, not all had been. The high death toll of the Great Leap Forward and the violence of the Cultural Revolution had created cynicism among the people remaining and this cynicism created a gap between the government and the people. There was a sense of distrust concerning the government and this would linger for quite some time. While there was still some of the nationalism that had fueled both the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, much of it had disappeared in the aftermath of these tragedies and would never quite come back fully. Also, while Mao is still held in high regard, he is no longer considered a “god” by the Chinese people as the next leader of the CCP loosened some of the restrictions concerning criticizing Mao for his mistakes although it is still frowned upon. Overall, the legacies of the Maoist era made Chinese people somewhat less nationalistic and more cynical concerning their

When Deng came into power, China's economy had not progressed as much as Mao had imagined it would. The crisis in communism had also had an adverse effect on the economy. Deng's catch phrase "it doesn't matter if the cat is black or white so long as it catches the mouse" encapsulates his entire approach towards economic reform. His economic reforms were very obviously not in line with communism at all but he felt that if they could bring greater prosperity to China, it was worth it to adopt these new measures.

At first these plans along with an extremely ingenious propaganda campaign stirred great optimism and productivity within the Chinese people, but as years went by the initial flare and excitement went out and few of these promises, reforms and goals had been reached. In some cases the promises were lies. The real actions of the Communist party showed quite a different picture than the lie of democracy that it was feeding the people. The new government never was a democratic one. As a matter of fact it was a dictatorship controlled by the China’s Communist Party (CCP). Throughout the years the communist government consistently and cruelly suppressed any attempts for the country’s democratization.

Life was difficult for any self-financing overseas student, and was especially hard for Deng as until he reached 18 he was getting only half pay in his various jobs. There also included spells as a locomotive engine fireman, kitchen hand and a temporary helper in a boot and shoe factory. It seems that he did nevertheless manage to develop a taste for certain elements of the French way of life.