Mao Zedong Legacy
On September 9th, 1976, Mao Zedong died at the age of eighty-two, bringing an end to one of the most significant eras in Chinese, and in the world's history. For three decades Mao served as the most influential leader, planner and teacher of the Chinese during the revolutionary struggle. The revolutionary struggle of China toward the communist road, from the leadership of Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party, led China out of foreign imperialist control and hundred years of humiliation, let the Chinese people "stand-up" in the face of the entire world. Chairman Mao's death might be looked upon differently in different people's eyes, but the aftermath and the legacy Mao left his forty years of leadership in the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China haunt the political and social system in the post-Mao era. Nonetheless, Mao's successor Hua Guofeng followed Mao's direction to stabilise the party and extended Mao's influence into every part of the country. Hua's legitimacy was based on his theory of "two whatever" - whatever Mao had decided would remain valid and whatever Mao had instructed should not be contravened. This theory helped to solidify stability in the CCP's Central Committee, which lasted for a couple years until Deng Xiaoping rose to power.
The "two whatever" theory was an endeavour by Hua to not only solidify his authority in the CCP and PRC, but also an attempt to eliminate any Mao's damaging legacy after his forty years of authoritarianism. However, Chen Yun, a leading economic planner, drew the conclusion of the life and legacy of Mao in a speech at a national Party work conference a few year after Mao's death:
Had Chairman Mao died in 1956, there would have been no doubt that he was a great leader of the Chinese peopleĀ
Had he died in 1966, his meritorious achievements would have been somewhat tarnished. However, his achievements were still very good. Since he actually died in 1976, there...
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