Political Trends in China since the Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution left two major legacies to China. First, basic social, economic, and organizational policies were undecided. Second, political power belonged to a shaky coalition of political forces, with widely divergent interests and policy preferences. Since 1969, China has sought to cope with these two legacies. But as Chinese leaders tried to formulate specific policies that could attract general support, conflict within the coalition mounted, resulting in the purge of important central and provincial leaders. The outcome of these two processes—the redefinition of policy and the re-allocation of power—constitutes the Thermidorean reaction to the Cultural Revolution. Policy has drifted rightward, and ultraleftism has been condemned. Many victims of the Cultural Revolution have been restored to office, while many of those associated with Red Guard radicalism and military participation in politics, particularly Ch'en Po-ta and Lin Piao, have been purged. Although most outstanding policy questions have by now been resolved, at least temporarily, the problem of the fragmentation of political power in China remains. Power still belongs to a heterogeneous coalition, which could easily fall apart in the event of an international crisis or the death of Mao.