China Since the 'Gang of Four'

Introduction

This book, first published in 1980, addresses the questions raised by the death of Mao Zedong and the arrest of the ‘Gang of Four’. Was China reverting to a capitalist form of development, and abandoning Mao’s policies? Was China’s leadership remaining loyal to Mao’s strategy but correcting damage done by the ‘Gang of Four’? The essays in this book analyse these questions and illustrate differences in interpretation amongst the post-Mao leadership. Individual chapters deal with disagreements over political line, the role of the CCP, economic policy and industrial management, policy towards the rural sector, controversies over the role of art and literature, the nature and function of the education system and the incorporation of China into the international economy.