Exactly four decades ago, the Chinese Communist Party, under its new leader Deng Xiaoping, decided to subordinate ideology to wealth creation, as illustrated by a new aphorism that later gained wide currency, “To get rich is glorious.” The party’s central committee in December 1978, disavowing the Mao Zedong thought as dogma, embraced a new principle that became Deng’s oft-quoted dictum, “Seek truth from facts.”
Mao’s death earlier in 1976 had triggered a vicious and protracted power struggle. When the diminutive Deng — once described by Mao as a “needle inside a ball of cotton” — finally emerged victorious at the age of 74, he hardly looked like an agent of reform.
Mao’s death earlier in 1976 had triggered a vicious and protracted power struggle. When the diminutive Deng — once described by Mao as a “needle inside a ball of cotton” — finally emerged victorious at the age of 74, he hardly looked like an agent of reform.
