More Chinese history
Jeremiah Jenne is a PhD Candidate at a large public research university in Northern California who is currently in Beijing teaching history, doing archival research, and working on his dissertation. He's also blogging at Jottings from the Granite Studio.On August 25, he wrote, Why Hua Gofeng Matters. It's a follow up to the announcement of Hua's death.
It's a careful analysis of Hua's career, the politics that put him in the top job, the details of the defeat and arrest of the Gang of Four, and the politics that put Deng Xiaoping in Hua's place.
It is a fine historical essay, that might not be directly relevant to teaching comparative politics, but it will certainly inform your frame of reference.
Here are highlights of Jenne's essay:
"Most of [the obituaries] make note of Hua’s passing while dismissing him as a transitional figure forced to make way for Deng Xiaoping..."Hua’s rise to “power” was not quite as sudden as most believe...
"Hua’s lack of factional ties, his Cultural Revolutionary credentials, and his trump card of “with you in charge, I can rest easy” made him a tough figure to immediately oppose...
"Hua reversed many Cultural Revolution-era policies: allowing greater academic and artistic freedom, and instituting a series of ambitious... schemes for economic growth... built on plans for modernization first put forth by Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping...
"Over time, Hua found that being Mao’s chosen successor was more political liability than asset..."
See also:
- Was his heart at ease with his successors?
- Jenne's earlier essay on Hua, "Come back Hua Guofeng, all is forgiven"
Labels: China, history, leadership, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 6:12 AM
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