On “Liberation”

When the editor asked me along with other ex-editors to offer some thoughts on the occasion of The China Quarterly's 50th anniversary, I was at a loss. At the celebration which David Shambaugh held for the 35th anniversary in 1995, I wrote fairly extensively about the founding and early development of the journal (No.143, pp. 692–96) and did not have much to add. So I made the suggestion that I should reprise a special feature of the first China Quarterly. For that founding issue, I solicited a number of senior Sinologues to give their appraisal of the PRC on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. Could I, now senior, be given a similar opportunity to look back at the founding of the PRC on the occasion of its 60th anniversary? This article is the consequence of the editor's kind agreement.Governmen

Political Selection in China: The Complementary Roles of Connections and Performance

Who becomes a top politician in China? We focus on provincial leaders - a pool of candidates for top political office - and examine how their chances of promotion depend on their performance in office and connections with top politicians. Our empirical analysis, based on the curriculum vitae of Chinese politicians, shows that connections and performance are complements in the Chinese political selection process. This complementarity is stronger the younger provincial leaders are relative to their connected top leaders. To provide one plausible interpretation of these empirical findings, we propose a simple theory in which the complementarity arises because connections foster loyalty of junior officials to senior ones, thereby allowing incumbent top politicians to select competent provincial leaders without risking being ousted. Auxiliary evidence suggests that the documented promotion pattern does not distort the allocation of talent. Our findings shed some light on why a political system known for patronage can still select competent leaders

Mao Changes the Signals

Abstract This chapter examines the reaction of Mao Zedong to the CCP Central Committee's circulation of a document seeking answers on agricultural policy, particular on the baochan daohu policy of dividing the fields down to the household. It suggests that Mao might have instantly realized upon reading the questionnaire that he could no longer rely upon the man he had placed in the post of General Secretary to ensure the loyalty of the party to himself. It contends that a reversal of opinion on baochan daohu would threaten Mao's whole vision of a collectivist China and had to be resisted. This chapter also discusses Liu Shaoqi's role on the baochan daohu issue.</jats:p

The Socialist Education Movement

Abstract This chapter examines Mao Zedong's launch of the Social Education Movement (SEM) in China as a way to prevent revisionism. Under Mao's direction, the CCP stepped up its campaign to oppose revisionism abroad through the activities of Wu Xiuquan on his East European odyssey. Mao no longer saw the Soviet Union as the future China. The launch of the SEM would be the setting for Mao's decisive break with Liu Shaoqi.</jats:p

The origins of the cultural revolution 2 : the great leap forward 1958 - 1960

xiv, 470 p.; 21 cm

Mao Stoops to Conquer

Abstract This chapter examines the political split between Chinese political leaders Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi. It suggests that Mao's decision to purge Liu was part of a strategy to remove members of the CCP who supported capitalism. There are conflicting accounts of whether or not Liu directly opposed Mao's ‘capitalist-roader’ formulation, but Mao had already made his version of the event credible in January 1965.</jats:p