Ellie Cain
'Chinese government saw more change under Deng
Xiaoping than any other ruler in the period from 1839-
1989. How far do you agree?
During the span of 1839-1989 there were many changes in Government, like that of the
changes in layout that were made under the rule of Deng Xiaoping with private farming,
opening economics and trade to the rest of the world. A Lot of what Deng had inherited
on taking up the position of power was from the rule of Mao, with the main ideologies
being Communist and State Owned Enterprises (SoE’s), though there was little change in
many areas of the Chinese government during this time.
Under Deng there was many changes in political leadership, for example the Maosit
leaders were replaced with allies of Deng, many of which had been rehabilitated from the
Cultural Revolution, but there was still a very loyal belief in Communism with Deng
holding many similar beliefs to Maos, like that of retaining autocratic leadership.
Though under Mao, Deng had been purged in the Cultural Revolution for his political
beliefs, leading to some differences between the two, however this was no different as
Deng had overthrown someone, Hau Guofeng, to gain a position of power following his
demotion in the Cultural Revolution and also wasn’t Mao heir as chairman, this is
similarity to Mao as he had seized power after the defeat of the Nationalists in the
Chinese Civil War.
However, there was a big difference from Imperial to the Nationalists, as there was
emperors and the Manchu Dynasty who kept a strict hierarchy, which then became
leaders who gained power through force and didn’t claim it through hereditary rights,
another contrast was the Forbidden City, this was completely separate from society and
during the rule of Mao and any part of leadership in the CCR had people of poor
background in a place of power, from Mao having started off as a peasant and him
wanting to be relatable for this sector of society
In ideology of the Chinese government, very little changed from Imperial China to the
rule of Deng Xiaoping, this was from the beliefs of Deng being very similar to those that
were held by Mao, Marxism-Leninism, autocracy and no democracy. Though the economic
beliefs between these two were contrasting, this was due to Deng being Capitalist
economically whereas Mao was against this ideology, which led to The Great Leap
Forward, as well Deng was purged during the Cultural Revolution from his support of
private farming and the selling of any surplus crops.
A different ideology was that Chiang Kai-Shek had a firm belief in Confucianism, this was
the complete opposite for Mao, causing a stark difference between them, and there was
no difference surrounding the belief about Confucianism between Mao and Deng,
therefore Deng didn’t make any difference in the ideology of the Chinese Government,
however he didn’t believe in the ‘godlike’ status that was given to and adopted by Mao
during his rule as Chairman.
1
'Chinese government saw more change under Deng
Xiaoping than any other ruler in the period from 1839-
1989. How far do you agree?
During the span of 1839-1989 there were many changes in Government, like that of the
changes in layout that were made under the rule of Deng Xiaoping with private farming,
opening economics and trade to the rest of the world. A Lot of what Deng had inherited
on taking up the position of power was from the rule of Mao, with the main ideologies
being Communist and State Owned Enterprises (SoE’s), though there was little change in
many areas of the Chinese government during this time.
Under Deng there was many changes in political leadership, for example the Maosit
leaders were replaced with allies of Deng, many of which had been rehabilitated from the
Cultural Revolution, but there was still a very loyal belief in Communism with Deng
holding many similar beliefs to Maos, like that of retaining autocratic leadership.
Though under Mao, Deng had been purged in the Cultural Revolution for his political
beliefs, leading to some differences between the two, however this was no different as
Deng had overthrown someone, Hau Guofeng, to gain a position of power following his
demotion in the Cultural Revolution and also wasn’t Mao heir as chairman, this is
similarity to Mao as he had seized power after the defeat of the Nationalists in the
Chinese Civil War.
However, there was a big difference from Imperial to the Nationalists, as there was
emperors and the Manchu Dynasty who kept a strict hierarchy, which then became
leaders who gained power through force and didn’t claim it through hereditary rights,
another contrast was the Forbidden City, this was completely separate from society and
during the rule of Mao and any part of leadership in the CCR had people of poor
background in a place of power, from Mao having started off as a peasant and him
wanting to be relatable for this sector of society
In ideology of the Chinese government, very little changed from Imperial China to the
rule of Deng Xiaoping, this was from the beliefs of Deng being very similar to those that
were held by Mao, Marxism-Leninism, autocracy and no democracy. Though the economic
beliefs between these two were contrasting, this was due to Deng being Capitalist
economically whereas Mao was against this ideology, which led to The Great Leap
Forward, as well Deng was purged during the Cultural Revolution from his support of
private farming and the selling of any surplus crops.
A different ideology was that Chiang Kai-Shek had a firm belief in Confucianism, this was
the complete opposite for Mao, causing a stark difference between them, and there was
no difference surrounding the belief about Confucianism between Mao and Deng,
therefore Deng didn’t make any difference in the ideology of the Chinese Government,
however he didn’t believe in the ‘godlike’ status that was given to and adopted by Mao
during his rule as Chairman.
1
