Yiwu, Once again I disagree.
<<Even if Mao could not make the whole Political Bureau followed
him, and that was why he started the Cultural Revolution. Of course, he did not expect it would be out of his own control.>>
<<To the contrary of what many people believe, up to the Cultural Revolution, the CCP was among the least corrupted Party among all kinds of political entities or regimes in the world. It cleaned itself and its members by launching one after another political movement. Almost no high/middle ranking CCP officials used their power for personal interest before 1966,>>
Once again I feel compelled to respond to misinformation you have posted. I do so, not to convince you because I know that isn't possible. No need to reply unless you wish to. Your prejudice is already well noted. But in all fairness to other readers here is another version as historians have judged it.
When you said the CCP "cleaned itself" it made me shudder. One can't help but recognize the similarities between Mao and the "Old Bhudda" herself, the deadly Empress Dowager, Ci Xi. Intrigue against close associates, inability to tolerate any disagreement or criticism, brutality, self aggrandizement, all this and more. The notion that Mao "lost control" of the cultural revolution is sheer nonsense. In fact, his henchman Kang Sheng and his wife, both later prosecuted for their roles in the shameful affair, were in the thick of it egging on the students and directing the police to assist them in locating targets. Mao personally used it to "cleanse" the party of those he considered to be his personal enemies.
You could have had a clue to the great lie that was CCP ideology as early as 1949 when, at the end of the "Long March" and upon taking and occupying Peking (now Beijing), the entire party glitterati moved into Zhongnanhai, the compound of parks and palaces adjacent to the Forbidden City, each in turn taking over a palace for his personal quarters and office. Heavily guarded and isolated from the rest of China, the party elite, from that moment on, became aloof from the people they so ranted about,elitist to an extreme. In Zhongnanhai they lived in palaces incredibly ornate and posh. It was here that Kublai Khan built his pleasure domes for example, and here where Mao had his indoor heated swimming pool built for his personal use. It was also here that he remained isolated for months at a time, sometimes not even seen by close associates Zhou Enlai, Chen Li, Liu Bocheng, and others. While Deng Xiaoping finished off the remaining KMT forces in the countryside, Mao lolled in an exquisite Qing dynasty palace called Yinantang, or "Hall of Respect for Elegance". Renamed the "Hall of Longevity" after Mao took it over, his personal quarters were set up in a wing called the "Study of Chrysanthemum Fragrance" which had been extensively renovated for his use. Here Mao read poetry, history, and wrote his own verse. Here also he entertained young girls provided by Kang Sheng, the sinister police chief who went on to become one of the "gang of four" of "Cultural Revolution" madness (along with Mao's wife who was introduced to Mao by Kang). These young girls were called "cultural troupes" and mao would often entertain up to three of them at a time in his private bedroom/study. I think he and Bill Clinton could have shared notes on this subject.
You are correct to point out that there was party ideologues against noticeable personal aggrandizement. That was too "reactionary". But that did not stop Mao's quotations and slogans, as well as image, from being posted all over China.
But all this probably doesn't matter. Us "ignorant" Americans can't tell the difference between Indonesia and China anyway...right?
With an interest in the truth;
Stitch |
