The End of the Maoist Era: Chinese Politics During the Twilight of the Cultural Revolution, 1972-1976

The Politics of Transition, 1972-1982 #1

by Frederick C. Teiwes, Warren Sun

This book launches an ambitious reexamination of the elite politics behind one of the most remarkable transformations in the late twentieth century. As the first part of a new interpretation of the evolution of Chinese politics during the years 1972-82, it provides a detailed study of the end of the Maoist era, demonstrating Mao's continuing dominance even as his ability to control events ebbed away. The tensions within the "gang of four," the different treatment of Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, and the largely unexamined role of younger radicals are analyzed to reveal a view of the dynamic of elite politics that is at odds with accepted scholarship. The authors draw upon newly available documentary sources and extensive interviews with Chinese participants and historians to develop their challenging interpretation of one of the most poorly understood periods in the history of the People's Republic of China.

Genres: China, History

729 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Frederick Carle Teiwes is an American-born Australian sinologist. He held a personal chair as professor emeritus in Government and International Relations at Sydney University until his retirement in 2006.

Reviews

[Mirza Sultan-Galiev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well Mao was indecisive, the "Gang of Four" was not really a gang, none of the boys got along with Jiang Qiang...
If you like "personalized" history this is very good.
Of course considering the extreme secrecy of the CCP and its tendency to "reinvent" itself, the seemingly quite scrupulous authors are left with no choice but to reference sketchy "reportage" literature and random blog posts in some cases.