After multiple purges attacked the legitimacy of his position in the CCP, Deng Xiaoping returned to politics in 1977 under the party leadership of Hua Guofeng. Deng retained a respected position due to the influence he amassed over the course of his career in Chinese politics. One of the detriments of the Cultural Revolution was the Red Guard’s purge of intellectuals. Nevertheless, Deng and the party sought to reverse the damage done during the revolution and foment modernization.
Deng believed that intellectuals were the foundation of China's success. In 1978, Deng, in a speech at the National Conference on Education, reaffirmed the importance of intellectuals and education and said, “We must train workers with a high level of scientific and general knowledge and build a vast army of working-class intellectuals [...] Only then will we be able to master and advance modern science and culture and the new technologies and skills in every trade and profession. Only then will we be able to attain a productivity of labor [...] [and] transform China into a modern and powerful socialist country”.
Deng and the government’s new perspective on the role of intellectuals in society represented a systematic change in two sectors of Chinese society. The intellectual class became recognized as the foundation of Chinese success and an integral part of the working class. In addition, the importance of education was reinstated as an imperative tool for the growth of China’s intellectual class. The changes outlined in Deng's address at the National Conference on Education allowed for the creation of a stronger intellectual class that would, in turn, boost the productivity of industry and escalate China's power to greater heights.
Deng posited that schools and universities should not have been organized by the hands of the Communist Party. Instead, in the latter half of 1978, giving a speech at the National Conference of Science, Deng noted that it was “impossible for Party committees to handle and solve all matters” and “that the directors of institutes should assume overall responsibility under the leadership of the Party committees.” The transition of educational decisions to move under the direction of the universities was a profound organizational shift that strengthened China's educational system by, in short, leaving it to the professionals, not the politicians.
The reassessment of China's intellectual class and educational systems paved the way for more reforms in education, science, and technology and played a pivotal role in bolstering the modernization of China. Deng’s position stressed the importance of schools and their curriculums and allowed the working class to have the opportunity to become intellectuals. This ultimately created a dynamic where individual intelligence and intellectual advancement became a shared benefit to the country rather than a privilege of the bourgeoisie. The technological and economic progress that followed in the succeeding decades would not have been possible without the reassessment of intellectuals, as intellectuals created and spearheaded such progress within industrial and agricultural development. From a societal perspective, China allowed citizens, previously banished to the countryside for re-education, to take university exams and continue their education. Citizens were more than overjoyed to have the opportunity to make a career for themselves and aspire to overcome poverty. This initial revival of education and the intellectual class flared a new hope and motivation, which seemed lost during the Mao era of rule.
The changes made to the education system, as well as the new status of intellectuals, created a national enthusiasm for advancement as scientific and technological advances were historically an important part of traditional China's past. From 1977 to the start of 1978, the Chinese government implemented specific policies to improve education systems, make education more accessible, and further developments in science and technology. A report on education and scholarly progress, given during a governmental conference by Fang Yi, a Member of the Political Bureau and Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave a clear account of the specific policies enacted to reform the education system. Fang stated that the new policies would allow for the “increase [...] of funds in the state budget for science and education,” an apparent effort to accelerate support and enhance the legitimacy of educational research institutions. Regarding development, the government “set up a state scientific and technological commission” that would be responsible for all facets of administration in China’s scientific and technological work. The government's new position on scientific and technological development allowed scholarly institutions to have sufficient funds and qualified personnel for management. In measures intended to upgrade curriculums within universities to include new subjects with new knowledge for the younger populations, “The Ministry of Education [...] [organized] personnel from all fields of study to compile a new set of standard textbooks for the whole country.” In addition to the implementation of new textbooks, the government sought to spread scientific knowledge and increase the publicity of education. So newspapers began to include “special science columns,” and radio and television had “arranged special programs” that increased scientific knowledge and general literacy throughout the population. Soon, the Ministry of Education formed TV and radio universities that made learning accessible to those who did not have the ability to attend a full-time university.
During the Cultural Revolution, revolutionaries persecuted intellect and devalued the importance of genuine education. Progress in science and technology, as well as industry, was absent as the government directed all education to the teaching of Mao thought and restricted the learning of modern principles. Before 1978, the lack of intellectual pursuit was a key reason for the failure of China’s agricultural and industrial sectors and hindered its progress in the modern world. Yet the reform of intellectuals and education initiated by Deng Xiaoping fundamentally changed Chinese society and initialized modernization. The reforms allowed the commencement of research and technological development and strengthened the education system. Altogether, the reforms allowed China to bolster the intellectual class and, in turn, catch up in the realms of technology and science.
In coordination with the Chinese State Statistical Bureau’s “Communique on Fulfillment of China’s 1978 National Economic Plan”, published in the Beijing Review, the revitalization of intellectuals and the education system had profound results that created progress. In 1978 alone, Chinese citizens and organizations conducted 600 major scientific and technological research projects. As an example, researchers and scientists made significant progress in the agricultural sector by increasing the bounds of rice production through the development of hybrid paddy rice seeds. The hybrid rice paddy was a more versatile crop, which allowed for plentiful and successful crop yields. “Hybrid paddy rice was grown on more than 4.3 million hectares all over China, with an average output increase of over 700 kilograms per hectare.” In terms of technology, developers put China's first integrated circuit computer, capable of extremely complex calculations, into operation. China saw the production of untried products such as “fiber optics plate and pure iron, as well as many new catalysts for oil refining and the petrochemical industry.”
As Deng Xiaoping envisioned, China’s success really lay in the intellectual class, and the only way to create more advancement was to grow the intellectual class through a strong education system. Thus, in addition to the scientific and technological advancements, 1978 saw improved and consolidated quality of education in colleges and schools across the country. During that year, the establishment of almost 200 new institutions of higher learning brought the total to 59,837. The student population at these institutions reached 850,000, which was 230,000 higher than in 1977, a stunning increase. 550,000 individuals attended factory-run and spare-time colleges, while over 68 million students received secondary and elementary training in their spare time. Finally, the total number of graduates from universities and colleges was 165,000. This improvement was an enormous feat for China’s population, raising literacy rates. Deng believed that the intellectual class was tied to the working class and that the only way to bridge the gap between intellectuals and the working class was to create a strong education system that gave anyone who put in the work and showed a willingness to make the commitment the right to education. With the working and the intellectual class conjoined, China empowered itself to advance like wildfire, and these advancements would only become more significant in the years to come. The reform of the education system and the embrace of the intellectual class represented a profound catalyst for China to become a superpower as it set the stage for even more development in factories, agriculture, and technology that ultimately lifted China to economic prosperity.
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