By 1976, China was in a catastrophic state due to the detriments of Mao Zedong's rule. Mao left the country with unsuccessful social and economic policies. Agricultural and industrial production was extremely low, and poverty drowned the vast population. All hope of prosperity seemed universally extinguished during the 27-year-long Mao period. Nevertheless, the changes initiated by Deng Xiaoping as a preeminent leader in 1978 fomented a new revolution within China, that of modernization. In 1978, The country finally began to overcome the detriments of Mao Zedong's rule, characterized by failure, poverty, and no progress due to the revival of education and intellectuals, the transition to a market economy, and rural reforms. Instead of following the unsuccessful policies conceived during the Mao era, China embraced modernity and sought to transform into an effective vessel for progress, following the rest of the world. Deng and his counterparts identified the problems present within China pre-1978 and, in return, began to reverse such problems through fundamental changes in how the country worked.
During his rule, Mao envisioned progress through the suppression of the bourgeoisie class and the advancement of industry and agriculture through collectivization and a heavily planned economy. Strict social dynamics, which did not allow the citizens any autonomy, characterized China. The government was against any form of meritocracy and expected all citizens to help the communist effort and the government in return for living in China, as many communist structures go. These policies did not benefit China’s progress. Rather, they hindered it. In addition, the Chinese government had set in place a strictly planned economic model that was blatantly unsuccessful.
After Mao’s death in 1976, China was in ruins, and officials considered their country developing. Thus, in the years following Mao’s death, the Chinese government sought to reverse the damage done during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, two events enacted by Mao that proved destructive to China’s success.
After multiple insurgencies on his political power, Deng Xiaoping returned to politics in 1977 with all of his previous positions reinstated. Although he was not the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Deng became one of the most influential people in securing modern China’s role as a global superpower by initiating the Reform Era. The Reform Era in China was a period of changes in Chinese policies that reversed the ineffective Mao’s rule in China, which began in 1978 and lasted throughout the 1990s. Nevertheless, the initial year of Reform, 1978, stood as the most important because changes made during this year reversed the damage done during the Mao era and began China’s shift into the contemporary world. The changes in 1978 morphed the foundations of society and policy by securing the importance of the intellectual class, strengthening the education system, and initializing rural reforms, which started the transition to a more market-based economy.
The Mao era was inherently anti-intellectual, placing the intellectual class under the bourgeois label, which deemed them a non-essential part of development within the communist regime. Deng, in contrast, believed that education and intellectuals were the root of success. Thus, Deng and the government revisited the history of China’s great developments accredited to the intellectual community. The Chinese government would then deem the class of scientists, intellectuals, and those of great talent as essential to the growth and development of China. Deng believed that the intellectual class should be free to continue their work. In Deng’s eyes, education was of the utmost importance to society, emphasizing the need for educators to gain higher importance within society. Thus, the government strengthened schools and brought back examinations.
In addition, Deng also looked to reform the economic system. The rural reforms of the 1978 Third Plenum marked a decisive turn in China's economic policy, steering away from Maoist collectivism towards a market-oriented economy. This shift was characterized by the introduction of merit-based incentives and the recognition of private land use, which revitalized agricultural productivity and set the stage for China's rapid development. The Plenum's policies empowered peasants and reformed the structure of communes, fostering a new era of economic freedom and individual initiative that would fuel the country's ascent to global prominence. These foundational changes in rural China were the first steps in a broader transformation that would redefine the nation's economic landscape.
The early period of post-Mao rule in China saw the revival of two fundamentally important aspects of society, previously absent throughout the Mao era: the reorganization of the economy and the revival of education and intellectuals. These changes that Deng made set the stage for the renovation of modern China, allowing for political, social, and economic reforms that would create a global superpower.
China's economy endured a prolonged period of stagnation and pervasive poverty due to the adverse economic and social policies implemented during Mao Zedong's leadership. Nevertheless, Deng Xiaoping's ascendancy to the helm of leadership ushered in a transformative era of reform. The inaugural year of reform in 1978 witnessed the resurgence of intellectualism and educational advancement, coupled with the transition to a market-oriented economy through rural reforms. This momentous juncture epitomized a profound shift in China's economic and political landscape.
The shift from Mao Zedong's stringent rule to Deng Xiaoping's era of reform was a watershed moment for China, profoundly altering its societal fabric, economic structure and intellectual vigor. Mao's tenure, marked by ambitious yet catastrophic initiatives such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, left China's economy in tatters and its society in turmoil. Mao’s policies precipitated a famine of unprecedented scale, mismanaged the economy, and stifled intellectuals and the education system, plunging the nation into a deep crisis by the end of his reign in 1976.
The year 1978 emerged as a defining juncture in China's narrative, heralding a transformative period under Deng Xiaoping's guidance. The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in December 1978 signified the commencement of a comprehensive blueprint for modernizing China's economy and society. The Third Plenum introduced the rural reforms, which shifted China towards a more market based economy as household farms regained coherence. The rural reforms gave more sovereignty to and heavily upgraded the living standards of workers in state owned enterprises. The reforms to agriculture and industry utilized a meritocracy based framework and saw instant success as output from both sectors massively increased in comparison to 1977. In addition the reforms gave peasants, specifically farmers, the ability to foster their own village markets based off of crops they cultivated independently, this loudly and clearly created open markets, forbidden during Mao’s rule.This pivotal year marked a clear departure from Maoist dogma and established the foundational tenets for the sweeping reforms to come. Deng's vision was to usher China onto the modern stage, decentralize economic governance, and nurture a milieu ripe for innovation and growth.
Deng's ideology and the succeeding reforms made to education stood pivotal in reinvigorating China's intellectual class, which had been sidelined and oppressed during Mao's purges. By identifying the intellectuals as a part of the working class and strengthening the education system, Deng not only allowed for a great abundance of progress within science and technology, but also created more opportunities for the population to learn, emancipate their minds, and seek truth from fact. Thereby Deng acknowledged the intellectuals indispensable role in fueling economic and technological progress, which furthered the capacity for output in agriculture and industry.. The rejuvenation of the education system, including making education and the opportunity for study and intellectual advancement more broadly accessible to the masses, and the reinstatement of academic liberties empowered intellectuals to make significant contributions to the nation's resurgence. They were instrumental in formulating and executing new economic strategies, propelling scientific inquiry, and driving technological breakthroughs. This harmonious crossroads between educational and intellectual empowerment and economic reform was crucial in catalyzing China's swift ascent.
Deng's pragmatic stance also encompassed the fact that intellectuals played a key role in benefiting the economy in terms of industry and agriculture. This position ensured that China was well positioned to harness the best and most modern practices and technological innovations throughout all industry and agriculture sectors. This era witnessed a renaissance in scientific exploration and technological advancement, with intellectuals at the helm of innovations that fueled industrial growth and economic diversification.
In essence, the reforms initiated in 1978 under Deng Xiaoping's leadership were revolutionary, overturning the ruinous policies of the Mao era and steering China towards a trajectory of rapid economic and social advancement. The revitalization of the intellectual class was a fundamental aspect of this metamorphosis, as their expertise was vital in crafting and implementing efficacious economic policies, advancing scientific research, and nurturing technological ingenuity. The year 1978 not only signaled the dawn of this new epoch but also highlighted the criticality of intellectual autonomy, and expertise in securing national prosperity. Thus, Deng Xiaoping's enduring legacy is characterized by a strategic amalgamation of economic reform and intellectual rejuvenation, which together laid the groundwork for China's rise as a formidable global force.
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