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The Cultural Revolution was planned in one mind and distributed by the words from one mouth. The words of Chairman Mao became an institution the moment that they were spoken, a new divine law. Like any Chinese law, it lost its power as quickly as it was used and eventually became only symbolic. As the ultimate rhetoric, it was widely quoted, argued, and abused for different purposes and ideas. It recognised no ideological boundary and crossed all legal and moral standards; it became a weapon to establish, to motivate, to move, and to kill. It mutated from the words of law, which distinguish the lawful from the unlawful, into a force that could transform anyone's words for political gain.
Chapter 6: Law, Under Law, and Above Law
in Contemporary China
It took China more than ten years of internal disaster and, perhaps more importantly, the 1976 death of its god and emperor, Mao, to shake free from his divine instruction. Deng Xiaoping, the last Chinese leader who possessed the personal charisma that was characteristic of the first generation of the Chinese Communist Party, launched economic and political reforms. Once order was restored, Deng retired, leaving China still in need of effective law that could abolish the corrupt practices of administrators and officers at all levels of business, government, and the armed forces. Historically, Chinese words of law have rarely been honoured on their own merit, and they require the endorsement of respected political personalities. The adjective respectable is not often associated with the noun politician by the Chinese. Since the influence of the military provides a fortified haven for the granting of favours, political leadership has chosen to resurrect the divine image of Mao as a useful symbol in its struggle to reduce corruption and graft.
In the post-Mao period, a group of under laws, consisting mainly of powerless peasants, the city poor, and young people influenced by Western ideas of democracy, has emerged to champion reform policies. Previously, although material conditions were generally pathetic, everyone was relatively poor, including those with political power.