Rising from the Red Shadow

Chinese President's relentless pursuit to carry forward Mao's resilient legacy has maintained Chinese Communist Party's control in the country's politics, and even positioned it for a global leadership challenge

- DIPANKAR DEY

Mao still resonates in China. In 2024, the Chinese communist revolution exceeded the 74-year lifespan (1917-1991) of its Soviet brother. Now historians perceive October 1949, rather than October 1917, as the game-changing revolution of the last century.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is still held together by the legacies of Maoism. Although the Chinese Communist party (CCP) has long abandoned the utopian turmoil of the Cultural Revolution in favor of an authoritarian capitalism that prizes prosperity and stability, Mao has left a heavy mark on politics and society. "Mao's invisible hand" remains omnipresent in China's polity. In 2012, the CCP under Xi Jinping began—for the first time since Mao's death in 1976—to publicly renormalize aspects of Maoist political culture: the personality cult; catchphrases such as the "mass line" (supposedly encouraging criticism of officials from the grassroots) and "rectification" (disciplining of wayward party members), writes The Guardian. According to political analysts, Xi is following three key Maoist ideals in governing China: (i) the CCP at the center; (ii) control of history and avoiding the Soviet path; (iii) rejuvenation of China.