Английская Википедия:1978 Truth Criterion Controversy

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:History of the People's Republic of China The 1978 Truth Criterion Controversy (Шаблон:Zh), also known as the 1978 Truth Criterion Discussion, sometimes referred to as the First Great Debate (Шаблон:Zh) in contemporary China, was a sociopolitical debate around 1978, mainly revolving around Hua Guofeng's "Two Whatevers" and Deng Xiaoping's "Reform and opening up".

Background

End of Cultural Revolution

Death of Mao Zedong

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Файл:Shanghai, guardería 1978 03.jpg
In 1978, a classroom of a kindergarten in Shanghai with wall portraits of then-Chairman Hua Guofeng and former Chairman Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, organizer of the Cultural Revolution and then Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), died on September 9, 1976, at the age of 82, which caused a power vacuum within the CCP.Шаблон:Sfnm As Mao hadn't chosen an official successor and after conflicts between various factions emerged during and after the Cultural Revolution, Hua Guofeng, a moderate maoist, held the position of chairman.Шаблон:Sfnm

Arrest of the Gang of Four

Шаблон:See also One month after Mao's death, Hua Guofeng together with Ye Jianying and Wang Dongxing arrested the radical faction Gang of Four, which is thought to put an end to the Cultural Revolution.Шаблон:Sfnm Beginning on 21 October, nationwide denunciations of the Gang occurred, which culminated in the December release of files related to the Gang's alleged crimes to the public. The party issued a denunciation of the Gang as "ultra-left", which was "left in form, right in essence".Шаблон:Sfn A broaded purge targeting radicals was initiated to discredit their ideologies and policies later.Шаблон:Sfn

Members of the Gang of Four were charged with "counterrevolutionary activities" three years later, while few of them compromised.Шаблон:Sfnm Jiang Qing, member of the Gang and the widow of Mao, shouted "Revolution is no crime!" against the charge during the trial.Шаблон:Sfnm The trial has also been accused of "show trial" due to its political motivations.Шаблон:Sfnm

Mao's legacies

Maoist ideologies and policies

As of Mao's death, China's society and culture were seriously impacted by the Cultural Revolution.Шаблон:Sfnm It is estimated tens of millions died in some manner during the Cultural Revolution.Шаблон:Sfnm The economy of China was thought to be weak, if not collapsed.Шаблон:Sfn However, Mao's thoughts and policies still undergird the Chinese society.Шаблон:Sfnm As nearly half the CCP members were recruited as "leftists" during the Cultural Revolution, some feared the radicals could recapture the power.Шаблон:Sfn

Deng Xiaoping, one promoter of the Controversy, had already been denounced as a "capitalist roader" during the Cultural Revolution. Deng had been purged twice and promised to Mao and the Central Committee twice that he would "never ever reverse the verdict" as a "capitalist roader". However, Deng attempted to reverse the radical tide during the Cultural Revolution in 1975, which is bluntly doubted by Mao. Mao later reiterated "'never ever reverse the verdict' just cannot be trusted!"Шаблон:Sfn In April 1976, after the 1976 Tiananmen Incident, Mao dismissed Deng for the third time, which led to the "Criticize Deng, Counterattack the Right-Deviationist Reversal-of-Verdicts Trend" campaign initiated by the Gang of Four.Шаблон:Sfn

"Two Whatevers"

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"Two Whatevers" refers to a slogan associated with the Gang, "Whatever Chairman Mao had said or done was correct." Though the Gang were arrested in 1976, Hua, as Mao's successor and even one of the organizers of the arrest, continues to advocate the slogan to against Deng's market reform. Centered around the slogan, Hua's supporters and the remaining leftists formed the "Whateverist Faction".Шаблон:Sfnm

Process

Rise of Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang

At the end of the Cultural Revolution, Hua still held the dominant power in the party, and some of the revolutionary leftists and the military supported him.Шаблон:Sfnm As Hua changed few policies and rules after Mao, he was gradually gaining more and more enemies.Шаблон:Sfn Hua believed Deng's market reform was too divisive to party unity and social stability, which made him emphasize "stability and unity".Шаблон:Sfn However, Deng took advantage of the accumulated discontent from the previous "Hundred Flowers Movement" and "Democracy Movement", as well as the failure of Hua to reconcile the various factions to build up strength.Шаблон:Sfn

On March 3, 1977, Hu Yaobang, a collaborator of Deng, became the second vice-president of the Central Party School.Шаблон:Sfn Hu removed some radicals from the Central Party School and brought in new people, and, like Deng, Hu also questioned the legitimacy of the Cultural Revolution and called upon the staffs of the Central Party School to "Liberate your thinking!"Шаблон:Sfn Furthermore, Hu ordered them to "use practice as the criterion for testing the truth and for determining the rights and wrongs of a line, and seek the truth from facts when doing research."Шаблон:Sfn Though competing with Deng, Hua also supported a relaxation on thinking, as he encouraged others to speak and criticize.Шаблон:Sfn

Deng also campaigned an offensive to the leftist supporters of Hua, who were proven to be more vulnerable due to their ideologies. With a series of political adjustments, Deng gradually moved his power from the provinces to the center.Шаблон:Sfn In May 1977, with the rehabilitation of Deng, he rose for the third time and explicitly condemned the "Two Whatevers".Шаблон:Sfn Five months later, Deng proposed the idea of "Boluan Fanzheng" as a political slogan, which would later be used to initiate the reform after the Cultural Revolution.Шаблон:Sfn

Publication of "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth"

Though experiencing fierce debate, the conflicts within the party were not publicized until the publication of the article "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth", while some articles holding a similar opinion were published early.Шаблон:Sfn In October 1977, Hu Fuming, a philosophy teacher, submitted the article under the title "Practice is the Criterion of Truth" to Guangming Daily, which was later revised and edited by Hu's supporters.Шаблон:Sfnm On May 11, 1978, the revised edition, namingly "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth", was published in Guangming Daily, and was reprinted in People's Daily the following day.Шаблон:Sfn The article created an immediate stir and brought the debate into the public.Шаблон:Sfnm

The "Whateverist faction" quickly responded. Editor-in-chief of Hongqi commented that "In theory it is absurd; in ideology, it is reactionary; in politics it cuts down [Mao's] banner."Шаблон:Sfn Wu Lengxi, an influential official of the CCP, stated that the article made "an error in orientation", and denied "the universal of truth of Marxism".Шаблон:Sfn Zhang Pinghua, the Director of the CCP Central Propaganda Department, openly criticized the article in a lecture with provincial Propaganda Department leaders and provincial Party secretaries responsible for culture and education.Шаблон:Sfn Various attitudes towards the criterion of truth also existed.Шаблон:Sfn

On June 2, 1978, one month after the publication, Deng expressed his support for the article in a conference.Шаблон:Sfn It is suggested that Deng's speech reconstructed the ideological base of the CCP.Шаблон:Sfnm However, the debate was not ended at that time, as it gradually moved to the point of "the relationship between the criterion and the guiding role of Marxism".Шаблон:Sfnm As Hua's supporters continued to attack the ideological conflicts within the article, Deng and his supporters attempted to reconcile them.Шаблон:Sfn Deng quoted Mao's "seeking truth from fact" to defend the compatibility between Marxism and the criterion.Шаблон:Sfn

As of the end of June, there is little evidence indicating how the debate will be solved.Шаблон:Sfn

3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party

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In October, the CCP held a central meeting to prepare for the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee. Deng's faction began to occupy a more favorable position. Deng himself also criticized the practice of putting the party in place of the government at all administrative levels during the Cultural Revolution.Шаблон:Sfnm Official newspapers reported that many veterans ordered the rehabilitation of the victims during the Cultural Revolution, which is thought to undermined the authority of Hua.Шаблон:Sfn Hua himself made a self-criticism against the "Two Whatevers" during the preparatory meeting, remarking that: Шаблон:Quotation

The 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CCP was held from December 18 to December 22, 1978. The "Two Whatevers" were also described as "erroneous", and the practice criterion was further developed.Шаблон:Sfn Hua and his supporter Wang Dongxing were criticized and Wang had no way but to offer a self-criticism.Шаблон:Sfnm

Chen Yun, an influential official, called for re-evaluations about the impactful actions related to the Gang of Four, including the "61 Renegades" case, the "surrendees" case, the Wang Heshou and Tao Zhu case, the re-burial of Peng Dehuai, the 1976 Tiananmen Incident, the rejudgement of Kang Sheng, all of which were agreed by most people who attended the meeting.Шаблон:Sfnm

A number of Deng's allies were added to the Politiburo (Chen Yun, Deng Yingchao, Hu Yaobang and Wang Zhen). The party line was also changed to the "Four Modernizations". Under the influence of Deng and Chen, the charges against the victims of many previous purges were officially repudiated.Шаблон:Sfnm

References

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