ABSTRACT
The Chinese political system has consistently produced leadership of a very high level of efficacy and that it has been moving toward greater wisdom. This chapter examines two leadership regimes—those of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Both Mao and Deng were very much aware of the besetting flaw of charismatic leadership—particularly at the time of approaching succession for each, when his own eminent demise made it necessary to consider how the nation's leadership could best be maintained, and if possible, improved. The fact that Mao and Deng came to represent opposing ideological and policy lines during their lifetimes has obscured certain underlying similarities between them, particularly in handling paramount leadership. Mao was able to transform profoundly the ownership system, the kinship structure, the class structure, and the political culture during his tenure. Finally, both leaders have held the country together in the face of divisive pressures that might otherwise have turned it into a "sheet of loose sand".
