ABSTRACT
Mao's passing and the subsequent return of Deng Xiaoping to the forefront of Chinese pa lidcs marked the beginning of sweeping changes within the Chinese system. The shift away from the ideo logical preferences of the late Chairman was evident in the practical thrust of policies introduced by the immediate post-Mao regime although the successor leadership of Hua G uofeng went to great lengths to affirm th e Maoist legacy and resist any criticism of radical leftism at the theoretical level. 1 The ascendancy of Deng Xiaopi ng and the political decline of Hua and his cohort brought a much sharper break with the past for Deng's agenda included far-reaching economic, pol itical and cultural change. The hall. mark of the new approach was its focus on economic developmem accompanied by a recognition of limits to state control, which translated imo an extensive depoli ticization of social life and the cultural and liter ~ ary spheres.
