ABSTRACT
Standard Party history as opposed to the full range of new documentation, are closer to the leadership conflict than the bureaucratic model, but without the implication of a major struggle between Mao and other top leaders. At the symbolic level, Zhou Enlai sought to deal with the situation by balancing the need for opposing conservatism with an equal imperative to avoid blind rash advance. While unpublished Chinese document refers to one or two persons who backed the Chairman, the oral sources consulted have consistently indicated a single individual. According to the recollections of a former financial official, in 1956-57 period Zhou normally chaired Politburo meetings dealing with economic policies and after hearing reports asked Chen Yun for his views, saying comparatively little himself. In terms of individual relations, Li Fuchun was particularly close to Mao, being a personal friend as well as having a close political connection going back to the Jiangxi period.
