Learning from Dazhai after the Great Leap Forward: Mutations of Socialism under Mao Zedong Thought, 1964–1978

In 1964, Mao instructed the Party to mobilize the nation to learn from Dazhai, a village that remained faithful to his vision of socialism in spite of it being discredited after the Great Leap Forward of 1958. The national campaign to learn from Dazhai (1964–1978) took place during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), where political infighting was rife. The radicals and conservatives alternated in power and advanced competing interpretations of the ‘Dazhai experience’ in order to claim control of the party line. They acted as if Dazhai was their puppet, with them being the ventriloquists pulling the strings from behind. This created profound policy confusion that resulted in the downfall of Dazhai and the end of political theatre models.