According to Chen and Yang, all activities by Deng were based on
the fundamental Maoist thought of ‘‘seeking truth from facts’’ (Chen
and Yang, 1992 : 74–79). To the extent he differed from Mao, Deng
emphasized ‘‘historical materialism’’ and introduced ‘‘ideological
emancipation’’ as a necessary step in order to heed historical condi-
tions (particularly China’s conditions in the immediate post-Mao
years, when disillusionment with Mao’s radical mass movements
was widespread). Some scholars (e.g. Chen and Yang, 1992 ;Yu,
1995 ) argue that Deng’s pragmatism represents a deeper and more
faithful practice of ‘‘seeking truth from facts,’’ with attention not only
to facts in the abstract but, more importantly, to facts and social
conditions in historical context.
Despite the aforesaid important commonalities between Mao
and Deng, the differences between the two in leadership style and
methodology are also significant. Dernberger ( 1999 ) believes that
the fundamental economic institutions and policies, as well as the
resulting economic developments, during Mao’s era (1949–1975)
readily contrast with those in Deng’s era (1978–1995). In a compari-
son, Mao seemed to be more idealistic and holistic, and a visionary
on nationalism; Deng seemed to be more realistic and details-minded,
and a visionary on economic development.
Many of Mao’s mass movements were motivated by idealistic goals
he had for the nation. Through the Great Leap Forward, he wanted
China to catch up with the United Kingdom in ten years and with the
United States in fifteen years. Through the campaign of ‘‘learning from
Dazhai’’ (a village Mao set as a national paragon for agricultural
development), he wanted every Chinese village to be soon transformed
into a new socialist village of social harmony and materialistic abun-
dance. Through the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, he wanted
the nation to be turned completely into a pure socialist country, with
classless equality and freedom from power differentiation. (For more
details on Mao’s utopianism and idealism, see, for instance, Li, 1994 .)
Mao’s writings display a philosophical endeavor to grasp the whole
world in its totality. His dialectical analysis of contradictions, for
instance, stipulates comprehensive understanding of the opposing
sides of all the major contradictions in any given thing. His mapping
of the entire world into three blocs (the First, the Second, and the
Third Worlds) again represents an effort to comprehend the very
whole in its entirety. Mao’s inclination toward nationwide movements
230 Xin-an Lu and Jie Lu