The Cult of Certainty

By 1957 it had become increasingly clear that Mao's character, outlook and judgement were changing. In the 1930s and 1940s, when he had been fighting for the survival of the Communists against the Japanese and the Nationalists, he had occasionally shown a ruthless streak, but his excesses had been mainly restrained by the exigencies of the moment and subordinated to the greater goals of the CCP. Mao needed to adopt a hard, pragmatic approach if he was to build up his small party and secure a liberated, united China under CCP rule. The sheer physical obstacles were incredibly tough. It is therefore no surprise that, when he finally achieved his prize in 1949, Mao was battlehardened and determined not to let the country ever slip from CCP control. Considering the lowly status of the CCP only a decade before, its triumph was as remarkable as it was unpredictable, and inevitably Mao began to see the struggle and particularly his own role as preordained. It was widely recognized that he had indeed played a key part in the drama, but Mao now began to believe in his own legend as the saviour of the nation. A cult of personality began to gather around this seemingly infallible leader and Mao encouraged this, not merely because he enjoyed the power but also because he believed the nation had to be united under one strong leader. There was no need to consider opposing views; that would only weaken the country, as the Hundred Flowers Campaign had proved. Mao had brought military and political success to the CCP, he had founded the PRC, and he had begun the modernization and industrialization of the country. In all of these areas he had been proved successful; therefore, it only seemed logical to him that he should be able to dictate policy from now on and, as Chinese history had demonstrated, success tended to be associated with strong, unbending leadership. When a nation thought as one it would act as one, and success would inevitably follow. Mao's own thoughts were contained in what became known as the Little Red Book, which was to become a bible for Chinese citizens – there was to be no division between Mao's ideology and that of the party – he was Chinese Communism in both thought and action.