With the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976 upon Mao Zedong’s death and the purge of the Gang of Four, there occurred a widespread political and social reaction to the violent and destructive excesses of Maoism.
Deng Xiaoping, having secured rehabilitation in 1975, further consolidated his position, assuming paramount leadership in December 1978, but not before he had the chance to elevate his protege Yaobang in May of that year.
Simultaneously, with the return of national examinations and the reopening of schools and universities, intellectuals reasserted themselves as a distinct stratum of Chinese society and were strongly supportive of the reform campaign carried out by Xiaoping, Yaobang, and Zhao Zhiyang.
Advised by Yu Guangyuan, an official of the Propaganda Department prominent in the Hundred Flowers Campaign for his criticism of Lysenkoism, Yaobang selected five chairmen for the conference.
Blaming the neglect of practical experience and the masses, Hu advocated “seeking truth from facts” which emphasised the importance of integrating theory with work in adapting to the shifting focus of the Party towards the Four Modernisations.
The conditions Hu specified for advancement of theoretical and propaganda work included an in-depth study of Marxist-Leninist and Mao Zedong’s ideologies, maintaining the integration of theory and practice as well as promoting open dialogue and democratic exchange of ideas.
Blaming the neglect of practical experience and the masses, Hu advocated “seeking truth from facts” which emphasised the importance of integrating theory with work in adapting to the shifting focus of the Party towards the Four Modernisations.
The conditions Hu specified for advancement of theoretical and propaganda work included an in-depth study of Marxist-Leninist and Mao Zedong’s ideologies, maintaining the integration of theory and practice as well as promoting open dialogue and democratic exchange of ideas.
[1] Yan delivered a speech and published an article titled "Democracy Examined," regarding the criticism of lifelong tenure for top Party and government leaders.
Guo Luo Ji was a democratic elite who gained recognition for his historic vote against the election of Kang Sheng's wife, Cao Yiou, as deputy to the National People's Congress.
Su Shaozhi and Feng Wanrui argued that China's complete state ownership indicated a stagnation in the phase of "undeveloped socialism" (bu fada de shehui zhuyi).
The speech highlighted the Cultural Revolution as a ‘gigantic catastrophe’[5] for the state, also drawing upon the anti-rightist campaigns to show the unwillingness of intellectuals to speak out against the regime.
When Deng assumed party leadership in 1978, he focused on rectifying the errors of the Cultural Revolution and restoring political, economic, and social order during the Boluan Fanzheng period.
In his closing speech of the conference, he established the Four Cardinal Principles which were designed to underscore the belief in the supremacy of Lenin’s one-party state and consolidate the Communist Party’s dictatorship, ensuring it had absolute and exclusive power for effective governance.
The conference further marked the beginning of a power struggle between the progressive intellectual elites, led by figures including Hu Yaobang, and the conservative revolutionary elders.
The conflict revolved around power as well as what direction China should take - whether to revert to a pre-Cultural Revolution model, adopt a modified form, or embrace fundamental institutional and ideological changes.
Overall, the legacy of the Theory Conference can be seen through the continuation of ideas advocated by intellectuals and reformers, leading to political changes in the following decades, despite periodic crackdowns and suppressions.