Saturday, June 21, 2008

Hu Yaobang at the Beginning of the Reform Era

It was thirty years ago, in 1978, when Deng Xiaoping launched his great reform in the aftermath of Chairman Mao Zedong's death and the end of Cultural Revolution. A series of significant events during that year opened the curtain of that era, which are being commemorated this year. One of them was the publication of a philosophical essay, Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing the Truth (时间是检验真理的唯一标准). The essay, published under the name of an unknown author, opened the debate that "truth" may not be whatever Chairman Mao had previously said.

In China, an article like that would not have come out on it own. Thirty years later, Hu Deping, Hu Yaobang's eldest son, tells the story of how his father had spearheaded the preparation and the publication of that essay. A much abbrevated English translation can be read here. It is the first of three installment, to be continued.

Thanks to China Digital Times for the link.

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