China: Mao's Legacy -

He looked at the portrait on the wall. Mao's face smiled back, serene and omniscient. To dismiss him was impossible; he had forged the very foundation of the modern state. To praise him without reserve felt like a betrayal of the millions who had vanished into the dust of his grand experiments.

Chen knew the struggle for the soul of the party was already beginning in the corridors outside. Men like Deng Xiaoping were waiting in the wings, eager to turn the country toward the outside world and repair the broken economy. The era of perpetual revolution was ending, and the era of pragmatism was about to begin. The Final Stroke China: Mao's legacy

Old Chen, a veteran clerk of the Central Committee, stared at the blank sheet of paper before him. His brush, heavy with rich red ink, hovered in the air. Outside, the nation was holding its breath. The "Great Helmsman," Chairman Mao, was dead. He looked at the portrait on the wall