Regarding Den, BOTR asked.
Did he subscribe to the Little Red Book?
Haha! Do you subscribe to the Bible?
The Little Red Book, a compilation of Mao's sayings, is second only to the Bible in circulation (so some claim). I suggest it should be seen as an example of human love of "wisdom" sayings. Compare the the few quotes, I've included at the end of this post, to the Bible example of collected wisdom sayings in the Book of Proverbs.
I think I can confidently say that Deng would have agreed with some bits, shaken his head at other bits, and exploded at other bits.
The so-called Little Red Book, more a descriptive term used in the west, than in China, was a compilation of Mao's writings produced by the Minister of Defence, Lin Biao, in 1964, for the politiical motivation of the Army. Before you respond to that, do you agree that the US Army does something similar?
BTW, the only place I've seen it in China, is in stalls selling things for western tourists. It may be in book shops, but its harder to detect (if its there) because most of the books in these huge bookshops are in Chinese.
And, the only statue of Mao, I can recall seeing on my visits to China, is in Fuzhou. (and, of course, the famous portrait in front of the Forbidden City)
Here are some of quoted sayings:
“Political power grows out of the barrel of the gun…”
“To rebel is justified.”
“A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”
“War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.”
“Don’t give a child a fish but show him how to fish.”
“If the U.S. monopoly capitalist groups persist in pushing their policies of aggression and war, the day is bound to come when they will be hanged by the people of the whole world. The same fate awaits the accomplices of the United States.”
“Firstly, do not fear hardship, and secondly, do not fear death.”
“Politics is war without blood, while war is politics with blood.”
“Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent.”
Each of those statements can (and should be) be discussed in the context of the document from which it has been extracted. The mind of Mao was complex - while he was prepared to go to extreme lengths to achieve his vision for China, - I suggest you need to see him as a product of his time and see him in the cultural/political setting in which he acted.