Zhang Chunqiao and the Politics of the 1975 People’s Republic of China Constitution

Abstract

Existing studies about the 1975 constitution in the English literature, mostly conducted shortly after its announcement, are primarily interested in how the document differs from the constitutions of 1954 and 1978. The current study is instead primarily interested in the dynamics and process of drafting the 1975 constitution. Although the document reflects the radicalism of the Cultural Revolution, it was also the result of political compromise. The roles of Mao and the party, the concept of “dictatorship of the proletariat,” and the belief in communist internationalism were all toned down because of the preceding events that occurred. The fate of the 1975 People’s Republic of China constitution was closely linked to Zhang Chunqiao, the key person in charge of drafting the document. Although many of Zhang’s ideas as reflected in the 1975 constitution were communistic, the way that the politics was conducted then was not. Unlike the more commonly used method of textual analysis from a comparative perspective, this study used materials that emerged after the Cultural Revolution to document the dynamics of drafting the constitution.