Joseph Torigian on Xi Zhongxun and Elite Chinese Communist Party Politics
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Why is Xi Zhongxun’s life a key lens for understanding elite CCP politics?
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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Oddlots podcast. I'm Jill Wiesenthal.
And I'm Tracy Alloway.
Tracy, sometimes I read twentieth century Chinese history and uh
Sometimes. Just a little.
No, there's here's something I don't understand. Like, you know, I read about the Mao era or the Deng Xiaoping era. And all the various cadres they're all like, oh, we're like guilty of like we c committed like a left deviationism or right deviationism or all this stuff, and they're all really worried about whether they're gonna get expelled or something like that. And I never like know what any of these words mean. Like I actually feel like I have no intuitive understanding of how like elite level Chinese Communist Party politics works. And I think I probably should given the sort of like growing stakes and the growing awareness with which we as Americans all have to be aware about how China works.
Wait, if you're reading lots of China history books, you must know what self criticism is, right? I know what
self criticism is. Okay. But I don't know why. They're like, Oh, you engaged in revisionism or you engage engaged in ultraleftism or you engaged in ultra rightism and I don't know what any of these terms mean.
Well My experience of China is that sometimes the rules are a little sketchy on purpose, right? So that there isn't a clear definition so that you can kind of go after Whoever you want. You know what I I do to learn about Chinese history?
Tell me.
Chinese historical dramas. I kind of love them.
Do you mean like plays or books or No no no I mean
uh T V shows. TV shows. Probably the equivalent of soap operas in the States.
Do you have a favorite?
Oh, I have one I'm watching right now. I'll tell you afterwards. It's so good. But the reason I bring it up is because relatively recently there was a historical drama that was all about Xi Jinping's father.
Oh, I saw some screenshots from that. I think someone like uploaded it all to you. Have you watched it?
I haven't I I've been looking for it and I haven't been able to find it. So if you find it on YouTube, let me know. But the reason I bring it up is 'cause we're gonna be speaking about his life today to the author of one of his biographies, the first English speaking biography. And the series itself got panned when it came out. It was really funny. And there were some quotes that said, Oh, I think Chinese youth today would rather watch Stranger Things than learn about the history of the C C P. So we're gonna try to make C C P history as interesting as Stranger Things on this podcast.
And we're also, I guess, going to make the case maybe to American listeners and maybe some Chinese youth if they're listening that it's worth learning about. Because right? Like whether it's interesting or not, it's like, okay, it's the year twenty twenty five. Do we need to like revisit the history in Yunnan or the Northwest provinces or whatever? All this stuff. Is this really important? Anyway.
How did early revolutionary cadres decide to join the Communist Party in the 1940s‑50s?
We obviously have the perfect guest. We're gonna be speaking with Joseph Tarrigian. He is a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution and an associate professor at American University.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is Xi Zhongxun’s life a key lens for understanding elite CCP politics?
0:00–4:02
2
How did early revolutionary cadres decide to join the Communist Party in the 1940s‑50s?
4:02–10:13
3
What does “self‑criticism” and the left‑/right‑deviation language reveal about party discipline?
10:13–16:45
4
How did Xi Zhongxun rise through the party ranks and survive early purges?
16:45–23:21
5
Why was the Soviet‑China relationship so volatile for Xi Zhongxun in the 1950s‑60s?
23:21–30:31
6
What lessons does Xi Zhongxun’s 16‑year purge teach about the Cultural Revolution’s legacy?
30:31–35:32
7
How does Xi Jinping use his father’s history to shape modern party strategy and prevent another Cultural Revolution?
35:32–41:45
8
What are the biggest misconceptions Western scholars have about CCP factionalism and decision‑making?
41:45–46:37
Speakers
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