There were several actions taken by Mao and the CCP that can be considered to be following the theoretical ideology. In 1950 to 1953, Mao joined the Korean War, to help North Korea invade South Korea and this action was to consolidate and form another Communist country. Another example is when in 1952 to 1956, Mao issued the 1st Five Year plan that consisted in urbanization, Mao wanted China to become, in 5 years, as urbanized as countries in the west, such as England for example. Unsure of how many people opposed his views and methods, he initiated the Hundred Flowers Campaign from 1953 to 1957 in which he allowed freedom of speech and criticism, it is still unsure why he did so, but what is sure is that in 1957 he started the Anti-Rightist movement in which who ever had criticized him in the Hundred Flowers Campaign was to be punished through informal criticism, re-education through labor and in some cases death. By the end of 1957 the CCP labeled 300,000 people as rightist. Furthermore, another example is the 2nd Year Plan, better known as Great Leap Forward from 1958 to 1962. The Great Leap Forward consisted in an economic and social campaign, through which the CCP used the population to increase the development of the country through industrialization and collectivization. The Great Leap Forward cause many deaths due famine, the numbers range from 18 to about 45 million people. However, probably the biggest action taken, that was purely theoretical ideology, was the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to 1976, where Mao banned the ‘Four Olds’: old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas.
The Korean War 1950 to 1953 also plays a role when it comes to practical ideology/personal interest, because since it took place in the year right after 1949, when Mao came to power, it helped him stabilize his position as leader. The Hundred Flowers Campaign, 1953 to 1957, can be considered practical ideology/personal interest as well as theoretical, because it helped release any counter revolution pressure and let Mao’s position as a leader be safe. Another action taken by Mao and the CCP was the attack on Tibet in 1959, where they tried to regain that territory that they had previously lost during the Qing Dynasty and this was practical ideology/personal interest because Mao wanted to unify China, which would have also made him look more powerful and strong to other countries in the world, for example the US. Another example of practical ideology/personal interest is when Mao blames Zhou Enlai for everything that has happened in the Great Leap Forward, 1958 to 1962, because the one that had announced the Great Leap Forward was Zhou Enlai and so he was to be blamed not Mao because those weren’t his words.
Concluding, it results very complicated to answer this question because Ideology plays a massive role in Mao’s China but many of his actions were for personal interest. For example, the Korean war 1950 to 1953 was both Ideological and for personal interest. Therefore, Ideology in Mao’s China is important to the extent that, Ideology and personal interest have a equivalent role in the actions taken by Mao and the CCP.
