Two Whatevers
The Two Whatevers was a dogmatic theory glazing Chairman Mao after his death: "We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave" (凡是毛主席作出的决策，我们都坚决维护；凡是毛主席的指示，我们都始终不渝地遵循).
It was defeated in 1978 by reformists led by Deng Xiaoping using the slogan seek truth from facts. The defeat of the Two Whatevers marked the downfall of the Hua Guofeng faction and the beginning of the Reform and Opening Up (改革开放）.
History
In 1976, after Mao's death, the Communist Party of China was led by the centrist Hua Guofeng, who supported the Two Whatevers. Hua Guofeng had four close allies, known as the Little Gang of Four or Whateverist Faction.
- Wang Dongxing
- Wu De
- Chen Xilian
- Ji Dengkui
In 1976, the Gang of Four was purged. Hua's faction still held power, but the rightist reformer faction of Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang was growing in power.
In March 1977, Hu Yaobang came to lead the Central Party School, and began to conflict with Whateverism, telling students to "seek the truth from facts".
In October 1977, philosophy teacher Hu Fuming submitted "Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth" to the Guangming Daily. In May 1978, it was published in the Guangming Daily and People's Daily.
This began a public debate. While many Party politicians called the article reactionary and revisionist, in June Deng Xiaoping endorsed it, invoking Mao's idea to "seek truth from facts".
In October, the CPC held a meeting to prepare for the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee. Hua Guofeng self-criticized that the Two Whatevers were absurd.
At the 3rd Plenary Session in December, the Two Whatevers were firmly defeated. More of Deng's allies were added to the Politburo, including Chen Yun and Hu Yaobang. The Party line was changed to the Four Modernizations, and re-evaluations of purged officials began (Boluan Fanzheng).