Part two of this series on China’s modern political history can be characterised as The Turn, the second magician’s act in which something extraordinary happens. As explained in part one, the Pledge-Turn-Prestige structure helps to make sense of the radical, at times spectacular transformation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) since its establishment in 1921. That year at the first National Congress of the CPC, it was decided that communism would be the Party’s ideological weapon in its struggle against both domestic political rivals and foreign aggressors. During the civil war, Mao Zedong cleverly adopted a communist ideology with certain ‘Chinese characteristics’ that not only enabled the Party to win the war but also establish absolute power. The Turn will zoom in on two key figures in the years following Mao’s death in 1976 who facilitated a period of radical reform and unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit.