Why were Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping removed from power during the Cultural Revolution?

During the Cultural Revolution, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping were removed from power primarily because Mao Zedong viewed their pragmatic policies as a threat to his revolutionary vision and a slide toward "revisionism."123

Reasons for Their Removal

• Ideological Conflict: Following the failure of the Great Leap Forward, Liu and Deng implemented economic reforms—such as material incentives and individual household farming—to restore stability and growth. Mao perceived these methods as a repudiation of his revolutionary strategy and feared they mirrored the "modern revisionism" of the Soviet Union.23
• Power Struggle: Mao became convinced that the "principal enemy" was located within the Chinese Communist Party itself. He initiated the Cultural Revolution as a radical method to eliminate leaders who had "dared to cross him" and to prevent what he saw as the bureaucratic degeneration of the party.24
• Specific Downfalls: By late 1964, after Liu refused to direct the main thrust of class struggle against "capitalist roaders" in the party, Mao decided he had to be removed. Deng was purged twice during the era; his final removal in 1976 was triggered by massive demonstrations in Beijing that honored Zhou Enlai and challenged the radical Gang of Four.31