The term "Mao Zedong Thought" came into use during the Rectification Campaign of 1942-1943, which constituted the decisive stage in Mao's progress from a position as one among several top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the status of chairman, enjoying unquestioned supremacy. It was common practice in revolutionary movements of Marxist inspiration that the ideas of the leader should constitute the theoretical basis for the work of the party. It was even more firmly established in Chinese history that the ruler sho…