"Factionalism is widely understood to be one of the distinguishing characteristics of Chinese politics. The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of purges and infighting among its elite members and, after 1949, of seemingly irrational and frequently vicious struggles for succession to leadership. Almost all of the successors to Mao and Deng ... were purged. What is not as well understood is how this divisive feature could coexist with another linchpin of post-1949 political power and legitimacy: Party unity." (Quoted from book)