WUHAN, China—On a visit here in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping went to a lakeside villa where Mao Zedong spent summers in the 1950s enjoying such luxuries as a swimming pool and air conditioning. Opening a new exhibition there that makes no mention of the millions who died under Mao's leadership, Mr. Xi declared that the villa should be a center for educating youth about patriotism and revolution.
A week earlier, he went to a village from which Mao attacked Beijing in 1949. There, Mr. Xi vowed that "our red nation will never change color."
It isn't just Mr. Xi's rhetoric that has taken on a Maoist tinge in recent months. He has borrowed from Mao's tactical playbook, launching a "rectification" campaign to purify the Communist Party, while tightening limits on discussion of ideas such as democracy, rule of law and enforcement of the constitution.
Mr. Xi's apparent lurch to the left comes as Chinese authorities prepare for the coming trial of Bo Xilai, the former party rising star who led a Maoist revival movement until his dramatic downfall last year. Two of Mr. Bo's lawyers said they expected the trial where he faces corruption charges to take place next week. Before he was detained, Mr. Bo rejected allegations of corruption.
The Chinese president's Maoist leanings have dismayed many advocates of political reform, who hoped that Mr. Bo's downfall signaled a repudiation of his autocratic leadership style and might lead to a strengthening of the rule of law and other limits on party power.
But Mr. Xi's recent record has delighted and emboldened many former Bo supporters who advocate stronger, centralized leadership as the solution to the country's problems.
"Chairman Mao is a rich resource for us," said Hu Angang, an economist and leading member of the "New Left" intellectual movement that backed Mr. Bo. "I'm not surprised by what Xi is doing." Zhang Hongliang, another New Left economist, said in a blog post last month that the New Left should support Mr. Xi because his recent speeches showed he had fully absorbed their political agenda.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, which usually handles inquiries from the foreign press, didn't respond to a request for comment for this article.
Mr. Xi's use of Maoist imagery, rhetoric and strategy sets him apart from his two predecessors—who both emphasized collective leadership—and suggests to many party insiders that he won't pursue meaningful political reform during the 10 years he is expected to stay in power.
Jeremy Page/The Wall Street Journal
A wax model of Mao at a new exhibition in Wuhan opened in July by Communist Party Chief Xi in Beijing.
In fact, he appears to be doubling down on China's authoritarian political model, while borrowing elements of Mr. Bo's Maoist revivalism and media-savvy politics to boost his own stature and revive public support for the party, according to political insiders and analysts.
Last month Mr. Xi launched a yearlong campaign to strengthen and purify the party that for many insiders is a conscious echo of Mao's "rectification" movements to purge rivals and enforce ideological discipline.
He has commanded army generals and senior officers to reconnect with the "masses" by serving as privates for 15 days minimum.
The new Chinese leadership has also ordered officials to combat the spread of "seven serious problems" including universal values, press freedom, civil society and judicial independence.
At the same time, state media have published a series of attacks on civil society and "constitutionalism"—the idea that the party's power be limited by China's existing constitution.
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