Deng Xiaoping. Young revolutionary

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1 Deng Xiaoping Cold War Reference Library Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and Lawrence W. Baker. Vol. 3: Biographies Volume 1. Detroit: UXL, p COPYRIGHT 2004 U*X*L, COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Full Text: Deng Xiaoping Page 116 Born August 22, 1904 Guangan, Szechwan Province, China Died February 19, 1997 Beijing, People's Republic of China Leader of the People's Republic of China "Seek truth from facts." Deng Xiaoping. Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos. Deng Xiaoping was the leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1977 until his death in Besides introducing major economic reforms, Deng strove to increase the PRC's economic ties with the West while keeping distant relations with the Soviet Union. Under former leader Mao Zedong ( ; see entry), the PRC had operated in political and economic isolation; under Deng, the communist nation began to participate in international markets. Young revolutionary 1/5

2 Deng Xiaoping was born in August 1904 to a wealthy landowner, Deng Xixian, in the Szechwan Province of China. In 1921, he went to Paris, France, on a work study program. There, he met future Chinese premier Zhou Enlai ( ; see entry), and in 1922 he joined the branch of the Chinese Communist Youth League Zhou had formed. Showing strong organizational skills, Deng was soon elected to a leadership position. In 1925, Deng went to Moscow, where he studied at the Oriental University for two years before returning to China. Page 117 During the mid 1920s, the Chinese Communist Party had joined forces with the Chinese Nationalist army in an effort to overthrow the unpopular Manchu dynasty rulers. (Nationalism refers to the strong loyalty of a person or group to its own country.) Deng taught at the Chungshan Military Academy in 1926 and 1927 until Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai shek ( ; see entry) abruptly purged communists from the army alliance in April At first, Deng went underground, or lived in secrecy, in Shanghai; then he joined Mao Zedong and other communists in the southern province of Jiangxi. In Jiangxi, Deng became head of the Red Army's Propaganda Bureau, which was charged with the responsibility of establishing a communist government in the province, in opposition to the Chinese Nationalist government. However, Chiang remained intent on crushing the Chinese communist movement. His forces defeated the communist Red Army in Jiangxi. The communists retreated, setting out on the Long March, a 6,000 mile (9,654 kilometer) trek from Jiangxi to northwestern China, where they hoped to establish a new base. Almost eightysix thousand communists took part in the Long March; only nine thousand survived the grueling journey. In 1937, the Communists and Nationalists in China once again joined forces; they were united by necessity the Japanese had invaded China and were threatening to take over the country. With a common goal of protecting China from foreign influence, the Communists and Nationalists maintained their alliance throughout World War II ( ). Deng served as political officer (commissar) for the Red Army during World War II, and he remained in that position when the Chinese civil war resumed in His Second Field Army led the attack against Chiang's Nationalist government. Meanwhile, Deng moved up through the Communist Party ranks. In 1945, he joined the Central Committee, which ran the day to day operations of the Communist Party. The fiery Deng was only 4 feet 11 inches (1.5 meters) tall and earned the nickname "Little Cannon." The Communists gain power In October 1949, the Chinese Communists succeeded in overthrowing Chiang Kai shek's Nationalist government. Communist leader Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Chinese mainland, and the defeated Chiang led a million refugees to the island of Taiwan, located off the south coast of China, where he formed Page 118 the Republic of China (ROC). The United States established formal relations with the ROC and refused to recognize the Communist PRC government. Deng was appointed head of the Communist Party in southwest China in 1949, and the following year the Red Army finally gained full control of that region. Deng busily instituted farming reform in the region and steadily climbed in influence. However, Deng at times clashed with Mao because Deng had adopted a moderate political position in contrast to Mao's more radical revolutionary agenda. Nevertheless, in 1952 Deng was summoned to Beijing and was appointed to various senior posts in the Communist Party and in Mao's government. For example, he became the Central Committee's general secretary in 1954; he also served as minister of finance and as deputy to Premier Zhou Enlai. In 1955, Deng was appointed to the Politburo, the important policy making body of the Communist Party. In 1956, he joined the six member Politburo Standing Committee. As a major policy maker, Deng focused primarily on domestic economic development. One of Deng's priorities was to reduce Soviet control of PRC's railways and industry. In 1957, Deng was part of the PRC delegation to Moscow that denounced the de Stalinization program of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ( ; see entry). Khrushchev had regularly criticized the strict communist rule of his predecessor, Joseph Stalin ( ; see entry); the attempt to discredit Stalin and his policies is referred to as de Stalinization. Deng went to Moscow again in On that visit, he denounced Khrushchev's policy of peaceful coexistence with the West. Deng traveled to the Soviet Union again in 1963, hoping to improve the PRC's relations with the Soviets, but the trip only reinforced the split between the two communist countries. In 1958, Mao introduced the Great Leap Forward, a program designed to improve the PRC economy through agricultural reforms. The program was distinctly different from Deng's emphasis on industrial reform. Mao wanted to go back to an emphasis on agriculture and peasant farming, while Deng wanted to push China more into the industrialized age. Mao's program resulted in failure and led to increased influence for Deng. Mao stepped down as 2/5

3 Page 119 chairman of the PRC, and Deng's associate Liu Bocheng ( ) replaced Mao. Mao remained chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, the more powerful position. In 1965, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to regain more complete control of the nation and drive Deng and Liu from power. Mao wanted to refocus the economy on peasant farming and turn it away from the capitalist trend he saw in Deng's programs. (A capitalist economic system means prices, production, and distribution of goods are determined by competition in a market relatively free of government interference.) Mao's efforts were successful, and Deng was removed from all government and party positions in From 1967 to 1973, Deng and his family were forced to live in a rural region, where he performed manual labor. Rise to leadership In April 1973, with help from Zhou Enlai, Deng suddenly reemerged in PRC politics and was made deputy premier. The Communist Party needed Deng's experience and ability, so he was placed back on the Central Committee later in the year; in 1974, he was back on the Politburo. As Zhou's health began to deteriorate, Deng took over most functions of the premier position for a two year period, essentially running the government. During this time, he accompanied Mao at all meetings with foreign leaders. He also journeyed to France, becoming the highest ranking PRC official to visit a Western European country. In April 1974, Deng went before the United Nations in New York to address a special session on Chinese foreign policy. His raised stature before the UN resulted in him returning home a hero. The death of Zhou in January 1976 led to a power struggle. Mao's wife, Jiang Qing ( ), and three other radical Chinese communists exerted a strong influence over Mao. This group, known as the Gang of Four, pushed Deng from power in April Mao died in September, leaving power to the Gang of Four. However, Hua Guofeng (c ), who at one time had been Mao's chosen successor, soon gained power and reinstated Deng in July Page 120 Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (center) walks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa. Photograph by Peter Turnley. Reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation. Deng would this time rise to prominence as the PRC leader. Before proceeding with his reforms, he sought to end the stature of Mao, which Deng believed was too big, and to decrease the influence of Mao's past political doctrine. Deng believed that communism should be focused on the system and equality of all citizens (theoretically), not on the celebrity of one or a few. As part of this effort, he put the Gang of Four on public trial in November 1980 in order to discredit their earlier actions to control the country. Hua would remain prime minister, but Deng wielded actual control. In January 1979, shortly after the United States established formal relations with the PRC, it was Deng who traveled to Washington, D.C., to visit President Jimmy Carter (1924 ; served ; see entry). Even though Deng held utmost power, he preferred to exert it indirectly and not hold a top post. In 1980, a Deng associate, Zhao Ziyang (1919 ), replaced Hua as prime minister. Another associate, Hu Yaobang ( ), assumed the Communist Party chairmanship in Deng chose to hold the top position in the Central Military Page /5

4 Commission, through which he maintained control of the armed forces. He also held the position of deputy prime minister. To further strengthen his power, Deng established the Central Advisory Commission in 1982 and named himself the chairman. In 1987, he retired from the Central Committee but still retained full power. Through the 1980s, Deng introduced major reforms, decentralizing various parts of the economy. This gave China's provinces greater input in their economic programs and also gave peasant farmers control over their production and profits. He emphasized Page 122 each citizen's individual responsibility to make good decisions. He also introduced family planning to curb the country's rapid population growth. With fields leased to farm families, farmers gained greater control over their production and profits. By the early 1980s, farm production was showing a significant improvement. For industries, Deng introduced incentive systems, rewarding industries for improved efficiency and production. Many industries and businesses were also freed from the control of the central government. Factory managers were given authority to set production levels and seek profits. Previously, the PRC's major economic emphasis was heavy industry, major businesses that demand a lot of capital investment or are labor intensive, such as steel manufacturing or industrial machinery. Deng shifted the emphasis to production of consumer goods, transportation, and energy production. He also formed groups of knowledgeable technicians and managers to lead industrial development. Deng took steps to increase trade and cultural relations with the West and to open PRC businesses to foreign investment. To sustain this economic development, Deng's reforms included sending Chinese students abroad to learn the newest technologies. Despite the economic improvements, the citizens of the PRC strained under Deng's leadership, in part because he did not allow reforms in the political or social systems. Deng's army remained in control of the country. Though the quality of life was improving, the differences between rich and poor grew. Inflation and unemployment also began to rise during the 1980s. In addition, corruption in the government created further unrest in the population. These conditions led to massive protests by students demanding democratic reforms. In early 1989, one such protest led to bloodshed when the PRC army stepped in to respond (see box). Jiang Zemin (1926 ) replaced Deng as chairman of the Central Military Commission in Through the 1990s, Deng's direct involvement in the PRC government continued to decline, but he still remained the most influential person in China. The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union in late 1991 convinced Deng that the PRC needed to Page 123 continue with the economic reforms he had instituted, otherwise the Chinese Communist Party might also fail. By the time Deng died in February 1997, at the age of ninety two, the PRC had achieved increased domestic stability and economic growth. The standard of living rose, and personal freedoms increased. The Chinese Communist Party remained intact as the sole political party in the nation. For More Information Books Cohen, Warren I. America's Response to China: A History of Sino American Relations. 4th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, Hsu, C. Y. The Rise of Modern China. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, Meisner, Maurice. Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic. New York: Free Press, Schaller, Michael. The United States and China: Into the Twenty First Century. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, Short, Philip. Mao: A Life. New York: Henry Holt, Terrill, Ross. Mao: A Biography. New York: Harper and Row, Yang, Benjamin. Deng: A Political Biography. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, /5

5 Tiananmen Square While Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931 ; see entry) was visiting Beijing in April 1989, massive demonstrations for political reform in the People's Republic of China (PRC) broke out. Gorbachev was introducing political reform in the Soviet Union, and many in China wanted the same to occur in their nation. The demonstrators wanted greater political freedom and a more democratic government. Demonstrations occurred in Tiananmen Square, a large public area in Beijing originally built in 1651 and traditionally the place of mass gatherings. It is one of the largest public squares in the world. Some three thousand Chinese students went on a hunger strike on May 13 and demanded Deng's resignation. The protests gained much international attention through televised broadcasts. Even some PRC army units showed support for the protesters. In response, the government declared martial law (when the law is administered by the military, rather than by civilian agencies) on May 20. On June 4, the army moved in with Deng's approval, crushing the protest. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed in Beijing, and unknown numbers of people died in other cities where similar demonstrations were occurring. The following week, protest leaders were executed in public. Deng blamed Zhao Ziyang for the demonstrations and replaced him with the more conservative Jiang Zemin. Deng also tightened controls over the Chinese people by restricting the freedom of expression, particularly in public gatherings. Despite international protests over the Tiananmen incident, economic relations between the PRC and the West were unaffected. China was able to retain its most favored nation trade status despite protests from some in the U.S. Congress, and in the years that followed, trade continued to expand. However, China withdrew from international politics and became isolated once again. Source Citation (MLA 7 th Edition) "Deng Xiaoping." Cold War Reference Library. Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and Lawrence W. Baker. Vol. 3: Biographies Volume 1. Detroit: UXL, Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Apr URL id=gale%7ccx &v=2.1&u=slsa_2014&it=r&p=gvrl&sw=w&asid=d8dbbecb980aa4e406981f80a777b169 Gale Document Number: GALE CX /5