Deng Xiaoping
(1904–1997), leader of the Chinese Communist Party. Deng Xiaoping, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the 1980s, survived the purges of the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976 to assume the party leadership. The eldest son of a prosperous landlord, he was born on 22 August 1904 in Paifang Village, Sichuan Province. Like many of his contemporaries, Deng went to France through the work-study program, where he became involved with what would be the future leadership of the CCP. Following his time in France, Deng went to Moscow, where he trained as a political activist and organizer. After working briefly as Communist Party organizer in Southwest China, Deng moved to the Kiangsi Soviet to be with party leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976). From 1938 to 1952, Deng served in the forerunner of what would later be the People's Liberation Army, where he led forces againstthe Japanese and later against nationalist forces during the Chinese civil war.
A billboard in Shenzhen features Deng Xiaoping and reads: "Uphold the party's fundamental line— we will not waver in a hundred years." (EYE UBIQUITOUS/CORBIS)Following the Chinese civil war, Deng's loyalty to the CCP was rewarded when he was named vice premier. Deng primarily worked in the ministry of finance, where he would formulate economic policy. He later was appointed to the Politboro, where he eventually became general secretary. He held that post until 1966, when he was denounced for his opposition to Mao's Socialist Education Movement (1962–1965) and removed from his post by Mao, Lin Bao, and Chen Boda. In 1973 Deng was rehabilitated and returned to office. In 1975 he once again was denounced and removed from office, this time by the Gang of Four, a group of radical leaders who sought to seize control of the CCP. Following Mao's death and the arrest of the Gang of Four, Deng again assumed the mantle of leadership within the Communist Party and maintained this position until his death on 19 February 1997.
Further Reading
MacFarguhar, Roderick, ed. (1997) The Politics of China: The Eras of Mao and Deng. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Yung, Benjamin. (1998) Deng: A Political Biography. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
Zhang, Wei-Wei. (1996) Ideology and Economic Reform Deng Xiaoping, 1978–1993. New York: Columbia University Press.
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