Deng Xiaoping

He breathed his last on February 19, 1997, after suffering from lung infection and Parkinson’s disease. His organs were donated for medical research.

Several memorials and statues were constructed to commemorate and honor the offerings of him during his political pursuits.

Deng Xiaoping was born in a Hakka Han family to Deng Wenming and Dan. He had six siblings. His father was a middle class landowner, while his mother passed away when he was very young.

Academically, he graduated from Chongqing Preparatory School in 1919. Thereafter, he along with 80 other fellow students participated in the Mouvement Travail-Etudes, which was a work-study program in France.

In France, he studied little and primarily focused on work. He took up various odd jobs during his stay, and apprenticed himself to be a skilled fitter.

A chance meeting with Zhou Enlai changed the course of his life as he started taking interest in Marxism and began to show interest in political work. In 1920, he joined the Chinese Communist Youth League in Europe.

By 1924, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and became one of the crucial members of the General Branch of the Youth League. Two years later, he moved to Soviet Union to enrol himself at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University.

Upon returning to China in 1927, he joined the army of Feng Yuxiang and unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the split between the nationalists and communists. The eventual divide and changeover in the ideology of Yuxiang resulted in him fleeing first to Wuhan.

At Wuhan, he became one of the leading and most prominent politicians. He then moved to Shanghai where he stayed until 1929. He was in charge of organizing protests, which caused severe causalities in the Communist group. A decreasing number in the group helped him rise up the ranks.

He was soon absorbed under the leadership of Mao Zedong, a Communist leader, who had a profound influence on him. He rose up the ranks to become the party director of the propaganda department.

Mao Zedong established a semblance of communist rule in Jiangxi province and renamed it Jiangxi Soviet. It had its own stamp and paper money under the name, Soviet Republic of China.

Republic of China attacked the Jiangxi Soviet in 1934 which resulted in the Long March from Jiangxi through the interiors of China to a new base in northwestern China.

He never held office as the head of state, head of government or General Secretary of the Communist Party of China but is still regarded as the Paramount Leader who helped China progress socially, economically and culturally.