Deng Xiaoping

Josh KrauseIan NapierPeriod 1

Early Life• In 1919, Deng Xiaoping traveled to France

on a work-study program.• Influenced by the elder Chinese students

in France, Deng began studying Marxism.• In 1921, he joined the Chinese

Communist Youth League in Europe.• After 3 years, Deng officially graduated to

the Chinese Communist Party and became a leading member in the General Branch of the Youth League in Europe.

• From 1926-1927, Deng Xiaoping studied in Moscow with one of his classmates being the son of Chiang Kai-shek.

• After returning from Moscow, Deng would join the military and eventually achieve the rank of General of the People’s Liberation Army by 1950.

Born:August 22, 1904Guang’an, Sichuan, China

Died:February 19, 1997Beijing, China

Spouses:Zhang Xiyuan (1928–1929) Jin Weiying (1931–1939) Zhuo Lin (1939–1997)

Children:Deng Lin Deng Pufang Deng Nan Deng Rong Deng Zhifang

Signature:

Height:4 ft. 11 in.

Weight:120 lbs.

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Aims• Deng’s main priority became re-

stabilizing the economy.• He wanted China to be an able

economic contender to the capitalist West.

• Deng also focused on modernizing China in order to compete with the consumer goods being produced in the West.

• Mao Zedong had severely hindered the economy of China with his Great Leap forward and Cultural Revolution policies and Deng Xiaoping vowed to help reverse the effects of Mao’s prior ideas.

• The Great Leap Forward also disrupted the agriculture and educational sectors of China and Mao focused on these areas as well.

• In 1978, the Ten Year Plan was implemented by the Xiaoping government.

• The Ten Year Plan focused on reshaping the economy after Mao’s GLF.

• The plan was to have China become self-sufficient by the end of the ten year period.

• With the Chinese able to produce enough goods for their population, they would be able to focus on exporting rather than spending money on imports.

• By 1979, the government realized that the plan was too expensive, so the ultimate goals were modified.

• The main focus was on the Four Modernizations: agriculture, industry, science and technology, and the military.

The Ten Year Plan was in the end successful and rocketed the Chinese into the modern age, but the population suffered from heavy workloads and increasingly worse quality of life.

Ideology

• Deng Xiaoping studied the bolstering Western economy and wanted to achieve this same success without converting to capitalism.

• Deng would try to implement political policies that helped introduce capitalist-like ideals without threatening the central Marxist ideology of the CCP.

• The Deng Xiaoping Theory, also known as Dengism, was the political and economic ideologies implemented by Deng which helped the Marxist ideals of the CCP adapt to the modern market.

• Deng's social and economic philosophy attempted to merge a market economic model with a Marxist-Leninist political system, which became known as socialism with Chinese characteristics.

• The main motivation for Dengism came from the Four Cardinal Principles.

The Four Cardinal Principles:-Upholding the basic spirit of Communism-Upholding the People’s democratic dictatorship political system-Upholding the leadership of the Communist Party-Upholding Marxism-Leninist and Mao Zedong Thought

Support• Deng Xiaoping, like most Soviet dictators,

achieved his political success from serving in the military.

• Deng served until he became Mao’s lieutenant.• He was renowned for his service and

eventually achieved a high office position in Beijing.

• Because the Communist party was loyal to the single dictator, Deng did not have a strong following.

• His power and leadership was noticed by Mao, though and he became close to the leader.

• Towards the end of Mao’s rule, Deng was criticized for his capitalist-like ideals and was removed from office numerous times, but was eventually brought back due to his relationship with Mao and his close, powerful supporters.

Sources

• CNN. "Reformer with an Iron Fist." CNN. Cable News Network, 2001.

Web. 01 May 2013.

• Elegant, Simon. "His Secret's Safe." Time. Time, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 28

Apr. 2013.

• People Daily. "Deng Xiaoping." English People Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 27

Apr. 2013.

• Tyler, Patrick E. "Deng Xiaoping: A Political Wizard Who Put China on

the Capitalist Road."New York Times. New York Times, 20 Feb. 1997.

Web. 27 Apr. 2013.