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Jérôme Torossian

Professor Hengda Yang

HIST 346

November 30, 2015

Deng Xiaoping: The Rise of China

After the death on September 9, 1976 of one of the most murderous dictators in history,

Chairman Mao Zedong, the general feeling in the People’s Republic of China was as if time had

completely stopped. Indeed, his sudden disappearance drove the entire country into a national

state mourning stage. Millions of Chinese people were crying the loss of their “great leader,” and

many of them were actually concerned about what would be their future fate and the one of their

own nation. The Chinese, even the ones who protested on April 5, were afraid that the chaos of

the Cultural Revolution would come back or that the current government would disintegrate and

throw the state into a second civil war. Fortunately, none of these major apprehensive occurred.

In fact, the death of Mao Zedong not only marks the end of the Maoist era and some of his harsh

policies, but it represents as well the beginning of the rise of the People’s Republic of China

under the rule of Deng Xiaoping. In order to save the Chinese people and the country out of

misery, the Communist Party under Deng Xiaoping had to accept that it had to radically change

its present policies and turn its direction towards more liberal reforms to save the failing

economy. In this essay, I will mainly talk about how the People’s Republic of China as well as

the lives of the Chinese people began to significantly transform and improve after the death of

Mao Zedong. In addition, I will discuss the major changes and reforms that were enacted under

the rule of Deng Xiaoping and make a clear comparison with the ones that were adopted by Mao.

Finally, I will demonstrate that Deng Xiaoping successfully pushed out his nation from being a

backward country into a fully recognized and respected world power.

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In order to be well informed about Deng Xiaoping, an overview of this Chinese

statesman is more than necessary. Deng Xiaoping was born in 1904 into a small landlord family

in the rural village of Paifang located in the Chinese province of Sichuan.1 During China’s

imperial time, many Chinese families who possessed an intelligent child were willing to do

everything in order to educate him or her so that the kid could potentially become an official and

bring prosperity to the family.2 Deng was an example of such a clever kid, and his own father,

Deng Wenming, did what he could, even when he almost went totally bankrupt, to give his son

the education he needed.3 Deng Xiaoping began his studies in his village when he was five years

old in the house of an educated relative, where he was primarily taught Confucian classics.4 As

he grew up, he passed many important competitive examinations that would allow him to enter

schools according to his grade.5 Deng Xiaoping demonstrated early his sense of patriotism as at

the age of fourteen, he participated in the May Fourth Movement, in which the Chinese people

were unhappy about a deal that was made at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. The deal agreed in

Paris “allowed Japan to stay […] in Shandong,” which it had taken away from Germany during

World War I.6 As a result, people protested against their government’s failure to gain back its

lost territories, now controlled by Japan. This movement quickly gained the attention of

university and high school students throughout the nation, and later led Deng to take part in the

anti-Japanese boycotts in Chongqing in the fall of 1919.7

Thanks to Deng Wenming, Deng’s understanding of the outside world would

significantly improve after his father found a chance for him to receive further education in

1 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.152 Ibid., p.153 Ibid., p.15 and p.164 Ibid., p.165 Ibid., p.176 Chang, Jung; Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. Globalfare, 2005, p.21 7 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.17

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France.8 France welcomed in its territory many Chinese laborers in order to replace in the

factories all of the young Frenchmen who left to participate in the war.9 A rich businessman from

Sichuan, who previously studied in this western nation, created a scholarship to allow students

from his province to participate in a work-study program in France.10 A one-year preparatory

school was founded in Chongqing to prepare potential students to go abroad. Deng Xiaoping

successfully passed the test to study in the school, however, as he failed the French examination

that would enable him to go to France, his father paid for his passage.11 Deng Xiaoping had to

fulfill only one goal, which was to “learn knowledge and truth from the West in order to save

China.”12

When Deng Xiaoping came in France, he heard from his Chinese comrades, like Zhou

Enlai, about how bad capitalism and imperialism were. It was also in France that Deng Xiaoping

discovered for the first time Marxism.13 In 1923, two years after the Chinese Communist Party

was founded, he joined the Chinese Communist Youth League and officially became part of the

CCP in 1924.14 Once he heard that he was going to be arrested for protesting against France’s

cooperation with the oppressive Chinese government, Deng Xiaoping decided to escape to the

Soviet Union in 1926.15 There, he studied at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, which the

Comintern had established to train members of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.16

8 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.16-179 Ibid., p.1710 Ibid., p.1711 Ibid., p.1812 Sheehan, Matt. For Chinese Students Abroad, Personal Freedoms – Not Political – Are What Matter. The Atlantic, 2013. Web.13 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.2214 Ibid., p.20 and p.2215 Ibid., p.2316 Ibid., p.23

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Even though his study was supposed to last two years, Deng was sent back to China in

1927 to be near Feng Yuxiang, a Chinese warlord.17 It was during that year that the two Chinese

parties split and that the nationalists led by Chiang-Kai-shek decided to launch an anti-

communist purge in China.18 Far more powerful than the communist forces, the nationalists were

able to push away the communists from Jiangxi, which led to a huge communist retreat known as

the Long March.19 During that time, Deng led many military campaigns against the Japanese and

the nationalists.20 After the successful defeat of the nationalists by the communists, Mao Zedong

declared on October 1st, 1949, that the “people have stood up,” and proclaimed the establishment

of the People’s Republic of China.21

Deng Xiaoping rose quickly in the leadership of the party by becoming in 1954 one of the

top six leaders of the party through his general secretary position.22 Deng had supported Mao’s

1957 anti-rightists campaign, which attacked many of China’s intellectuals who previously

criticized the party.23 However, he was not truly in favor of Mao’s Great Leap Forward, which

caused the death of around 45 million of Chinese people. Indeed, in the 1960’s Deng made some

economic reforms, which Mao totally disapproved and led him to view Deng as a “capitalist

roader.”24 Therefore, when Mao launched the 1966 Cultural Revolution, he not only targeted Liu

Shaoqi for blaming him for the failure of the Great Leap Forward, but also Deng Xiaoping, who

acted independently and did not follow his revolutionary vision.25 Deng was purged and placed

first under house arrest in 1967, and was later engaged in physical labor and reeducated in Mao

17 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.2518 Chang, Jung; Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. Globalfare, 2005, p.6619 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.2920 Ibid., p.31 and p.3421 Chang, Jung; Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. Globalfare Ltd, 2005, p.33322 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.4023 Ibid., p.4024 Ibid., p.4325 Ibid., p43

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Zedong Thought in 1969.26 Mao simply wanted to teach Deng a lesson as he did not expel him

from the Communist Party. It is during his purge that Deng apparently started to think on what

kind of changes China truly needed.27

It was not until the year 1972, when Deng Xiaoping wrote a letter to Mao discussing

some of his past mistakes, that Mao Zedong agreed to have him return back to Beijing.28 Deng

came back in 1973, and it was announced that he would become the vice premier and would be

also present in the foreign affairs activities.29 Deng later could participate in high-level meetings

and be apprenticed to his old comrade, Zhou Enlai.30 As Mao regarded Zhou Enlai as being not

firm in dealing with the United States, Deng Xiaoping gradually did his job in meeting foreign

officials and was even allowed to represent China at the United Nations in 1974.31 However,

Zhou Enlai hit by cancer passed away on January 8, 1976.32 Deng was given Mao’s permission

to present the eulogy at the state funeral.33 The Chinese people, who admired Zhou Enlai, were

unhappy about the fact that he was poorly mourned, and so they decided to show their respect on

the Qing Ming festival on April 5, 1976.34 Yet, the Gang of Four considered it as totally planned,

and that Deng Xiaoping was the one behind it.35 As a result, Mao took the decision to remove

him from power, but concluded that he should keep his party membership.36

26 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.43 and p.4927 Ibid., p.1428 Ibid., p.6829 Ibid., p.7030 Ibid., p.7031 Ibid., p.78 and p.7932 Ibid., p.15733 Ibid., p.15834 Ibid., p.16535 Ibid., p.16936 Ibid., p.172

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The death of Mao Zedong on September 9, 1976, put automatically Hua Guofeng, Mao’s

chosen successor, as the new Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party.37 Not so long after Mao

passed away, Hua made his mind to arrest the Gang of Four.38 While few weeks before the

Chinese people were mourning the death of their leader, the arrest of the Gang of Four was

widely celebrated in the streets by the population. People had enough of the Great Leap Forward

and the Cultural Revolution. By arresting the Gang of Four, Hua Guofeng established his

authority in people’s mind. In order to prove he was Mao’s legitimate successor, Hua showed a

piece of paper to all the people of China in which Mao wrote “What you do, I trust.” In reality,

Hua did not show the entire phrase as it stated “If you have problems, ask Jiang Qing.” Hua

asserted that he was committed to the Maoist Legacy and even wrote an article in which he

declared that whatever policies Mao supported and whatever instructions he gave, should still be

followed.39 This is the main reason why Hua Guofeng was later outmaneuvered by Deng

Xiaoping in 1978. He clearly did not anticipate that he would be the target of those who thought

that China should keep its distance from Mao’s policies.

Deng Xiaoping was able to return to work in 1977 after accepting Hua Guofeng’s

leadership. By taking back all of his former responsibilities, Deng also volunteered to take care

for science, technology, and education, as he believed they were essential for China’s future

development.40 He acknowledged that China was two decades behind that of the rest of the

world. For instance, he said that while China had around 200,000 people working in the fields of

science and technology, the United States had about 1.2 million people.41 He later regretted to

have supported Mao’s attack on intellectuals as he understood how devastating they were on

37 Meisner, Maurice. Mao’s China and After: A History of the People’s Republic. The Free Press, 1999, p.42738 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.17539 Ibid., p.18840 Ibid., p.19841 Ibid., p.198

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China’s science and technology.42 He never attacked them again as he declared that they are the

first productive force. Under Mao’s rule, the intellectuals were purged and had a very low pay,

so close to the one that peasants received. However, they were well respected under the Deng

era, and their salary significantly improved.

As China needed to catch up with the most advanced countries in the world, Deng

Xiaoping believed that young Chinese students should study abroad in order to bring back their

knowledge to China. In terms of education in the country, Deng wanted the students to be

accepted to the universities, not on the basis of proper class background or proper political

thinking like Mao did, but rather based on academic merit.43 During 1966 to 1968, there were no

schools in China. It is in 1970 that Mao decided to restore the university, yet, there were no tests

to pass, so colleges enrolled many illiterate people, which many of them did not attend high

school. As a result, the university entrance examinations were brought back under Deng, and for

the first time since the Communist rule, class background was not a factor in choosing future

students.44 This system has given China some positive results as it raised the quality of university

applicants and those entering the workforce.45

Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and opening up policy was adopted at the 1978 Third Plenum,

and this conference is considered as the time when Deng became officially the paramount leader

of China.46 In order to transform China into a new world economic power, the Chinese had to

focus on the four modernizations, which were a set of goals mainly in the fields of agriculture;

42 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.20143 Ibid., p.20544 Ibid., p.20645 Ibid., p.20746 Ibid., p.246

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industry; science and technology; and national defense. The 1978 Third Plenum stopped many of

Mao’s ideas and policies.

From the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the liberal economic reforms gained momentum.

Indeed, the reforms started in the field of agriculture, where the people’s communes founded by

Mao were dismantled, and in which the peasants were able to receive more freedom and become

active in their own farm work.47 The land was also privatized among the farmers, especially

through the household responsibility system.48 Each farming family received a plot of land to

grow whatever they wanted, but had to meet state tax and grain quota obligations.49. Once the

farmers met the state’s production target and sold the products at fixed prices, the peasants were

able to sell the surplus in the open markets.50 The agricultural reforms proved productive as

between 1978 to 1984 the gross value of agricultural output increased at an average annual rate

of 9 percent.51 To put into perspective, the production of grain increased up to 300 million tons in

1983, whereas in 1976 the result was just 200 million tons.52 In addition, rural per capita income

also improved as well as the standard of living grew up.53 Under Mao, this would have never

happened as he would have never tolerated that the peasants to have private land or to grow

anything they wanted freely. During the Great Leap Forward, people were allowed to barely

keep the essentials, “private plots, heavy tools and livestock all had to be turned over to the

collective.”54

47 Meisner, Maurice. Mao’s China and After: A History of the People’s Republic. The Free Press, 1999, p.46048 Ibid., p.46349 Ibid., p.46150 DaCosta, Maria; Carroll, Wayne. Township and Village Enterprises, Openness, and Regional Economic Growth in China. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Web. 51 Ibid., p.46452 Smitha, Frank. Reforms Under Deng Xiaoping. Macro History and World Timeline. Web.53 Ibid., p.46454 Dikotter, Frank. Mao’s Great Famine. Walker Publishing Company, Inc, 2010, p.52

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Under Deng, the rural industries or township and village enterprises became a great force

in the Chinese economy. However, even though much of the large industries still belonged to the

state, Deng encouraged the establishment of small privately owned rural enterprises. The main

focus was on the production of steel, iron, coal, and oil production. These private businesses

grew rapidly in numbers, size and technological sophistication. By the 1980s, these private

industries increased by 35 percent per annum.55 Indeed, 1.5 million rural industries were

employing 28.2 million people in 1978 while in 1996 23.4 million industries had 135.1 million

workers.56 The reforms also touched the urban industries. The industry managers could now

determine prices, salaries, and production schedules.57 Moreover, they would be able to decide, if

they have one, on how they would use their profit.58 In addition, the managers would be free to

hire and fire anyone in accordance with current market conditions.59 Again, Mao would not have

accepted that people have their own private businesses as in his time all of the industries were

state-owned.

From April to May 1978, it was agreed to establish in Southern China an export

processing zone, which is a place where material could be brought from abroad to be made by

Chinese laborers and then exported without any tariffs.60 This area would later be named the

Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and located in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.61

Under the rule of Deng Xiaoping, these special economic zones took an incredible takeoff. In

fact, Chinese exports had multiplied over one hundred times, passing from $10 billion per year in

55 Ibid., p.46556 DaCosta, Maria; Carroll, Wayne. Township and Village Enterprises, Openness, and Regional Economic Growth in China. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Web.57 Meisner, Maurice. Mao’s China and After: A History of the People’s Republic. The Free Press, 1999, p.47058 Ibid., p.47059 Ibid., p.47060 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.21961 Ibid., p.406

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1978 to more than $1 trillion.62 In addition, development in the area progressed rapidly,

especially with the construction of skyscrapers, apartment buildings or luxurious hotels.

Likewise, Shenzhen was a small town before with only 20,000 people. However, the city has

grown into a metropolis with more than 10 million residents two decades later.63 With the

establishment of such a zone, China gained the interest of many foreign investors.

On March 30, 1979 Deng Xiaoping stated the four cardinal principles in order to show

what issues could not be questionable in the People’s Republic of China.64 These principles were

the socialist path, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the leadership of the CCP, and Marxism-

Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. He acknowledged that the country had to borrow some

ideas from the capitalists, but this did not mean that socialism was bad for him. He knew he was

using the capitalist way and his quote of “black or white cat,” could be translated the same way

as “capitalism or socialism.” Deng Xiaoping never directly criticized Mao Zedong, even though

after his death he was more open to talk about his failures. For instance, his 1981 Resolution on

Mao Zedong shows us perfectly. According to him, if an individual denounces his boss, in that

case Mao, he will lose party legitimacy. Therefore, he had to keep saying that Mao was a great

leader, even though he admitted that he was in his life 70% correct and 30% wrong.

In terms of national defense, Deng Xiaoping was concerned in 1977 about the threats

from both the Soviet Union and Vietnam. Indeed, these countries were menacing to him as they

both wanted to increase their power in Southeast Asia. Deng understood that he urgently needed

the cooperation of the nearby Southeast Asian countries. Therefore, he decided to visit many

nations in Southern Asia in order to strengthen China’s foreign relations.65 However, he found

62 Ibid., p.40663 Ibid., p.40664 Ibid., p.26265 Ibid., p.282-289

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out in some of them that to gain their cooperation, he had to stop encouraging revolution among

the local ethnic Chinese and tell them to be loyal to their country of residence.66 Deng later

accepted their demand. He also had in mind to deepen relations with the two large powers that

could stop the Soviet Union, Japan and the United States. During the late 1970s, China became

more open than it had ever been since 1949.

Few months before Deng Xiaoping made a state visit to Japan on October 1978, China

and Japan signed a treaty of peace and friendship on August 1978.67 Deng Xiaoping flew to

Japan in October 1978. He was particularly interested in this country for the reason that it

previously had some similar issues that China faced at the time. Indeed, the Japanese economy

suffered tremendously after the end of the Second World War. Yet, thanks to a strong

government the country was able to rise significantly and caught up with the West.68 Japan was

in possession of modern technologies, so Deng taught it could teach China on how to be more

open economically and develop so rapidly. In fact, Japan was willing to help China as a sign of

apology for what the country had done in the past.

Furthermore, Deng Xiaoping viewed the normalization of the Sino-American relations as

essential for China’s modernization. In order to achieve his goal, Deng was ready to be flexible

on many issues. Yet, he would not have normalized their relations if the United States did not

want to break the one that it had with Taiwan. He considered that the U.S was invading Taiwan

and was preventing the island from unification with mainland China.69 On January 1, 1979, it

was announced that the U.S and China had agreed to recognize each other and develop

66 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.282-28967 Ibid., p.29768 Ibid., p.29469 Ibid., p.314

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diplomatic relations.70 Later, Deng made a state visit to the United States, where he was able to

visit many places such as NASA in Houston, Boeing in Seattle or even Coca-Cola in Atlanta.71

With these symbolic and important visits, Deng clearly indicated that the priority of the new

Chinese regime was economical and technological development. Likewise, the message that he

passed to the Chinese people was even clearer, “it is good to get rich” and that “poverty does not

belong to socialism.”

I personally believe that Deng Xiaoping was among the few in the twentieth century to

have not only improved the lives of his people, but also transformed his nation from being a

backward state into one of the fastest growing economies. Once he became the paramount leader

of China in 1978, the country was so poor and the Chinese were still under shock from the

Cultural Revolution order by Mao. When he accessed power, he showed the country the right

direction to follow in order to have a modern and prosperous China. What was important for him

is that he always wanted to make decisions that will benefit the country. Indeed, we can truly see

how through his economic reforms, which clearly followed the capitalist way, Deng Xiaoping

helped millions of people to escape the misery and live a better life, even though it was in a way

that was contradictory to his socialist view. One of the facts why China was so behind from the

West before is because of its closed-door policy. Deng Xiaoping understood it and he did not

only open China to the outside world and to foreign investors, but he also allowed his homeland

to impose itself and compete as an economic power. His pragmatic strategy was proved well

successful in China and around the world. However, I also think that his economic reforms did

not only bring good things to the nation as they brought also corruption, inflation, pollution, and

70 Ibid., p.33371 Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011, p.336

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deforestation. Ultimately, Deng Xiaoping was a far better leader than Mao Zedong, and it is

thanks to him if the Chinese nowadays live in a powerful China.

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Bibliography

Chang, Jung. Mao: The Unknown Story. Globalfare Ltd, 2005.Print.

DaCosta, Maria; Carroll, Wayne. Township and Village Enterprises, Openness, and Regional

Economic Growth in China. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Web.

Dikotter, Frank. Mao’s Great Famine. Walker Publishing Company, Inc, 2010. Print.

Meisner, Maurice. Mao’s China and After: A History of the People’s Republic. The Free Press,

1999. Print.

Sheehan, Matt. For Chinese Students Abroad, Personal Freedoms – Not Political – Are What

Matter. The Atlantic, 2013. Web.

Smitha, Frank. Reforms Under Deng Xiaoping. Macro History and World Timeline. Web.

Vogel, Ezra. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press, 2011.

Print.