“冷静观察、稳住阵脚、沉着应付、韬光养晦、善于藏拙、决不当头、有所作为。”
-邓小平

“Keep a cool head and maintain a low profile. Never take the lead – but aim to do something big.” -Deng Xiaoping

To become the mastermind of society’s ambition is what everyone strives for. Deng Xiaoping embodies this quality with perfection. This is what brings me to my first point, what specifically draws me to Deng. I originally was drawn to him by his accomplishments, particularly his ability to swiftly improve the economy in China. As I read further, I was drawn by his character and personality and realized how I could relate and connect to him personally. For example, some of his interests were history, especially The Records of the Three Kingdoms, and geography, and is said to have brought an atlas with him to pinpoint where he was, which are both areas that I am also interested in. In terms of upbringing, he lived abroad in France and Russia, and spent middle school in France, and studied at Sun Yat-Sen University in Moscow, similar to how I am a part of a larger diaspora community. As for qualities, I feel like ambitiousness is a trait that I share in common with Deng Xiaoping. The night before he left for France, his father asked him what he wanted to learn. Deng responded with to “learn knowledge and seek the truth from the West in order to save China”, a dream he’d eventually achieve. This exemplifies my goals in TALONS as I wish to learn a vast amount of knowledge as well as knowledge in fields that I am interested in to better my own and other’s futures. However, everything has a flip side, in this case, barriers to connecting and relating Deng Xiaoping. First and foremost, is the difference in age. Deng was born on August 22^nd, 1904, over a century before I was born. Moreover, the period of time in which he grew up, spent his adulthood, and his time in office feel very foreign to me, as I feel no connection to that time period, nor do I understand that time period well enough. Next, while being Chinese, I lack the understanding of how Chinese society functions, let alone back in Deng’s generation, like aforementioned. To elaborate, despite having visited China before, I do not understand the intricate structure of Chinese society, even in present times, and thus unable to understand the China of the past. Lastly, I am unable to connect with the hurdles and barriers he faced. An example of this would be the two times he faced political purges, and essentially disgraced by society. I live in an era in which political purges feel extremely rare, something that was not true in 60s and 70s China. To address this, I can better understand how life was like during those times to better understand Deng’s mindset, thoughts, and actions, all of which together form his eminence. This eminence is demonstrated by his contribution to Chinese politics. For example, he ended the Two Whatevers, referring to “We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave”, in politics, and started an era of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” and capitalism. To elaborate, he ended the Two Whatevers as a part of a wider reversal of Maoist era policies and ideology, and shifted to politics in China to a more moderate stance, in addition to the implementation of a more capitalist system, both of which still heavily influence present-day China. This also relates to how he left change in the universe. He brought a struggling nation on the brink of starvation to what is now one of the largest nations from an economic perspective. Deng helped modernize a China which was underdeveloped and struggling economically by modelling the footsteps of the Asian Tigers, lifting millions out of poverty in the process. Moreover, he established good relations with the United States and its neighbours such as Japan and Singapore. This did not only affect those living in China but also those across the world as the global economy is forever changed by a thriving Chinese economy. I believe that Deng, albeit overshadowed by the more famous Mao Zedong and having a humble personality, will be remembered for generations to come as his actions go through the butterfly effect, despite the fact that he was disgraced from society numerous times during his career. As his wish for saving China from a dark era manifests, we can take away that one’s individual ambition is strongest when it benefits society’s collective ambition, and that ambition is always achievable with hard work, and cards played with thought.

My goal for the next phase of research would be too learn more about Deng’s personal life and what society was like throughout the course of his life. If I have time, I would also like to read My Father Deng Xiaoping