Requiem for a heavywieght

After 21 years of serving the Chinese government, 92 -year-old Deng Xiaoping passed into history. He was a small man, under five feet, and further diminishing his stature, he remained in the shadows of two better known giants of the Chinese revolution, the great helmsmen Mao Zedong and Chou Enlai.

Deng was, however, there from the beginning. He came from a prosperous family, but could not ignore the dreadful conditions in his country.

He went to Europe as a young man, joined other students and exiles and became a communist revolutionary. He was at Mao's side during the long march and showed himself to be a brilliant military strategist.

After the defeat of the Nationalists, Deng argued for practical applications of socialist principles. He, unfortunately for China, came up against Mao's unyielding ideology. In the 1950s, Mao directed the catastrophic Great Leap Forward causing the deaths of literally millions of Chinese.

In the 1960s, Mao again caused massive disruption in China by unleashing the fanatical Red Guards. At this point, Deng himself became a victim. His own son was reportedly thrown out of a window by zealots and became paralyzed. When the Cultural Revolution ended with Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping emerged again in the government leadership.

As paramount leader, he finally had the opportunity to institute his programs. Deng called the system socialism with Chinese principles, but to many, it looked like market economy. He concentrated first on the huge peasant farmer population. This group lingered in an almost medieval poverty.

His reforms transformed the countryside. Farmers sold their excess crops and prospered. In one swoop, he accomplished what neither Mao, nor all the emperors or warlords, could.

The prosperity, subsequently, spread to the cities. Soon China was on its way to becoming the economic juggernaut it is today.

There was, of course, the massacre in Tianamen Square. Deng cannot be forgiven for that awful chapter in modern Chinese history. He approved the crackdown urged by the younger, more rigid, leaders and never showed any remorse. It could be that he harbored a deep distrust of mass movements which he acted upon.

In spite of all this it must be remembered that this man may have created a legacy greater than anyone who has ruled over China since the ancient days of the Middle Kingdom.

He brought China from the reclusive xenophobia of its recent past to the key place it now holds, not just on the Pacific rim but in the global economy.

He survived war, revolution, and upheaval. In many ways, Deng Xiaoping stayed true to the revolutionary ideals of his youth, bringing an immense population of peasants into a state of comfort and security previously unknown.

Perhaps in the future, the Great Helmsman, Chairman Mao Zedung, will stand in the shadow of the diminutive Deng Xiaoping.