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Deng Xiaoping: The Soldier

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

June Teufel Dreyer
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Extract

Deng Xiaoping's attempt to modernize and professionalize the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will surely be remembered as one of the most important components of his historical legacy. Yet, ironically, Deng's military activities formed a decidedly minor part of his career. Deng received no formal military training, and Chinese Communist sources have very little to say about his military contributions before 1980; most of what was reported comes from his enemies and is difficult to corroborate. What has been written after 1980 has a suspiciously hagio-graphic ring and is also difficult to confirm.

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Type
Deng Xiaoping: An Assessment
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 135 , September 1993 , pp. 536 - 550
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1993

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References

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4. See Benjamin Yang's “The making of a pragmatic Communist: the early life of Deng Xiaoping, 1904–49,” in this issue, for a fuller treatment of this episode.

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6. Ibid. p. 158.

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