On the morning of August 11, 2004 humidity and heat was gently driven away by cool breezes. At the deep end of Miliangku alley of Jingshanhoujie in Beijing lies a courtyard built of black bricks and gray tiles and covered by green shade of trees. In this yard Deng Xiaoping spent 20 years of his late life. During these 20 years great changes took place in the lives of the people both inside and outside the yard. During the same 20 years the whole family of Deng Xiaoping spent their most memorable days together. As the centenary of this great man is drawing close three of his siblings Deng Lin, Deng Pufang and Deng Rong, touched by the things that remind them of the owner and sights that stir up feelings, told the reporter of stories, that are rarely known to other people, in their father's life.

Deng Xiaoping at Yuquan Mt.

"Our father used to stand here watching lotus flowers and admire goldfish. He loved everything beautiful and particularly appreciated Nature. Before the Cultural Revolution when crops and vegetables were grown in many places at Zhongnanhai flowers and plants were planted at our house".

Trees are the most conspicuous sight in this old courtyard. Cedar, Chinese wisteria, Chinese flowering crabapple, cherry, walnut and the fruitful megranate set off one another with the two-story building with its bright windows and doors. At the middle of the yard there is a little pool in which lotus flowers are blossoming. A stream of water is flowing slowly on the convolute Taihu rocks in the pool. In the midst of the foliage twittering of birds can be heard now and then in the air. The three siblings sit with the reporter just by the pool.

Deng Rong: There used to be many goldfishes in this pool. Every time our father walked past here and clapped his hands the fish would swim toward him.

It was July 1, 1977 when we moved here. At that time there were only four megranate trees and two pine trees, which looked especially like two dragons. Since both our father and mother were born in the year of dragon people living in the courtyard called them Double Dragon Trees. Many films and TV works started by shooting the Double Dragon Trees. Recently one of the megranate trees was moved to our hometown in Guang'an. When moving tree botanical experts said it is at least one hundred years old. All the other trees like the big cedar, lacebark pine, Chinese flowering crabapple, walnut and cherry were planted after our father moved here and he himself led us to plant them. When the cherry fruited our father would come to count until the fruit was mature and picked. He would then distribute the fruit to the children and employees. Each one got some. While distributing he would say, "Grandpa only got this bit of power". Sometimes he found that a particular fruit was only half left and an employee told him that it was eaten by birds. He too felt happy. "Eaten by birds. That's not bad".

Since moving here our father had spent the following 20 years here until the last few days when he was sent to the hospital.

Deng Lin: We moved to Beijing in 1952 without a house. So we lived in Beijing Hotel for a month. Later we found a house in Nancaochang of Xizhimen where we lived for several months. Then we moved to Ji'ansuoyouxiang behind Di'anmen, which was near the house of marshal Nie. We lived there until 1957 when it was no longer convenient since our father had to go to Zhongnanhai for work every day. So we moved into Qingyuntang No.3 yard at Zhongnanhai. From there he could walk to his workplace without riding.

Deng Xiaoping's home

Deng Rong: There was an episode for this. When we just moved to Beijing we were arranged to live in a courtyard in Dongjiaominxiang No.8. At that time Luo Ronghuan had just been transferred to Beijing and he had no house too. Since his health was not in good condition our father gave the house to Luo Ronghuan.

Deng Lin: We lived in Zhongnanhai until 1966 when children like us were evicted. Our father continued to live there for more than two years. In October 1969 he went to Jiangxi. By the time when he came back from Jiangxi in February 1973 he first lived at Huayuancun. Later since there were too many people in the family to live there we moved to Kuanjie. After that we once lived in Dongjiaominxiang No.8 for a while and then in Xishan Building No.25. After passing through several places we moved to the home we are living now.

Deng Lin: The reasons we moved our home were all political. We moved home continually as father's political fortune changed. We have quite a lot experience in moving house and packaging because during the Cultural Revolution there were often time limits for moving. No matter how many things to pack the whole job must be completed within two hours, by whatever means. So we are quite skillful through practice.

Deng Rong: I made a calculation. During the Cultural Revolution we moved house for a dozen times or so.

Deng Lin: When we just moved here the yard was grown with crops by the soldiers, not much flowers and plants as you see now.

Deng Rong: In the early days after Liberation flowers and plants could not be grown in Zhongnanhai either. It was grown with crops and vegetables such as Chinese cabbage and corn, since flowers and plants were said to be of petty bourgeoisie. The reason our father was considered special was because when other people were growing crops he himself wanted to grow flowers and plants at home.

Deng Pufang: At that time we had four square flower pools. In it there were all kinds of flowers.

Deng Rong: Peking Mockorange, Fragrant Plantaimlily, Cherry blossom, Chinese flowering crabapple, Flowering Almond, Winter Jasmine, China rose, tree peony, peony -- all of them in such a small yard. Our father loved life, loved Nature. He appreciated and advocated the beauty of Nature.

Deng Lin: Our father had special love for things perfect. He loved neatness, loved natural and orderly environment.

Deng Rong: Father was a particularly silent person with few words spoken. But when he saw a flower he would take a smell at it with the look of person in enjoyment. When children picked flowers and put them on his body he would walk around with the flowers on.

Deng Pufang: During the warmth of spring as all flowers blossom father loved to go out for a walk. When watching flowers in Yuquanshan or Zhongnanhai he must choose some place where flowering was relatively better.

Deng Lin: During the spring the Chinese flowering crabapple at Zhongnanhai was in blossom and he made a special trip there to have a look. Sometimes the children made a hat with wickers they picked and put them on the tops of their grandma and grandpa and they would be very happy about it. They even took pictures with the hats on.

Deng Rong: He loved all kinds of flowers, plants and trees, not just one particular kind. He was not picky at food either. But he loved to have a change. He did not like seafood though.

Deng Pufang: He could tell when eating good food and he loved good wines too. He drank all kind of wines such as yellow wine, Maotai and port wine. He did not like XO and distilled spirit with artificial flavors.

Deng Rong: Even a bowl of porridge and a bit of pickles would make him satisfied. He always said you don't understand. Porridge is tasty food. Mung bean porridge was the kind of porridge he loved most. He was not a person who sticks to one thing forever. I think he was the kind of person who loves richness and colorfulness.

"Our father always said when I retire I want to enjoy the life of a real ordinary man. Go shopping on the streets, do some window-shopping. But wherever he went he was surrounded by lots of people and eventually he did not want to go out to ��harass people' anymore".

The brother and sisters told several stories in a breath on this topic, which made people laugh. It is quite obvious that ordinary life was all but a luxurious wish for this old man.

Deng Rong: Our father always said when I retire I want to enjoy the life of a real ordinary man. Go shopping on the streets, do some window-shopping. Once he was in Shanghai and actually went out shopping. As he was almost there he said I want to buy something but I didn't bring money with me. No one in the car brought any money except comrade Wu Bangguo who had ten yuan. He took the money out and lent it to father. With this ten yuan father bought pencil and erasers for the children at Shanghai No.1 Department Store. He paid back the money after return.

Deng Lin: He made it one time to be an ordinary man and he did it with many people around him. We asked him after his return: "What did you see in the store when you went shopping today, father?" "I only saw people. I won't go there again. It brought harassment to people."

Deng Pufang: He rarely went out since every time he went out there must be some arrangements. He felt them to harass people. He said, don't make arrangements; don't do these. But it was required by security system and he couldn't do anything about it. Later as he grew old we persuaded him to go outing to places relatively far away. He wouldn't go by saying dragging in too many people around is too much a trouble.

Deng Rong: He would at best go to Diaoyutai, or Zhongnanhai. He was unwilling to go to any other places farther than those. It was his principle not to harass people. For example, he wouldn't allow closing the Huangshan Mountains when he went there. He also did not allow closing the Memorial Temple of Zhuge Liang in Sichuan when he visited there. Sun Yong with the Central Security Guard Bureau faithfully carried out his order and all guards were in plain clothes. When they got there people discovered him and soon crowds surrounded him. He could not get out. When he eventually got on the car there were so many people gathering around that it was impossible to start the car. People clapped their hands and the scene was really moving. But our father said: See? Everywhere I go I harass people.

Deng Lin: One year we went to Chengdu. We visited the Thatched Cottage of Poet Du Fu and found that the plum blossom there was pretty well. We encouraged him to go and have a look at the flowers after we returned. Father agreed. But when he got there he found unexpectedly large crowds greeted him. He had to go to a small yard at the back where a few potted trees were displayed on the ground. When asked if he had seen the plum blossom on his return father said yes and there were several pots in the yard. But actually flowers were blossoming on plum trees everywhere outside the Thatched Cottage. It was so many people around that he could not see them.

"Father enjoyed going for a walk. He never wore a pedometer when walking relying rather on his own counting. He did not speak when walking and walked in right angle when turning a corner".

His life secretary made a concise survey. The ring-shaped pavement in the yard is 188 meter long. Deng Xiaoping walked along this road everyday not only for exercise but for reflection as well. He kept the habit of walking for several decades without stopping and did so in all weathers. It is the same even in the most severe political environment. The famous "Deng Xiaoping path" was the result of his walking everyday in a place where there was no roads, when he lived in banishment in Jiangxi province.

Deng Lin: I remember assigning myself a topic to shoot A day of Deng Xiaoping. I tried several times and my experience taught me that it was too hard. His way of living was too regular, too common. I don't think footage from any particular day can be any more interesting. He got up every morning for breakfast and read documents after breakfast. Then he went for a walk and read newspaper after that, followed by the next meal. In the afternoon he took a nap, watched video, did some reading or played bridge. In the evening he watched some TV programs. It seems to me that he was just the same with an ordinary man, very ordinary. If you wanted to look for a dramatic scene, a scene that was particularly interesting, you wouldn't be able to find it. For this reason the shooting started several times but failed.

Deng Rong: In the early days father's walking covered more than 20 laps. As he grew older the rule was set at 18 laps, then 15 laps, 10 laps. He kept the counting himself walking with extreme seriousness without a word. The nurse followed him. At first our mother followed him too. But he walked so fast that she was unable to catch up with him. Even young people like us could not catch up. Walking for him was not merely beguilement. He walked with vigorous strides with the fastest speed. For him it was a kind of physical exercise. Of course he thought about questions when he walked.

The route of walking started from the door and wound in anticlockwise direction along the outer perimeter of the cement pavement. He never walked along the inner perimeter. Even when turning a corner he walked in right angle, always along the outmost perimeter. If people who accompanied him walked along the inner perimeter he would call them lazy.

Deng Pufang: There were also two paths in Jiangxi. One was on the ridge of a field on which he walked to the factory where he worked. Another one was around the small building we lived in, which he used when he was walking and thought about questions in the yard. Since he was a very strict person he used the same route everyday. In time the ground on which he walked became white and small stones were gradually kicked away.

Deng Rong: I had brought a pedometer for him from Japan. He refused to wear it saying I myself am the most reliable one in keeping counting. (While we were talking Wang Haizhen, once the health nurse of Deng Xiaoping, walked in and joined in the conversation. Every employee in the Deng household worked there for a long time. Some elders had been working there since the 1950s. They are even more familiar with some details than the relatives and children of the family. They, too, can be considered Deng Xiaoping's family members.)

Wang Haizhen: Chief (Deng Xiaoping) did keep very accurate count of the laps. Sometimes we tended to be absent-minded as we followed him and forgot the exact number of laps. But Chief always remembered. He would stop at the door after finishing the laps. And we came to realize that we kept the wrong count. So we harried to open the door for him. Almost everyday he finished reading documents by 10am and 4pm and began to walked ten laps or so in the yard.

Deng Rong: He loved swimming too, but he never swam in swimming pools as the mood is different from seas. I swim in the sea when I want to swim. Look how vast is the sea. He swam very well and he swam at least two hours each time he jumped into the sea. It continued until the 1980s. He swam from the seashore to the deep part of the sea and swam by the shark-blocking net for two hours. Then he swam back to shore. The deep-water part of the sea is more buoyant, has smaller waves and is also cleaner. So it is most enjoyable. If the waves were particularly big he would grab a swim ring and let the employees pull him to the deep water, where he swam by himself.

Deng Lin: When encountering big waves father did not like jumping the waves, he preferred to swim under them.

"He worked at a very high efficiency and used to read documents sitting on the sofa at a corner of the room while his grandchildren lied on the floor by the desk cutting paper or laying toy bricks. Each enjoyed himself or herself without disturbing each other."

There has been a story. A photographer with the Xinhua News Agency once wanted to take a picture of him at work in Beidaihe. Father forced himself to posture at a desk pretending to work. He said: "I never work like this".

Deng Rong: It is true. During his old age our father was not used to working at a desk sitting properly with clothes straightened. At ordinary times he liked reading documents sitting on the couch or sofa at a corner of the room with legs putting on a footrest. His teacup, eyeglasses and magnifying glass were placed on an end table nearby while his grandchildren lied on the floor by the desk cutting paper or laying toy bricks. Each enjoyed himself or herself without disturbing each other. He was concentrated on everything he was doing. It was his character. His working efficiency was very high. When the US journalist Wallace asked him how many hours he worked he said I worked two hours a day. Wallace thought he must have misunderstood. In fact what our father said about working hours was his document-reading hours. It did not include the time he spent on conversations and meetings. He also spent much time in thinking. Sometimes when he seemed to be watching TV, but actually he was not watching it at all. Mostly he was thinking about his work. However, the two-hour working time does illustrate one fact that he had a very high efficiency.

He was quick in dealing with documents and never delayed them. He finished his work by noon everyday.

Wang Haizhen: When Chief met with foreign guests we rarely saw secretaries come forward to brief him on information about the guests or something like that.

Deng Pufang: Father generally did not have secretaries followed when meeting with foreign guests. They started doing so only during his old age.

Deng Rong: Before meeting with a foreign guest he read a pile of materials prepared by the receiving unit and went straight to meet the guest after that. On his arrival the sponsoring unit usually gave an account of the situation. But he generally told them that he knew about that and proceeded to talk to the guests.

Deng Pufang: I've met many ambassadors during visits abroad and they all told me they enjoyed accompanying our father to meet foreign guests, for the words he spoke were a ready article and needed no reorganization. Besides he spoke very clearly with logic and order. So the interpreters liked accompanying him in meeting with foreign guests.

Deng Pufang: We played bridge relatively more with him, also billiards. I accompanied him when I was very young. There were two billiards tables in our home with two red balls and two white balls. It's neither snooker nor billiard ball. There were no pouches. We won by scoring points. He played very well. He was very strict in choosing his rivals when playing billiards, unwilling to play with some one with poor skills and preferring to play with some one good at it.

Deng Rong: Our father was a person who did everything seriously and set high standard no matter what he was doing.

Deng Pufang: I remember that at the time father generally played only with two persons. One was Sun Zhiyuan, the other was Huangjing because these two persons played well. He also preferred to have good ones to play bridge with him. Sometimes he played with members of the national team, both the men's and women's teams.

Deng Rong: He had an amazing memory. He was very good at mathematical calculation, mental arithmetic and doing a sum orally. Economic statistics almost never evaded him once he had a look over them. It was also true in playing bridge. He was very good at figuring out the cards.

"He read extensively. He was the one who had read through Lenin's Collected Edition and perused History as A Mirror, who enjoyed reading biographies but never wrote a single word of annotation or comment on the page."

The study used by Deng Xiaoping when he was alive is a 42-square-meter room with hardwood floor. Desk, bookcases and sofa have been borrowed away by the exhibition Deng Xiaoping �C A Great Man of the Century held in China National Museum. There are only books temporarily placed on the floor that occupy half of the empty room. There are Lenin's Collected Edition, Selected Works of Mao Zedong and a complete set of History of Twenty-Four Dynasties. These are books that Deng Xiaoping read and every time his children turn over the pages they do it with great care as if they were handling invaluable treasures. Deng Lin picked up a thick Diction Sea published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1947. It has been used old. The hardboard book cover has been worn and patched together with staple. Deng Rong showed the reporter the Atlas of People's Republic of China, which was published in August 1957. The price of that book is 4.55 yuan and it has been worn.

Deng Rong: These books are moved every time we moved a house, including moving to Jiangxi. It was like the apple of his eye. My father had never read the Collected Edition of Marx and Engels. The one he read was the Selected Works of Marx and Engels. He had read through Lenin's Collected Edition. Apart from Chinese history books he also loved reading biographies of foreign personages. He'd read many of them. He also loved foreign classical novels. He had read all the western classical masterpieces. He was fond of Hugo and War and Peace by Tolstoy.

Our father liked reading maps. He brought two atlases each time he went on a business trip. One was the Atlas of People's Republic of China and another was World Map. On arriving a place he would open the maps and find out his location. He also loved reading dictionaries. Among them China's Ancient and Modern Place Names and China Person Names Encyclopedia were often read. He once opened the Kangxi Dictionary and pointed out the word of my given name Rong (which means banyan in Chinese). The Kangxi Dictionary's explanation for Rong is "can form shade but cannot be useful".

He often read knight-errant fictions as a diversion before going to sleep. He said the biggest advantage of knight-errant fictions is that they catch no memory and can be read again next time without using brains.

He loved reading Chinese classical history books, particularly the History as A Mirror. He housed two sets of it. One of them was thread-bound edition. One does not know how many times he had read it. I think it should be called perusal. He had read through the History of Twenty-Four Dynasties and liked the History of Former Tang and the History of Later Han in it. Our father also enjoyed reading the Annals of the Three Kingdoms. His reading habit was to read extensively and was interested in a wide range of subjects. He read many biographies of political personages, who were related to the WWII and his own military career. For example, he had carefully read Zhukov's Memoir. Also there was the domestic biography the Memoir of Nie Rongzhen. But he himself did not write memoirs.

Deng Pufang: He never wrote a single word on the book he read, not a line. He remembered them by heart and digested them. He was not the kind of person who note down and draw many things. All was in his mind. It was a comprehension of the spirit. He also did not have the habit of writing diaries.

Deng Lin: When our home was searched during the Cultural Revolution. There was no bankbooks, no diaries of our father. He was completely clean. What they wanted to find in our house didn't exist at all.

Deng Rong: He was the kind of person who considers the macro-level and the overall situation, grasp the key part and neglect the trivial things.

Deng Pufang: His own working habit was to concentrate on the main points and seize the most important things. Of course some trifle things are important too. He paid attention to division of work and took charge of things that he should be responsible. Another consideration was to bring up the young generation.

"(We) feel especially sick at heart on the occasion of the centenary of father's birth. Each part of our life is closely linked with our father and they are closely bound up together. The remembrance is so thick that it is impossible to dissolve."

Comrade Deng Xiaoping has left this yard for seven years. The five families of Deng Xiaoping's siblings are still living here in three generations. On each anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's death mother Zhuo Lin leads her children to spread flower petals all over the yard. In accordance with comrade Deng Xiaoping's wish his author remunerations were donated to the undertakings of education and science and technology, his body dedicated to the medical cause, his corneas contributed to patients who need light and his ashes returned to the sea. What was left to his family was only the memory that fills every corner of the yard.

Deng Rong: This feeling of remembrance is present every day and accompanies us at all time.

Deng Pufang: Is this sentiment going to fade as time goes by? As a matter of fact it is not, especially on the occasion of centenary. We feel particularly sick at heart.

Deng Rong: The remembrance is so thick that it is impossible to dissolve. Other people's fathers may be serious and not so close to their children. They may be busy with work and see them occasionally, perhaps on the weekend. We, on the other hand, stayed with him everyday and be with him at all time. Apart from going out for meetings he worked and lived here. We were very closed with father. He was closely linked with our life and we were closed bound up together. We are all in our fifties or sixties now. If you asked us which part of our life can be separated from father and is not related with him we could tell you none, it is impossible.

Deng Pufang: Every one knows he was silent and reserved. His ears were somewhat deaf. It seemed he lacked reactions when other talked to him. But he had his own way of emotional expression. It was very fine and smooth not like the exaggerated kinds. As I browsed through the albums lately I saw the picture of father cracking melon seeds. It was so lifelike, with a dish of melon seeds and two cups of yellow wine. Dishes on the table were for everyone whilst the dish of melon seeds was his privilege. He gave some to one person and to another. He gave me some now and then saying: "Chubby one, you take some." We sat facing each other and cracked the melon seeds. He said a few words occasionally. Sometimes he just glimpsed you. Though without words he knew everything at heart.

Deng Rong: We pared a dish of fruit after meal. He had a couple of bites. Then he pushed dish toward us and asked us to have some. He gave it to his grandsons, granddaughters and employees beside him. That was the resource he could dispose of. If you enjoyed it he felt especially satisfied and pleased with himself. Mother also prepared an old biscuit box for him filled with chocolates, biscuits and hawthorn tablets. When grandsons and granddaughters came he would merrily hand these to them. Being somewhat proud and somewhat "miserable" he said, "grandpa only has this bit of power".

Deng Pufang: I remember that once Yangyang felt wronged for some reason while taking photos and sobbed. It was time the grandpa showed his affection. "Come here, come to your grandpa. Grandpa will protect you", with this he took out his handkerchief and wiped the tears away.

Deng Rong: People who worked around our father such as nurses were just graduated from the nurse-training schools. They were still very young and would later fall in love, get married and have babies. They have all brought their babies here till now. Our father and mother consider them to be family members. Our yard is a whole big family, including not only many descendents, relatives but also employees. They are all members of a big family.

Wang Haizhen: When I gave birth to my baby Secretary Zhuo (a common form of address given to comrade Zhuo by the employees) came to our house, which I did not expect. Since it was summer and it was very hot my husband was not wearing a shirt. When he discovered that it was Secretary Zhuo after he opened the door he hurried to wear a clothe in the house. It made me especially touched because it was only about three days after the delivery. Secretary Zhuo brought eggs and fermented glutinous wine. She is from Yunnan province and people from there customarily send fermented glutinous wine to their own daughters. The wine is supposed to help breast-feeding. So she sent me a cask of fermented glutinous wine together with five kilogram of eggs on behalf of Chief. She also gave the baby a set of clothes, which I have kept since.

It will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping on August 22. Apart from dining together, cutting cake and eating noodles like they usually do a concert has been specially prepared to express the feelings of remembrance. Mianmian, daughter of Deng Nan, knows foreign classical music very well. With all attention she prepared the program list and hopes to reflect grandfather's tossed yet tenacious life and his robust and resolute spirit.

The first piece is Liszt's Prelude. It accentuates the life of continued exploration, pursuit and struggle. The second piece is Richard Strauss' vocal music Four Last Songs. It expresses through beautiful lines the love of and attachment to life of one in his late years. The third is Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, which is a grand symphony. With "hero" as its motif it chants the noble theme of mankind to embark on an eternal pursuit.

It is not hard to see that this is the result of a careful planning by the whole family. Although brilliant works and music could not dilute the yearn at the bottom of their hears they at least could express their thick feeling of remembrance.

We have not seen Zhuo Lin till we left. Her children said their mother, who is resting in her bedroom, is healthy. Yet due to her age she has to be very careful. Their mother is the center of protection in the family. It is hard for her to communicate to others her feelings about one whom she has been with and helped each other for more than half a century, whom she promised to "follow even in the face of beheading" and whom she lost.

Looking back as we are leaving we see the Double Dragon Trees are still so vigorous in the yard. The trunks are separated from each other. Yet they meet in the air with branches joined and leaves crossed and one can no longer tell one from the other.

By People's Daily Online