TV series captures history and captivates a nation

A scene from the TV series "Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads" shows Deng (center,played by Ma Shaohua) and Xi Zhongxun (right, played by Zhang Jiayi). Xi's son is China's current President Xi Jinping.

Deng Xiaoping has remained a legend in China's modern history. The older generation remembers the miracles he wrought to improve daily lives; the younger generation is schooled in the list of his remarkable achievements.

The nation is pausing this month to remember Deng in an outpouring of memorial events commemorating his 110th birthday on August 22. The tributes have exceeded those that paid respect to Deng's centenary.

Media coverage of Deng's life and times has been under way for weeks. Some analysts say the echoes of Deng's vision are found in President Xi Jinping's current policies of financial deregulation and crackdown on corruption.

China Central Television has begun a 48-episode series called "Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads." The telecast has drawn a lot of public interest.

"While the broadcast as an expected part of nationwide commemoration activities, the TV series also comes at a time when China's reform is entering 'uncharted waters'," Yu Yungong, an expert on socialism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told state media.

The TV drama, which drew on a wide variety of contributors, recreates Deng's peak career between 1976 and 1984, when he restored the national college entrance exam, embarked on bold economic reforms, began opening China's doors to the world and re-established diplomatic ties with major foreign countries.

Movies and TV series of political figures and events are often viewed as turgid propaganda, but the current series about Deng seems to have broken the mold. The series has even prompted lively discussion among the young on social networking sites.

"I took a look out of curiosity, and, surprisingly, it wasn't bad," says Faye Lin, a 26-year-old graphic designer from Shanghai who was born after the height of the Deng era. "My parents love it, probably because they lived during that time. My friends and relatives are all talking about it. It has made me curious about Deng Xiaoping as a person and a leader. Before that, he was merely a photo in a textbook.

The TV series reportedly touches on sensitive issues not publicly aired before, such as Deng's relationships with former Party leaders Hua Guofeng and Hu Yaobang.

Xi Jinping, the current president, is also considered a reformer. His first official trip outside of Beijing was to Guangdong Province in a visit reminiscent of the famous South China tour that Deng once used to resuscitate flagging reforms.

Xi not only paid tribute to Deng while visiting the southern city of Shenzhen, but he also echoed many of Deng's earlier speeches during the trip.

Xi said it would be a "dead end" if the country failed to continue reforms and no more time should be wasted in deepening them.

Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, a former governor of Guangdong Province, was a strong supporter of Deng's economic reform policies and worked at the forefront of the first economic projects undertaken in that southern province.