• I was born in Huanggang, China, in 1908.
  • After training as a soldier, I became a leader in the Chinese Communist Party
  • During the Chinese Civil War (1927-1950) my leadership was pivotal in a string of Communist victories.
  • After the war I initially avoided politics, but later became minister of defence in 1959. In 1968 I replaced Liu Shaoqui (1898-1969) as the heir apparent to Mao Zedong (1893-1976).
  • In 1971, after a political struggle, I was killed in a plane crash in Mongolia while attempting to seek refuge in the USSR.

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