I am the son of the Chinese people, and I love my motherland and people deeply - Deng Xiaoping

This simple and affectionate sentence expresses Deng Xiaoping's deep love for the motherland and the people. The people's infinite loyalty and love are a true reflection of Deng Xiaoping's personality and sentiments throughout his life.

In the late 1970s, Robert Maxwell, general manager of the British Bergman Publishing Company and chairman of the Mirror Group, began planning to publish a series of books on world leaders. He included Deng Xiaoping's collected works in the plan. within.

After contacting relevant parties in China, I soon received a reply agreeing to publish. What surprised him even more was that Deng Xiaoping also promised to personally write a preface to the anthology. Deng Xiaoping has always been indifferent to writing books and memoirs, and he is not interested in producing collections of essays. The reason why he readily agreed to Maxwell's request and prepared to write a preface to the collection of essays was because China's reform and opening up had just begun at that time. Although the country had been opened, the world did not yet fully understand China, which had been closed for decades. Publishing his own books in English, especially some of his directional and policy speeches after 1976, will help foreigners re-examine China.

After obtaining the consent of China, Maxwell immediately organized the collection and translation of Deng Xiaoping's relevant articles, compiled them into a collection, and named it "The Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping". The collection mainly includes some important speeches on politics, science, education, literature, art and other aspects that Deng Xiaoping delivered during the 24 years from 1956 to 1979.

On February 14, 1981, Deng Xiaoping happily wrote a 900-word preface to the "Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping" with the title "I am the son of the Chinese people". Deng Xiaoping wrote affectionately: "I am honored to become a citizen of the world as a member of the Chinese nation. I am the son of the Chinese people, and I deeply love my motherland and people." Deng Xiaoping's strong national self-esteem, Confidence permeates the words of the preface. He said: “The Chinese people will fundamentally change the backwardness of their country through their own creative labor, and with a new look, they will establish themselves among the world’s advanced countries, and work with people of other countries to jointly advance the just cause of mankind. "The preface written by Deng Xiaoping, with its simple words and sincere emotions, has become the highlight of the collection.

In the early 1980s, a series of books on world leaders planned by Bergman Company were successively published in London. "Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping" was printed and published on December 6, 1984. In August 1985, Maxwell was invited to visit China. He anxiously made a request to the Chinese side to visit Deng Xiaoping. Deng Xiaoping met him in Beidaihe. During the meeting, Maxwell presented Deng Xiaoping with a sheepskin-gilt hardcover English version of the Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping, and said to Deng: "The first printing of 10,000 copies of the English version of the Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping has been sold out and is being reprinted. Twenty thousand copies. This shows that your book is the most popular in the series. "Deng Xiaoping said: "My things are very ordinary, and there are no amazing words in them." Maxwell was moved by the old man's humility and sincerity. "But your writing is honest, straightforward, and based on fact and experience," he said excitedly.

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