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A former soldier, Teng once wanted to become a factory worker so that he could earn a steady urban wage. But now he is enthusiastic about his prospects on the farm. "I have many things already," he says. "A bicycle, a watch. We have a sewing machine. At the end of this year, I will first return the money I borrowed from the brigade. My goal next year? To buy a television set. It will cost 400 yuan [$280]. After that our income will grow, and life will keep on getting better "
THE INTELLECTUAL. No other social class suffered more during 1966-69 Cultural Revolution than the intellectuals "the stinking ninth category," in the pungent rhetoric of the Red Guards. Few scientists, writers or professors were able to avoid terms of "reform through labor." The victims use a different phrase today: "being sent to the countryside." Many were so persecuted that they committed suicide. Says Huan Xiang, vice president we the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: 'Tor years we imbued ourselves in dogma. Our heads were down and our feet were up in the air. Now we have our feet back on the ground."
A former Chinese ambassador to several European countries, Huan, 70, is one of thousands of intellectuals who have been restored to important posts since Deng returned to power.
Today he is the prime mover in China's most prestigious think tank. Says Huan: "All together, we have 8,000 researchers Our economic researchers have been cooperating with the economic ministries to find out ways to solve numerous problems. We lave even organized a discussion on what is the purpose of human life. After 30 years of political turmoil, our thinking is confused. Our young people in particular don't know what to do in this world. We have an open forum for them to discuss these things so they can draw their own conclusions."
The academy is one of the key institutions that are leading China's shift from ideology to ward pragmatism. Says Huan: "We try to get away from dogma, from what Marx said or what Lenin or Mao said. That's a reference. But we need to start from the facts." Though Huan argues that scholars can follow "the facts" without political interference, it is unlikely that one of them could publish articles criticizing the Communist system. Yet there is more leeway for questioning than at any other time since the Communists came to power. Says Huan: "Since, the end of the 1950s, we have had no connections with academics either in the East or the West. We are now encouraging scholarly communications with the West, particularly the U.S., Japan and Western Europe "
Many young people had their educations disrupted by China's political turmoil. Says Huan: "Some were able to educate themselves during the Cultural Revolution— they studied very hard. But most of that particular generation is illiterate."