Word: xiansheng
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...name, in the beginning, was not Deng Xiaoping. The eldest son of the county sheriff was given a two-character name that meant "first saint," perhaps a reference to his father's Buddhist piety. Only later, in France, did Deng Xiansheng become Deng Xiaoping, the two new syllables a prescient nom de guerre, literally meaning "little peace," an augury of both tumult and relief. In 1920, at the age of 16, Deng left his rural home deep inland in Sichuan for the port of Shanghai. There he learned basic French and won a scholarship for a work-study program...
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