It is 55 years since Mao Zedong declared that the people had 'stood up' - that is, the nation had recovered its dignity. Since then, for the past 25 years, China has prospered under Deng Xiaoping's open and reform policy.
The month-long nationwide celebrations marking the centenary of Deng's birth reached its height on Sunday, yet the legacy of the chief architect of China's drive for reform will remain for a long time to come.
Deng turned the country, devastated by the Cultural Revolution, into a rising economic giant through innovative economic reforms.
While standing firm on the principle of national sovereignty, he allowed a degree of flexibility for Hong Kong to continue its free market system and capitalist lifestyle after the 1997 handover, which was enshrined in the 'one country, two systems' policy under the Basic Law.
Despite his shortcomings, such as his merciless decision to suppress by force the student-led protests in Beijing in 1989, there is no doubt that Deng will be remembered in history as one of the great leaders of new China.
There is no denying, however, that much has changed in the domestic, regional and global environment - particularly in the past decade - since the reform policy was implemented in 1978. In an increasingly globalised world, it is no longer viable or practical for the leadership to keep the low profile in international politics that Deng had advised. China's rising economic might and political clout, meanwhile, have brought new tensions and dynamics to regional politics.
The price to be paid for rapid growth and development is perhaps beyond the imagination of Deng, who died before the 1997 handover. Indeed, the fact that institution-building through the political system is lagging behind when the economy is growing so quickly has bred elements of instability.
