On the Socialist Essence Defined by Deng Xiaoping

This paper makes a further study on Deng Xiaoping's definition of socialist essence based on China's reform and opening-up, and reveals five traits from it: 1). to promote the sound development of socialism; 2). to transcend doctrine and break through tradition; 3). to consolidate the productive forces and production relations; 4). to harmonize reality and ideality; 5). to define socialism from the perspective of development and dialectics. These five traits demonstrate Deng Xiaoping's spirit of being practical, realistic and scientific.