Born into a “red” revolutionary family, Xi Jinping (习近平) did not enjoy an easy childhood. His father, Xi Zhongxun (习仲勋), a veteran revolutionary who later worked under Deng Xiaoping (邓小平), was repeatedly purged during Mao Zedong’s (毛泽东) political campaigns. As a result, Xi Jinping was sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, living in cave dwellings in Shaanxi and working as a cattle herder and manual laborer. These harsh years deeply shaped his discipline, endurance, and worldvie