Liu Bocheng - Anecdotes

Anecdotes

During the Fengdu campaign in 1916, Liu was hit by a bullet in the head, which passed through his right temple and went out from his right eye. A German surgeon performed surgery for him to remove the eyeball and debride necrotic tissues. To keep his brain nerves from being damaged by the anaesthetics, Liu insisted on operation without anesthesia. After the procedure was finished, Liu told the surgeon that he counted a total of 72 cuts. The doctor was greatly moved by this display of courage and perseverance, and out of great respect he gave Liu the nickname "Chinese Mars".

Deng's famous “Cats Theory” (“Whether it is a black cat or a white cat, as long as it can catch the rat, it is a good cat”), in fact, originated from Liu. During his long military career, Liu often stated that “Whether it is a black cat or a yellow cat, as long as it can catch the rat, it is a good cat” to demonstrate that the purpose of war is to win, no matter what strategies you take.

Once, Deng made fun of Liu by complaining that his partner's only shortcoming was being a dull man; he spent all his time on reading and thinking except when he is commanding, without any entertainment at all.

Liu and Deng’s relationship prior to the communist takeover was not so close as it appeared on record. After their army won a battle, Deng claimed it was a great victory of Maoism. Liu refuted: "If we lose, can we say it is a great loss of Maoism?"

Liu and Deng's relationship grew strong only after the communist takeover because both were discontent with Mao Zedong's disastrous policy such as Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution: As Liu was persecuted in the late 1950s, Deng showed his support to Liu, as the latter was making rounds of analyses and apologies for the so-called dogmatism and empiricism. Similarly, Liu showed his support to Deng for Deng's economic policy in the early 1960s to rescue Chinese economy.

Deng's entire family attended Liu's funeral, which only happened in the case of very close family ties in traditional Chinese culture. Liu wanted a small funeral in the hospital he died in. However, because too many military and political leaders requested to attend the funeral, the funeral was moved to a bigger hall.