Profile: Xi Jinping and his era

Xi Jinping visits villagers at a temporary resettlement site in Ludian County, which experienced a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in August 2014, in Southwest China's Yunnan province, Jan 19, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xi's status as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party was endorsed at the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. It is widely acknowledged that when such a big Party as the CPC governs such a big country, difficulties are inevitable. Without a strong core of leadership, it is hard to maintain unity of Party thinking and solidarity across the entire nation. Weak leadership makes any achievement impossible, not to mention victory in a "great struggle with many new contemporary features."

Xi's indomitable spirit originates from his faith in Marxism. One of his colleagues noted in an article that Xi's speeches "exuberate with firm belief in communism and socialism."

When visiting "The Road Toward Renewal" exhibition at the National Museum on Nov 29, 2012, Xi told a story about Chen Wangdao, who was so focused on translating The Communist Manifesto that he found himself eating ink instead of brown sugar. Xi quoted Chen's words: "The taste of truth is so sweet."

Xi also draws strength from his parents Xi Zhongxun and Qi Xin, both of whom participated in the revolution at young ages. In 1962, Xi Zhongxun's 16 years of suffering from political persecution began. However, he never gave in to adversity and ultimately helped clear the names of others who were persecuted.

When his father was wronged, Xi Jinping went through some tough times.

In one of his letters to his father, Xi Jinping noted that even when trapped in hard times, Xi Zhongxun still held "unswerving faith in communism and belief in the Party's greatness, correctness and glory." "Your words and actions have pointed the correct direction for us to go forward," he wrote.

Xi also recollected that, when he was five or six years old, his mother bought him picture books about Yue Fei, a patriotic military commander of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), and the story of how Yue's mother tattooed four Chinese characters on his back to remind him of devoting himself to the country.

"Jing Zhong Bao Guo (To serve the country with total loyalty): I have long remembered these four characters. It is the pursuit of my entire life," Xi said.

During his early life, Xi applied to join the Communist Youth League eight times and the CPC 10 times, before he finally joined the Party at the age of 20.