Former Chinese leader Deng, martial arts legend Lee and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing are the most famous of 12 Chinese on the list. 　　

Less well-known names include Mou Zuoyun, Han Suyin, Stan Shih, and Victor and William Fung. 　

The list, printed in the November 13 issue, records 56 heroes who have helped Asia rise "from poverty to powerhouse, from imitator to be imitated." 　　

Mou Zuoyun, one of China's earliest basketball players, is described as someone who helped China find its place in the world.

Born in 1913, Mou was a member of China's first full delegation to the Olympic Games. And in 1985, he chaperoned the Chinese basketball team on its first US tour, and "set in motion a process that would result in the export of 2.26-meter Yao Ming to the National Basketball Association." 　　

Other Chinese in the category of athletes and explorers include Li Ning, China's legendary gymnast who combined sporting ability with commercial nous, and Bruce Lee, hailed as an athlete and a movie star. 　　

Han Suyin and Gong Li are honored in the "artists and thinkers" category. Born in China in 1917 as a Belgian-Chinese, Han experienced heavy prejudice but bravely expressed her Eurasian identity in her literary works. As for Gong, the magazine says her on-screen charisma gave the world "an icon of Chinese resolve." 　　

In the "business leaders" category, we naturally find Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing from Hong Kong, as well as Stan Shih, an engineer who turned Taiwan into a PC-manufacturing powerhouse. 　　

Jerry Yang, a student from Taiwan who brought Yahoo! to the world, and Victor and William Fung, Hong Kong's masters of global manufacturing, were also on the list. 　　

However, only one Chinese is honored as a nation builder: Deng Xiaoping. 　　

Time says it picked Deng instead of Mao Zedong, the founder of New China, because although the name of Mao is known throughout the world, it is Deng who inherited the mantle of Chinese hero. 　　

"While Mao is now mainly associated with the idea of revolutionary excess and periods of colossal suffering, Deng has come to be linked to China's astonishing economic development, and to the steering of China away from its organizational straitjacket into a wider world of technological growth and international trade," the magazine says. 　　

Zhou Ke, deputy editor-in-chief of Guangzhou-based New Weekly magazine, said the selection did not surprise him. "Western media always consider whether the person or the event still has a strong impact on today's society. That's why they picked Deng instead of Mao." 　

Others honored included Gandhi, General Douglas MacArthur, Muhammad Yunus and Mother Teresa.