They were called the “eight immortals”, named after the mythical figures who unlocked the secret to eternal life, and together they worked behind closed doors, sometimes in the open, to decide the fate of the party, the economy and the social affairs of the nation.
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The ‘Eight Immortals’ Who Jockeyed for Control of a Nation
Vivian Wu
1 December 2008
They were called the “eight immortals”, named after the mythical figures who unlocked the secret to eternal life, and together they worked behind closed doors, sometimes in the open, to decide the fate of the party, the economy and the social affairs of the nation.
They emerged as a force in the early 1980s, as China struggled in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. In the absence of Mao Zedong’s iron first, these party heavyweights coalesced into the stabilising force that helped salvage the economy, and put it back on track in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
But they also interrupted political reform, as they did when they backed the military crackdown on the student-led democracy movement on June 4, 1989. They were disbanded, in effect, after the 13th party congress in 1987, when the old guard stepped down from the Politburo Standing Committee, to make way for the descendants of the “immortals” - the “princelings” - who went on to dominate the military, state-owned enterprises and government. The “eight” continued, however, to be a force in retirement or in some cases, semi-retirement, until 1997 when Deng Xiaoping died.
The membership was never explicitly stated but the group was widely accepted to comprise Deng, Chen Yun , Yang Shangkun , Bo Yibo , Wang Zhen , Peng Zhen , Li Xiannian and Song Renqiong . Deng Yingchao , Xi Zhongxun and Wan Li gradually became part of the inner circle as some of the original members died.
The “immortals” broadly shared a background. They were all born just after the turn of the last century, and all became long-standing party members and fought in the civil war and against the Japanese invaders.
When the republic was founded in 1949, the “immortals” helped the party consolidate its hold on the nation and later worked in senior positions in the party, government and military.
There were also powerful differences among them. At a time when party ideology was fluid and fought over, the eight held often competing streams of thought, although the two most powerful voices in debate were always Deng Xiaoping, with his reformist outlook and Chen, with his conservative approach.
Deng tapped fellow “immortal” Yang to ensure the backing of the military, and with that was able to maintain his grip as the paramount leader throughout the opening up period. Deng handpicked Hu Yaobang to succeed him as party general secretary and, when Hu died in April 1989, endorsed Zhao Ziyang to succeed him.
Hu and Zhao were regarded as Deng’s right-hand men in the implementation of the economic reforms, and even started drafting proposals for political changes from 1987, a process cut short by the June 4 incident. Zhao was sacked for supporting the student movement. Although Deng retired in 1990, he continued to exercise power until his death in February 1997.
Yang was ranked third among the eight and became president, a largely symbolic role at the time. He was also appointed the first vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission in the early 1980s. As Deng’s close comrade and supporter, he accompanied him on his famous visit to southern coastal areas in 1992. Yang was also active in pushing forward economic reform while he was deputy governor of Guangdong, believing that the province should show the way during the opening-up process. He died in 1998.
As an advocate of the planned economy and a hard-line communist, Chen acted as a counterbalancing force to the more progressive Deng. Chen had a large number of supporters in the crucial areas of planning, finance and banking. He went into semi-retirement in 1987, but retained chairmanship of the Central Advisory Commission (CAC), a transitional parliament consisting of retired party elders, until 1992 when the commission was abolished. He died in 1995.
Conservative Li was president for five years but after he was forced out in 1988 became CAC chairman. In 1992, at the age of 83, he was the first of the “immortals” to die.
Wang was a military general in Xinjiang who used the army to crack down on riots in the Muslim-dominated region and bring it back into the fold of the nation. He was equally tough in clamping down on the student movement in 1989 when he was vice-president.
Bo was a political conservative but he was firm in supporting Deng’s economic proposals. Like hard-line communist Song, Bo had extensive connections and influence in the party. He worked as party personnel chief and vice-chairman of the Central Advisory Commission. Bo died last year, the last of the eight to pass away.
National People’s Congress chairman and former Beijing mayor Peng also belonged to the conservatives and was sidelined 1987 by Deng.
Deng Yingchao was the widow of late premier Zhou Enlai and the only woman to be part of the influential group. She held firm to communist orthodoxy and gained considerable influence from the 1970s, when she handled many of her ailing husband’s matters.
She was the chairwoman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for five years and died in July 1992.
The conservative elders were said to have played a key role in sacking Zhao and Hu and appointing their successors, Jiang Zemin and Li Peng , the adopted son of Deng Yingchao.
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