ABSTRACT
Deng was indeed a farsighted and complex-minded politician. He did not care merely about his own “name and fame,” either in a simple titular sense or in a purely personal sense. Political power and political slogans could serve Deng—as they had many a contemporary politician—as either a means or an end, depending on particular and often delicate circumstances. The Twelfth National Party Congress, convened in Beijing on September 12–13, 1982, marked the final establishment of Deng’s supreme authority, in terms of personnel alignment as well as policy orientation. As 1984 ebbed away, Deng seemed quite content and confident. He had attained full control of the central power. Nobody could challenge his ultimate authority. Both Hu and Zhao were his junior disciples, devoted to him personally and to his reform and openness line. Hence, 1984 can be termed as the “pinnacle of name and fame” for Deng.
