The 'eight immortals' who jockeyed for control of a nation

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.