CHARACTER is destiny. Historians who want to profile the psychology of the most powerful figure in China since 1978, however, are at a near-total loss.
This is despite the fact that, as was the case with the release of two new editions of Deng Xiaoping's Selected Works last week, court historiographers always have something handy about the patriarch to keep the propaganda machinery rolling.
Deng watchers are stymied by the lack of substance or excitement contained in the dozen-odd speeches and writings that were released for the first time. They are also dismayed by yet another attempt by Mr Deng's handlers to push the personality cult a few notches higher by new commentaries extolling what theorist Feng Xianzhi last Saturday called the party's 'most valuable spiritual riches'.
But Mr Deng, who is nearing the end of his tortuous career, remains a Sphinx-like figure. Accusations of fabrications and conspiracies notwithstanding, the Mao biography by Dr Li Zhisui showed up a vibrant personality who bragged, schemed, murdered and womanised on a grand scale.
One of Dr Li's conclusions was that Mao's near-supernatural presence was so overwhelming that almost all the politicians and generals around him had to shrink their egos to survive.
Mr Deng was hurt quite badly by having stayed too long in a giant's shadow. However, there were many other politicians whose personalities did not seem to have suffered from having to make accommodations to the inordinate demands of the Chairman.
