關於中共早期政治要人彭真和鄧小平之間的政治關係問題，無論是中國大陸或是海外學界都未曾對之進行專門研究和深度考察，僅有淺薄、甚至含有偏差認識的簡單論述。本文對彭真、鄧小平早年政治關係梳理和重建如下：彭真、鄧小平都是毛澤東喜愛並予器重的所謂「國王人馬」，兩人皆信從毛澤東而看似合作無間，實則存有隱而不顯的微妙競爭；這可能也與毛澤東的政治操作有關。彭真在1940年代前半期協助毛澤東推展延安整風而躋身中央高層；鄧小平立有戰功和歷經黨內鬥爭後，1950年代中期躍升中央核心，權位反居彭真之前。1956年起，鄧小平獲命領導中共中央書記處，負責貫徹中央決策、管理黨日常工作，進而監管政府工作；鄧小平讓副手彭真承擔書記處的實際工作，後者足堪重任，同時也擅使重權。1960年代初，在與毛澤東保持立場一致的問題上，彭真略勝鄧小平一籌；1964年底毛澤東批評鄧小平「搞獨立王國」後約略一年的時間，他甚至有親彭疏鄧的意向和跡象。彭真政治氣勢如虹之際，迅速陷入爭論漩渦，反而垮台在鄧小平之前。

Peng Zhen and Deng Xiaoping had been two important leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. During the period before the eruption of the Cultural Revolution, they both acted as Party Chairman Mao Zedong's main political assistants and followed his lead carefully. The political relationship between these two political figures has received little research attention in Chinese-language publications published in Mainland China and Western academic works. In fact, there has been no detailed empirical study related to the issue. Based on newly available materials and recent interviews, this study demonstrates the following: Peng devotedly assisted Mao in implementing the Yan'an Rectification Movement during the first half of the 1940s. Consequently, he was not only elected to be a Politburo member, but was also nominated by Mao to be the alternate secretary of the Central Secretariat, the de facto supreme policy-making organ of the Party at the time. Much later than Peng, Deng’s political status soared after making a great military contribution during the civil war and playing a significant role in the Gao Gang-Rao Shushi Incident, becoming a political rising star in the mid- 1950s. In 1956, with strong support from the Party center led by Mao, Deng was appointed to be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and also the General Secretary in charge of leading the Central Secretariat and handling the daily works of the Party center. As a senior member of the Politburo, Peng was appointed the second-ranking leader of the Central Secretariat, a position he was entrusted with great responsibility by Deng, and exerted substantial power and influence over Chinese politics. Prior to the Cultural Revolution, Peng and Deng cooperated well in implementing central policies and running the Party-state on behalf of the central authority. However, it is noteworthy that in contrast to Deng who drew criticism from Mao due to the economic adjustments in 1962, Peng and Mao had similar views over the issues involved. As a result, Mao trusted him even further. Furthermore, after Mao criticized Deng in late 1964 for trying to establish an ＂independent kingdom＂ politically, Peng continued to be in Mao’s good graces until spring 1966 when the Supreme Leader was about to launch the Cultural Revolution. Before and even during the Cultural Revolution, Mao seemed to intentionally manipulate the unspoken competition between Peng and Deng to serve his own political interests.