GANG OF FOUR

MEMBERS

• Led by Jiang Qing
• Zhang Chunqiao
• Yao Wenyuan
• Weng Hongwen
• Lin Bao was often associated though not included

JIANG QING

• Began as an actress, married Mao in 1938
• Headed the Gang of Four and used her relation to Mao for leverage
• Alleged to have an illicit relationship before cultural revolution
• Reported to have shouted "why do you not kill me" upon her reduced punishment
• She was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and committed suicide in 1991

ZHANG CHUQIAO

• Emerged during the end of the Cultural Revolution
• G.O.F was reorganized based on a revolutionary committee on Moas order
• Remained active in various administrative functions in Shamghai
• Zhang was elected into the Politburo of the 9th central committee
• arrested in October 1976 as a member of the G.O.F & expelled from the party

YAO WENYUAN

• Yao Wenyuan's father influences his earlier career in Shanghai as a literacy critic
• Associates closely with the leftist politicians as well as the propaganda department
• Known as being "the killer by pen" because he had a way of expressing himself strongly & being inspirational & convincing on paper
• He wrote an essay in 1965 which was later considered one of the opening discharge of weapons during the cultural revolution

WANG HONGWEN

• Born in December 1935 died 1992 of cancer
• He played a central role in the cultural revolution
• Was the youngest member of the Gang of Four,He was ranked third in the communist hierarchy
• Turned down deputy chairman of the party to be deputy chairman of the state
• Helped form the Shanghai workers revolutionary paroxysms

DOWNFALL

• The Gang of Four's desire for more power resulted into their downfall
• Objective was to take over the government
• Attempted to remove China's vise president, Deng's Xiaoping.
• Attempted to gain military support in order to overthrow Hua Guofeng(chairman of communist party in 1976)
• Failed attempt to overthrow Hua resulted in their arrest on Oct. 1976

TRIAL

• Hua organized an 'emergency meeting' to arrest the four with the aid of Xiaoping
• Deng got power from Hua as a result of their arrest leaving as undisputed leader
• Were sentenced to death though Jiang and Zhang later got life imprisonment
• Their trial was postponed for five years so that negative propaganda could saturate
• Jiang protested the "stage trial" claiming she was only acting as Mao's pawn.

CONTEXT

• Mao appointed the Gang to combat the Rightists gaining power after Deng's reelection.
• They weren't initially powerful despite their connections, this did not stop them from
• Cultural revolution was needed to recover lost popularity and influence from his failed Leap forward
• To help his movements momentum, he appointed his wife as chair
• Fallout between Mao and Jiang turned them against each other