The Gang of Four on trial

The Gang of Four (Chinese: 四人帮; pinyin: Sì rén bāng) was a group of Communist Party leaders in the People's Republic of China who were arrested and removed from their positions in 1976, following the death of Mao Zedong, and were blamed for the events of the Cultural Revolution. The group included Mao's widow Jiang Qing and three of her close associates, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen. Two other men who were already dead in 1976, Kang Sheng and Xie Fuzhi, were named as having been part of the "Gang". Download high resolution version (815x288, 52 KB) This work is copyrighted. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China ( Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: ) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) comprises most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as China. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Mao. ... A poster during the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ( Simplified Chinese: 无产阶级文化大革命; Traditional Chinese: 無產階級文化大革命; pinyin: wú chǎn jiē jí wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or simply 文革 wén gé... Jiāng Qīng, (江青, WG: Chiang Ching) (1914 - May 14, 1991) screen name Lan Ping, the third wife of Mao Zedong, was a Chinese political leader most famous for forming the Gang of Four. ... Zhang Chunqiao (Chinese: 張春橋, pinyin Zhāng Chūnqiáo, Wade-Giles: Chang Chun-chiao) (born 1917) was a member of the Gang of Four. ... Yao Wenyuan (姚文元, Pinyin Yáo Wényuán) (born 1931) is a former Chinese writer and propaganda official and a member of the Gang of Four in the Peoples Republic of China. ... Wang Hongwen (Chinese: 王洪文, pinyin Wáng Hóngwén, Wade-Giles: Wang Hung-wen) (1933/1935–August 3, 1992) was the youngest member of the Gang of Four. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (Chinese: 康生) (1898–December 16, 1975), Communist Party of China official, was head of the Peoples Republic of Chinas security apparatus until his death, and was subsequently accused along with the Gang of Four of being responsible for persecutions during the Cultural Revolution. ...

The removal of this group from power marked the end of the Cultural Revolution, which had been launched by Mao in 1966 as part of his power struggle with leaders such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Zhen. Mao placed Jiang, who before 1966 had not taken a public political role, in charge of the country’s cultural apparatus. Zhang, Yao and Wang were party leaders in Shanghai who had played leading roles in capturing that city in the Chinese Revolution. The military leader, Lin Biao, was also part of this group until his sudden death in a plane crash in 1971.-1... Liú Shàoqí (Simplified Chinese: 刘少奇 Traditional Chinese: 劉少奇 Wade-Giles: Liu Shao-chi) (November 24, 1898 – November 12, 1969) was a leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Peoples Republic of China. ... Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping  listen? ( Simplified Chinese: 邓小平; Traditional Chinese: 鄧小平; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; pronounced Dung Shyao-ping; August 22, 1904— February 19, 1997) was a revolutionary elder in the Communist Party of China (CPC) who served as the de facto ruler of the Peoples... Peng Zhen (Chinese: 彭真; pinyin: Péng Zhēn; Wade-Giles: Peng Chen) (1902–April 26, 1997) was a leading member of the Communist Party of China. ... -1... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ) is Chinas largest city and is situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta. ... The Chinese Civil War was a conflict in China between the Guomintang (the Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... Lin Biao (林彪; pinyin: lín biāo; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao;) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms and likely successor, but later discredited as a traitor. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

After Lin's death, the Cultural Revolution began to lose impetus. The new commanders of the People's Liberation Army demanded that order be restored in light of the dangerous situation along the border with the Soviet Union (see Sino-Soviet split). The Premier, Zhou Enlai, who had accepted the Cultural Revolution but never fully supported it, regained his authority, and used it to bring Deng Xiaoping back into the Party leadership at the 10th Party Congress in 1973. Liu Shaoqi had meanwhile died in prison in 1969. The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) (Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), which includes an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces, serves as the military of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Soviet Union - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... All people of the world unite, to overthrow American imperialism, to overthrow Soviet revisionism, to overthrow the reactionaries of all nations! (Chinese poster, 1969) The Sino-Soviet split was a conflict between the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China, beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: 周恩来; Traditional Chinese: 周恩來; pinyin: Zhōu Ēnlái; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Chinese Communist leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death. ... Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping  listen? ( Simplified Chinese: 邓小平; Traditional Chinese: 鄧小平; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; pronounced Dung Shyao-ping; August 22, 1904— February 19, 1997) was a revolutionary elder in the Communist Party of China (CPC) who served as the de facto ruler of the Peoples...

It is now officially claimed by Chinese propaganda agencies that Mao in his last year turned against Jiang and her associates, and that after his death on 9 September 1976 they attempted to seize power (the same allegation made against Lin Biao in 1971). Even 26 years later, it is impossible to know the full truth of these events. It does appear that their influence was in decline before Mao's death: when Zhou Enlai died in January 1976, he was succeeded not by one of the radicals but by the unknown Hua Guofeng. This article is about the type of communication. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hua Guofeng (华国锋 Hanyu Pinyin: Huà Guófēng, Wade-Giles: Hua Kuo-feng; born 1921) was Mao Zedongs designated successor as leader of the Communist Party of China and the Peoples Republic of China. ...

In any event, upon Mao's death Hua was named Communist Party leader as well as Premier. The "Gang" had arranged for Deng Xiaoping, Zhou Enlai's protege, to be purged in April 1976, but by early 1978, he was to become the real power of the Party. The radicals hoped that the key Army leaders Wang Dongxing and Chen Xilian would support them, but Hua seems to have won the Army over to his side. On 6 October 1976, Hua staged what amounted to a coup within the regime, arresting the four leading radicals and a number of their lesser associates. A massive media campaign was then launched against them, dubbing them the Gang of Four and blaming them for all the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mass media is the term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience (typically at least as large as the whole population of a nation state). ...

A Chinese poster

In 1981, the four deposed leaders were subjected to a show trial and convicted of anti-party activities. During the trial, Jiang Qing in particular was extremely defiant. Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao received death sentences that were later commuted to life imprisonment, while Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen were given twenty years imprisonment. The text is: Resolutely overthrow the anti-Party clique of Wang (Hongwen), Zhang (Chunqiao), Jiang (Qing) and Yao (Wenyuan). This image is from the IISH Stefan R. Landsberger Collection (http://www. ... The text is: Resolutely overthrow the anti-Party clique of Wang (Hongwen), Zhang (Chunqiao), Jiang (Qing) and Yao (Wenyuan). This image is from the IISH Stefan R. Landsberger Collection (http://www. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The term show trial serves most commonly to label a type of public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the accused: the actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as an impressive example and...

See also: Cultural Revolution A poster during the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ( Simplified Chinese: 无产阶级文化大革命; Traditional Chinese: 無產階級文化大革命; pinyin: wú chǎn jiē jí wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or simply 文革 wén gé...