Gang of Four
Also called: Four Shanghai radicals · Topic: Paths to Modernisation: Japan, China, Korea · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Gang of Four was a group of four radical leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. "Radical" here means they wanted the hardest, most extreme form of Mao's ideas. They were also called the "four Shanghai radicals". Their leader was Jiang Qing (Chiang Ching in older spelling), Mao Zedong's wife. The other three were Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen. They rose to power during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), when Mao's campaign attacked old culture and put ideology above expert knowledge. Their fall in 1976, soon after Mao died, closed that era and opened the way to Deng Xiaoping's reforms from 1978.
Example
In October 1976, a few weeks after Mao's death, the four were arrested in Beijing. Mao's chosen successor, Hua Kuo-feng (Hua Guofeng), moved against them with backing from Party, police and army leaders. The army newspaper, the Liberation Army Daily, later claimed that Mao himself had opposed them. In 1980–81 they were put on trial for their actions during the Cultural Revolution. Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao got death sentences that were not carried out right away, and these were later reduced to life in prison.
Don't confuse with
- Red Guards: these were mass groups of students, with army support, who attacked "old" culture during the Cultural Revolution. The Gang of Four were top Party leaders, not a youth movement.