Introduction to Gang of Four
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| Jiang Qing, head of Gang of Four, with Chairman Mao |
Gang of Four was a radical political faction in the Communist Party of China which consisted of four influential people in the hierarchy of power from 1966 till the death of Mao Zedong. The four individuals who formed the core of Gang of Four included Mao’s third wife, Jiang Qing, and her close associates Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen and Yao WenYuan. Kang Sheng, Xie Fuzhi, and Chen Boda were also considered part of the gang but to a lesser degree. All the prominent members of the Gang of Four maintained low political profile till the countrywide initiation of Cultural Revolution in China.
Cultural Revolution of 1966
The Cultural Revolution in China started with the ban on a play by the radical elements in the government. The rising political stature of these radical elements in the government influenced Mao, who upon their advice called upon students from across the country to remove the elite class from the state institutions. The students, Red Guards, were given free passage to travel across the country organizing rallies in support of the communist revolution and against the conservative class. The student guards targeted all the symbols and arts that somewhat portrayed western or conservative tendencies, and it is alleged that they killed many intellectuals, teachers, and religious personalities. The guards also defaced temples and other places of religious worship apart from burning books that preached modernism.
Gang of Four’s role in initiating Cultural Revolution
The Gang of Four maintained control over four critical areas of the government machinery which could help in the formation of a narrative. The four areas included intellectual education, basic concepts in social sciences, teacher-student relations and schools’ discipline along with party policies regarding literary personalities and intellectuals. Under this patronage structure, the Gang of four influenced government to ban Wu Han’s play “Hai Rui Dismissed from Office” which initiated Cultural Revolution. The Gang of Four got the favor of Mao in their movement for the removal of Bourgeois class and restoration of pure communism.
Political struggle between Gang of Four and reformists
The Cultural Revolution led to a political confrontation between the traditional revolutionary communists and those who wanted to liberalize the economy and state’s foreign policy. The traditional communists under the leadership of Gang of Four established a strong foothold in the power corridors with Mao's support. On the other hand, the conservative group under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi tried to put an end to the mass protests unleashed by the Red guards. This confrontation concluded the downfall of the Gang of Four at the hands of Deng Xiaoping and his supporters.
Excesses of Cultural Revolution
As mentioned-above, massive influence of Gang of Four on Mao Zedong and their control on four critical components of nation building enabled them to inspire a whole generation of Mao followers to rally around Cultural Revolution. The student cadres became the most important of flag carriers and were named as red guards. These red guards with a mission to eliminate Bourgeois class from the government institutions and to remove the effect of conservative ideals and western democracy unleashed some gruesome crimes. Those intellectuals who were considered to be pro-western or conservative were either brutally killed or were terrorized. They even did not spare books in their hatred towards western ideals and burned many of them.
Downfall and arrest of Gang of Four
After the death of Mao, a new scuffle of power politics between Gang of Four and moderates in Communist Party of China broke out with Gang of Four attempting to seize government seat in Beijing. The confrontation tilted in favor of conservatives due to Mao Zedong’s will to appoint Hua Guofeng as new premier and party chief after his death. The Gang of Four now tried to instigate armed forces against conservatives, but Hua was quick to win military minds. Deng Xiaoping now became part of the mainstream communist party and pushed the less-known Hua aside to assume party leadership. Members of the gang were arrested with two of them sentenced to death and other two to life imprisonment. All of them were released later of which Mao’s wife committed suicide, and the rest died their natural death.
Conclusion
The rise and fall of Gang of Four in a way presented the new leadership an opportunity to boost further up their efforts to liberalize and modernize Chinese economy. Deng Xiaoping completely transformed Chinese economy and paved the way for what China is today, a world economic leader. The fall of Gang of Four closed the old chapter of Chinese communism and opened a window to the one which allowed foreign companies to invest in China in huge proportion as well to increase exports.
About Muhammad Asim
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