In Chinese history, the ‘Gang of Four’ – Madame Mao (Jiang Qing), Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyua – were the chief members of the radical faction that played a key role in directing the ‘Cultural Revolution’.
The four tried to seize power after the death of the communist leader Mao Zedong in 1976, but their coup failed.
The four had enjoyed years of privilege and power and were despised throughout the Chinese Communist Party and blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution.
Without Mao to protect them, they were soon arrested and imprisoned.
Publicly tried in 1980, they were found guilty of treason.
Mao’s widow Jiang asserted during her trial that she had only followed her husband’s orders as an obedient wife.
She received a death sentence in January 1981, which was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment.
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The four tried to seize power after the death of the communist leader Mao Zedong in 1976, but their coup failed.
