The Power Struggle after
Mao’s Death
IB History of the Americas
Paper 1 DBQ
Communism in Crisis
The struggle begins
Following Lin Biao’s death in 1971, the identity
of the heir to Mao was unclear
 Furthermore, by 1974 it was obvious that
changes would be happening soon, as both
Mao and Zhou were very ill with cancer and
Lou Gehrig’s disease, respectively
 Multiple groups vied for power in the remaining
years of Mao’s life, believing that the future of
China would be settled by Mao’s chosen
successor
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The Gang of Four
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Radical leftist group led by Jiang Qing
Other members:
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Encouraged continuation of the Cultural Revolution,
communes, youth relocations and political control of art
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Yao Wenyuan- Chief Propagandist
Zhang Chunqiao-Shangai official
Wang Hongwen- union leader from Shangai
Considered fear, coercion and violence necessary
Criticized Western influences in an attempt to
undermine other influential CCP members, like Zhou
Mao was critical of the Gang at times, but did not do
much to curtail them
How much power did they really have?
Wang Hongwen
Zhang Chunqiao
Yao Wenyuan
Jiang Qing
The Pragmatists and Old Guard
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Represented by Deng Xiaoping
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Rehabilitated from exile in 1973 and named as
vice-premier
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Supported by Zhou Enlai as well as veteran
officials and cadres
 Believed a little capitalist reform and foreign
aid could help China become a world power
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Deng’s UN speech, 1974, “self reliance in no way
means self seclusion”
Deng and Zhou, 1963
Deng, 1975
Hua Guofeng
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Hua was pretty much a dark horse, and had entered
the public eye in 1975 at a National Conference where
he praised many of Mao’s policies in a speech
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He also implied that a compromise between the two factions
could be found by praising communes while supporting some
more practical policies for growth
1976: The End of an Era
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Zhou Enlai died in early 1976
Though Mao was a bit aloof, the whole country went into deep mourning
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Many had viewed Zhou as a symbol of decency
Deng’s eulogy, which contained a section that could be interpreted as
critical of Mao, unleashed new campaigns against him
Also, Hua Guofeng was named as acting premier to replace Zhou-which
infuriated the Gang of Four
1976: The Qingming Festival

In April, thousands
descended on Beijing
for an annual festival
to honor the dead
 Wreaths, memorials,
flowers, posters and
signs that were
dedicated to Zhou
disappeared
overnight
 On April 5th, the
shocked crowd got
unruly and violent
protests began
The Qingming Festival con.
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Numerous arrests were made after Mao
determined the protests were “counterrevolutionary”
 This sudden, outpouring of emotion outside of
government influence and control was a new
phenomenon-one that worried the Gang of Four
 Deng was suspected of orchestrating the
protests and the campaigns against him grew
worse
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Deng was removed from all posts by Mao, though
allowed to remain in the party itself, and went into
hiding
Hua continued to consolidate his power
The Tangshan Earthquake

One of the worst
earthquakes ever recorded
rocked China in July
 China declined foreign aid,
and recovered from the
disaster on its own
 Hua lauded the efforts as
proof that the socialist
system was the correct
one, not the capitalist ones
that Deng had invoked
following the catastrophes
of the GLF
Traditions not so dead after all…
Interestingly though, according to
traditional Chinese history, natural
cataclysmic events signaled an
upcoming shift in political power
 And sure enough, Mao died on
September 9, barely 6 weeks later, a fact
that was surely noticed by the people of
China…
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The Death of Mao
Mao’s death, while indeed a solemn occasion, did
not elicit the same emotional outpouring that Zhou’s
had (you can’t show too much or too little grief)
 Both Hua and the members of the Gang of Four
were very prominent during the multiple funeral
functions
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“With you in charge I am at ease”
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After Mao’s death,
Jiang Qing began to try
to weaken Hua’s
position
Also, the Gang began
to prepare for a coup in
early October
However, Hua had the
posthumous support of
Mao through his
writings, and more
importantly, the backing
of the PLA
The Gang Goes Down
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On October 6, Hua suddenly had the members
of the Gang of Four arrested as they were
readying for a party meeting (more info in your
reading)
 They were blamed for a variety of crimes,
ranging from factional attacks on Zhou to
leading the young to oppose Marxism and
slandering army veterans
 All four were expelled from the party and sent
to prison to await trials, which began in 1981
 The Cultural Revolution was over
Cartoon Analysis
Resolutely overthrow the anti-Party clique of Wang, Zhang, Jiang and Yao!
Designer: Lu Xun Art
Academy (鲁迅美术学院)
1976, October.
Gang of Four at Trial
The Struggle Intensifies

In 1977 Deng, who had fled to the south the
year before, was rehabilitated and reinstated
to his senior positions
 Hua was not only premier, but also chairman
of the Party and the Military Commission
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However, Hua had alienated many when he stated
his policy known as the Two Whatevers
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“Obey whatever Mao had said and ensure the continuation
of whatever he had desired”
The Four Modernizations
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Some differences between Deng and Hua’s political and
economic policies grew more apparent throughout 1977
and 1978
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However, both Deng and Hua wanted to improve
China’s economy in these four areas:
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Hua continued to champion communes while Deng hoped to
incorporate foreign investment and technology
Agriculture
Industry
National Defense
Science and Technology
These four categories had been created by Deng and
Zhou in the early 1970s
The Fall of Hua Guofeng
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Despite Hua’s more impressive list of titles, ultimately
Deng had more advantages—such as?
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Political savvy and experience, PLA allies, support among
Cul. Rev. survivors, organized, had a forward thinking vision
Furthermore, Hua’s justification for power was based
on Mao, which became unhelpful as Mao had begun
to be mildly criticized in public after the arrest of the
Gang of Four; any other political liabilities?
In 1978, Deng took control of the military from Hua
and by 1980 had placed two protégés in other high
ranking positions
In 1980 Hua, recognizing defeat, resigned as premier
1978 Third Plenum
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Turning point in the struggle between Deng and
Hua
The Party called for the rehabilitation of those who
had been unfairly condemned during earlier purges
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Deng was placed in charge of the People’s Political
Consultative Conference
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100,000 “rightists” released…will now support Deng
Responsible for overseeing economic reforms as laid
out in Hua’s Ten Year Plan
The Party officially accepted the Four
Modernizations as the basis for future development
in China
De-Maoization
Deng did not think China could handle a
huge attack on “The Great Helmsman”
 Instead he favored the “drip effect”
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Subtle undermining of Mao’s reputation over time
1981 Central Comm. Resolution declared
that Mao had been “70% right and 30%
wrong”
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Thus Mao’s successes transcended his mistakes
This allowed Deng the freedom to call for
changes while still being loyal to Mao
Chen Yun
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“Had Chairman Mao died in 1956, there would
have been no doubt that he was a great leader
of the Chinese people…Had he died in 1966,
his meritorious achievements would have
been somewhat tarnished, but his overall
record was very good. Since he actually died
in 1976, there is nothing we can do about it.”
-Chen Yun
The Trial of the Gang of Four
 1980-81
 Jiang
was the only member who was totally
defiant and spoke up against the charges
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“I was Mao’s bitch. Whoever he told me to
bite, I bit”
 The
guilty verdicts were another way for the
party to admit Mao had allowed some
horrific policies that had failed without
blaming him fully
You Tube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQb2g
PyysnI