The Revolution Part II: 1968-1976¶

Lin Biao was selected as Mao’s successor, and China was put under martial law. However, he was opposed by others within the Chinese Communist Party, including Mao himself. His death made people weary of the political struggles plaguing the CCP. They had endured the Cultural Revolution, supported Lin Biao and Mao, and fought friends, for what was ultimately just another political struggle.

Premier Zhou Enlai increased China’s contact with the outside world in an effort to revive the economy. Mao Zedong approved this, but was concerned that this would reintroduce the very capitalist influences the Cultural Revolution had purged. The issue of Mao’s successor, however, remained. At the end of 1972, he had a stroke and was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Finally, Zhou and Mao backed Deng Xiaoping, who had been rehabilitated after his purge 8 years prior.

This, however, displeased the “Gang of Four,” an internal Party faction composed of Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Jiang Qing. They advocated for a more hardline leader, while Mao tried to find a compromise between these two groups. He finally favored the Gang, letting other revolutionaries criticize Xiaoping through propaganda. Xiaoping's suporters also used dazibao or "Big-character Posters" to mock the Gang of Four. The Cultural Revolution ended when Mao Zedong died on September 9, 1976.