Gang of Four and which were the result of the Gang of Four's own planning. The Gang of Four, together with disgraced general Lin Biao who died in 1971, were labeled the two major "counter-revolutionary forces" of the Cultural Revolution and officially blamed by the Chinese government for the worst excesses of the societal chaos that ensued during the ten years of turmoil. Their downfall on October 6, 1976, a mere month after Mao's death, brought about major celebrations on the streets of Beijing and marked the end of a turbulent political era in China. Their fall did not amount to a rejection
Gang of Four Gang of Four, including Chen Boda and Mao Yuanxin, were also sentenced. In the struggle between Hua Guofeng's and Deng Xiaoping's followers, a new term emerged, pointing to Hua's four closest collaborators, Wang Dongxing, Wu De, Ji Dengkui and Chen Xilian. In 1980, they were charged with "grave errors" in the struggle against the Gang of Four and demoted from the Political Bureau to mere Central Committee membership. In the Xi Jinping era, some commentators and political observers dubbed the loose political grouping of former security chief Zhou Yongkang, former Central Military Commission vice-chairman Xu Caihou, former Chongqing party chief