What was the name given to Jiang Qing (Mao Zedong's ex-wife), Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen, Chinese Communist Party officials who were prominent during the Cultural Revolution and were arrested in 1976, charged with treason?
Gang of Four Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang's leading figure was Jiang Qing (Mao Zedong's last wife). The other members were Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen. The Gang of Four controlled the power organs of the Communist Party of China through the later stages of the Cultural Revolution, although it remains unclear which major decisions were made by Mao Zedong and carried out by the Gang,
Jiang Qing be removed by force in order to restore stability. On the morning of October 6, 1976, Jiang Qing came to Mao's former residence in Zhongnanhai, gathered her close aides and Mao's former personal aides in a "Study Mao's Work" session. According to Du Xiuxian, her photographer, Jiang Qing remarked that she knew people within the Central Committee were plotting against her. After the session, Jiang Qing took several aides to Jingshan Park to pick apples. In the evening, Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen, and Yao Wenyuan were arrested and kept in the lower level of Zhongnanhai. According to Zhang