From Whampoa instructor to marshal, the soldier who organised the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976 and ended the Cultural Revolution
On 6 October 1976 he led the Party elders and generals who ordered the arrest of the Gang of Four, ending the Cultural Revolution.
A Hakka from Guangdong, he taught at the Whampoa Military Academy, joined the party in 1927 and took part in the Guangzhou Uprising. As chief of staff on the Long March he warned Mao of Zhang Guotao’s split, and he was chief of staff through the war with Japan and the civil war and took over Beiping in 1949. Made a marshal in 1955, he was criticised in the “February Countercurrent” of 1967 but survived to run the army after Lin Biao’s death. In October 1976, after Mao died, he decided and executed the arrest of the Gang of Four with Hua Guofeng and Wang Dongxing, and in 1978 backed Deng Xiaoping’s return. As chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (1978–1983) he acted as head of state.
Career Timeline
- 1955Marshal of the People’s Republic of China
- 1975–1978Minister of National Defence
- 1978–1983Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee
Related historical events
- 1927–1936From Jinggangshan to Yan’an: the soviet bases and the Long MarchChief of staff who reported Zhang Guotao’s movePassed Zhang Guotao’s telegram to Mao in September 1935, enabling the march north.
- 1966–1976The Cultural RevolutionVeteran of the “February Countercurrent” and organiser of the arrest of the GangProtested against the Group in 1967 and decided the arrests of October 1976.
- 1976–1992Reform and opening: the Deng Xiaoping eraVeteran who backed Deng’s returnSupported Deng’s return in 1977 and the turn of 1978.