Conducts research and collects data on the global history of labour, workers, and labour relations

Gang of Four under Fire

6 October 1976
Source: 
BG K21/784

In the beginning of the 70s China was in transition. The old leaders, Mao and Zhou Enlai, were ill. A group around Mao's second wife, Jiang Qing, the "Gang of Four", were hunting for power. Supported by the students and the media, they attacked Zhou Enlai's proposed successor Deng Xiaoping. Following Mao's death, the new party leader Hua Guofeng showed that he did not favour the Four. On 6 October 1976 they were arrested. A campaign with posters and other propaganda materials was launched to show how dangerous they had been. The toy shown above enabled the youth to follow the right direction: they could shoot at the heads of the Gang of Four with the small gun.