Hua Guofeng

Hua Guofeng (nom de guerre of Liu Zhengrong) was born in Jiaozheng county, Shanxi Province, in 1920 or 1921. As Mao Zedong's handpicked successor, he brought the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) to a close and prepared China for the process of economic reform and modernization that is usually associated with Deng Xiaoping's 1978 proposals.

Although the information concerning Hua's youth is scant, the details about his political carreer are well-documented. In the late 1930s, he joined the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces in his native county. By the mid 1940s, Hua had already become propaganda chief of the county Party committee. In the following years, he occupied ever higher rungs on the carreer ladder, taking on such responsibilities as the political commissariat of the county armed forces detachment. In 1949, he joined the People's Liberation Army troops moving southward in their liberation of China. After his arrival in Hunan Province in late 1949, he continued his bureaucratic and military advancement. Of great importance for his later carreer was his posting in Xiangtan, the native district of Mao Zedong. By personally overseeing various projects there (including an irrigation project in Shaoshan, Mao's native village), he was able to catch Mao's attention in an early phase.

By the early 1970s, Hua had not only become both first secretary of the Hunan provincial Party Committee and political commissar of the Canton military region, he had also joined the Party Central Committee. On the national level, his star rose rapidly. By 1971, he had become a "leading cadre" of the State Council with the rank of Vice-Premier. After his election to the Politburo in 1973, he became minister of public security in 1975. As recent history has shown time and again, this is an ideal starting point to prepare one's claims for the highest position of leadership. When Premier Zhou Enlai died in January 1976, Hua was his logical replacement. In the following months, with Mao's health deteriorating rapidly, a scramble for power started between Jiang Qing and her Gang of Four on the one hand, and Hua and his supporters on the other. In the end, Hua emerged victorious.

On 6 October 1976, within a month after Mao's death, Hua had the Gang of Four arrested. This bold move was supported by various old Party cadres and Army men, including Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, Xu Xiangqian and Nie Rongzhen; Mao's former bodyguard Wang Dongxing also played a major role. After the elimination of the Gang, the country rejoiced.

Once the decision was made that a mausoleum was to be constructed to house Mao's embalmed remains, Hua again was able to dominate much of the attention devoted to this event. This ranged from posters recording the laying of the foundations of the mausoleum to the moment the structure was officially opened for the masses to pay their respects to the departed leader.

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