6 October 1976
Gang of Four under Fire
Gang of Four as target
Landsberger collection
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.
See also:
• Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages
• The Chairman smiles
Today in the Biographies Dutch Labour Movement
Born on 6 October |