Who prevented the Gang of Four from seizing power?
When Mao died in 1976, it would appear to many that his wife Jiang Qing and her three conspirators (the Gang of Four) would assume power.
History tells us that they were arrested and put on trial. So who thwarted their assumption of power?
The main persons are Marshal/ General Ye Jian Ying, assisted by Wang Dong Xing and Hua Guo Feng. But there are nuances.
Gilles Guiheux (2018) states in a few lines that Hua Guo Feng, under pressure from military leaders, arrested them. (P 71).
Ruan Ming, in Deng Xiaoping (1992), states that all three joined forces to arrest the Gang of Four. (P 18). His account may be slightly biased as he was a former associate of Hu Yao Bang, and became a critic of the CCP after he was expelled in 1983 from the CCP.
Harrison E Salisbury in The New Emperors (1992) gave the most detailed and vivid account of the plot to arrest the Gang of Four.
He said Marshal Ye planned the whole operation. He first put Deng, then in Canton, under the protection of his Long March colleague, General Xu Shi You, Commandant of the Canton military, and Wei Guo Qing, the Governor of Canton.
He then persuaded Hua to support the arrests. Ye, who had the majority in the Politburo, then proceeded with the arrests. The rest is history. (P 366 – 376).
LWH, 5 Sep 2025, 7 am