Gang of Four

American  

noun

1. a group of four radical members of the Chinese Communist Party who were leaders of the Cultural Revolution and who were purged and imprisoned after the death of Mao Zedong: Jiang Qing (widow of Mao), Wang Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan, and Zhang Chunqiao.

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Gang of Four British  

noun

1. a radical faction within the Chinese Communist Party that emerged as a political force in the spring of 1976 and was suppressed later that year. Its members, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan, and Jiang Qing, were tried and imprisoned (1981)

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Gang of Four Cultural  

1. Four Chinese political leaders of the twentieth century who were closely associated with Mao Zedong (one of the four was his wife). They were denounced when moderates came to power in China in 1976 and were convicted in 1981 of committing crimes, such as torture, during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

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Etymology

Origin of Gang of Four

Translation of Chinese sìrén bāng

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Gang of Four

Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong’s wife, led the Gang of Four, a radical faction that used the 1966-1967 Cultural Revolution to persecute perceived enemies and throw China into upheaval.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

He was also part of the city’s renowned Gang of Four, a group of racially diverse organizers that included Larry Gossett, Roberto Maestas and Bernie Whitebear.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

Following Zhou’s death in January 1976, the Gang of Four managed to oust Deng Xiaoping from power once more, but this time he did not remain away for long.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

Following Mao’s death a few months later, the ruling Gang of Four tried to play down the catastrophe for political purposes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2021

History is bunk, as Henry Ford and then the Gang of Four told us; there are no lessons in the past.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2014

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