Yao Wenyuan (January 12, 1931 – December 23, 2005) was a Chinese literary critic, a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, and a member of the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

during China's

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

Biography

Yao Wenyuan was born in Zhuji,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

, to an intellectual family. His father, Yao Pengzi () was a writer, translator and art critic. He began his career in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

as a literary critic, where he became known for his sharp attacks against colleagues, such as in June 1957 against the newspaper '' Wenhuibao''. Since that time, he began to closely collaborate with leftist Shanghai politicians, including the head of the city's Propaganda Department,

Zhang Chunqiao Zhang Chunqiao (; 1 February 1917 – 21 April 2005) was a prominent Chinese political theorist, writer, and politician. He came to the national spotlight during the late stages of the Cultural Revolution, and was a member of the ultra-Maoist g ...

. His article "On the New Historical Beijing Opera '

Hai Rui Dismissed from Office ''Hai Rui Dismissed from Office'' () is a theatre play notable for its involvement in Chinese politics during the Cultural Revolution. The play itself focused on a Ming Dynasty minister named Hai Rui, who was portrayed as a savior to passive peasa ...

, published in ''Wenhuibao'' on November 10, 1965, launched the

. The article was about a popular opera by Wu Han, who was deputy mayor of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

and Jiang Qing feared the play could be counter-revolutionary because parallels could be drawn between the characters in the play and officials in the communist government. In the play, Hai Rui, a government official, speaks for the peasants against the imperial government, criticizing officials for hypocritically oppressing the masses while pretending to be virtuous men. Hai Rui is dismissed because of this. Yao claimed it was a coded attack on

Mao Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC ...

for dismissing in 1959 then-minister of defense

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...

, a critic of Mao's

Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstr ...

. Confused by this unexpected attack, Beijing's party leadership tried to protect Wu Han, providing Mao the pretext for a full-scale "struggle" against them in the following year. Yao was soon promoted to the Cultural Revolution Group. Yao Wenyuan was an ideal candidate for the criticism for such an opera because of his consistent socialist background. In April 1969 he joined the Politburo of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of China The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 f ...

, working on official propaganda. A member of "Proletarian writers for purity" he was the editor of "Liberation Daily" Shanghai's main newspaper. He joined the state's efforts to rid China's writers union of the famous writer Hu Feng. On October 6, 1976, he was arrested for his participation in the Cultural Revolution and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1981. He was released on October 5, 1996, and spent the remainder of his life writing a book and studying Chinese history. He lived in his hometown of Shanghai and became the last surviving member of the Gang of Four after

died in April 2005. According to China's official

Xinhua Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

news agency, he died of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

on December 23, 2005, aged 74."Last surviving member of China's Gang of Four dies"

References

Publications

*Yao Wen-yuan

Foreign Languages Press, Peking 1975.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao, Wenyuan Maoist theorists Anti-revisionists 1931 births 2005 deaths People from Zhuji Deaths from diabetes People of the Cultural Revolution Gang of Four Chinese propagandists Heads of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Expelled members of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese politicians convicted of crimes Members of the 10th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 9th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese Marxists Politicians from Shaoxing Writers from Shaoxing Chinese Communist Party politicians from Zhejiang People's Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang Chinese Maoists