Gang of Four

noun

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.

Gang of Four

noun

the Gang of Four
the Gang of Four 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)

Gang of Four

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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Word History and Origins

Origin of Gang of Four¹

Translation of Chinese sìrén bāng

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Example Sentences

If the aforementioned details seem vaguely familiar to our current predicament — some 40 years later and an ocean away — it also speaks to why the seismic force that is Gang of Four’s music remains vital decades later.

From Washington Post

Word of the Day

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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