Past Present Future Politics on Trial: The Gang of Four vs the New China
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Jan 14, 2026 Delve into the gripping Gang of Four trial that captivated 1980s China. Explore how the court tried to pin the horrors of the Cultural Revolution on Mao's followers while deliberately exonerating Mao himself. Witness Jiang Qing's defiant outbursts challenging the proceedings, as her dramatic performance reflects deep-seated tensions. The podcast also examines the pivotal role of televised coverage, transforming the trial into a national spectacle that sparked widespread public discourse. Discover how this trial symbolized a new direction for China's political landscape.
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Show Trial As Multi-Layered Performance
- The Gang of Four trial functioned as a multi-layered show trial mixing spectacle with didactic aims.
- It combined televised performance, victim testimony, and preordained verdicts to teach and signal political change.
Travel Memories: Posters And Communal TV
- David Runciman recalls traveling China in 1985 and seeing public poster-boards and communal TV viewing.
- He describes towns where people gathered around TVs and posters to read trial reports and executions on public display.
Three Groups, One Trial Narrative
- The trial grouped ten defendants in three sets to cover different phases of the Cultural Revolution.
- That structure let prosecutors link older coup plots and later Cultural Revolution excesses under one televised proceeding.