Democracy Wall Movement, 1979

Abstract

When, in 1976, Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and head of the People's Republic of China, died, an era of radical revolutionary activity that had affected virtually the entire population of China came to a close. Mao's death brought to an end the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and the subsequent arrest of the Gang of Four (leaders of the Cultural Revolution) signaled that the Chinese political sphere was opening up to a greater diversity of perspectives than had been possible under Chairman Mao's leadership. The Cultural Revolution, although in many respects anarchic, provided the CCP with an opportunity to achieve a high degree of control over the public expression of ideas about China's political, economic, and social sphere. As its leaders were condemned and its victims rehabilitated in the years immediately following Mao's death, many intellectuals were emboldened to express their views once again. The Democracy Wall movement of 1979 was the boldest manifestation of this process.