Heavy-handed Action -- Zhou Enlai After the 13th September Incident

Author: Chen Yangyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: On the 30th anniversary of Premier Zhou Enlai's passing, the author wrote Heavy Punch: Zhou Enlai After the September 13 Incident to commemorate this century-old great figure. The book focuses on the main theme of Zhou Enlai's relentless efforts and difficult journey in correcting "Leftism" and criticizing extreme Leftist thought in all aspects after the Lin Biao Incident. Centered around this theme, it comprehensively reflects Zhou Enlai's major activities, ideological trajectory, and historical contributions in the later period of the Cultural Revolution.
On the early morning of September 13, 1971, a shocking event occurred in Chinese political life: Lin Biao, who had just been elected as the Vice Chairman of the Central Committee two years earlier at the "Ninth Congress" and designated as Mao Zedong's "successor" in the new Party Constitution, fled the country in a private plane after his plot to murder Mao Zedong, launch a military coup, and seize the supreme leadership of the Party and State was exposed. At this critical moment that threatened the fate of the Party and State, Zhou Enlai remained calm and composed, directing operations with precision. He stayed awake for 363 consecutive nights, handling the situation with wisdom and decisiveness, ensuring the Party and State averted disaster.
The Lin Biao Incident was a major turning point in the "Cultural Revolution." Objectively, it declared the failure of the theory and practice of the "Cultural Revolution," providing an opportunity for Zhou Enlai to criticize extreme Leftist thought and correct some of the erroneous practices that had occurred since the "Cultural Revolution."