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 takes Zhou Enlai's relentless and arduous efforts to correct "leftism" and criticize extreme-leftist thought in all aspects after the Lin Biao Incident as its main thread. Centered around this thread, it comprehensively reflects Zhou Enlai's main 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 determined the fate of the Party and State, Zhou Enlai remained calm and composed, directing operations with certainty. He stayed awake for 363 consecutive nights, handling the situation with wisdom and decisiveness, ensuring that the Party and State turned from danger to safety.
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 since the Cultural Revolution.