Some interesting history about the death of Mao Zedong

When Mao Zedong died in 1976, the Chinese government was in a situation similar to the one the Russians faced after Stalin's death in 1953 and what the North Koreans faced after Kim Il Sung's death in 1994.<br><br>The End of Mao & the Rise of Deng (China 1976-84) - YouTube<br><br>The End of Stalin & the Struggle for Power (1953-57) - YouTube<br><br>The Death of Kim Il-sung & the Beginning of Kim Jong-il's rule - YouTube<br><br>A key difference though is who actually made the announcement. Mao passed away at 10:10 AM Beijing time on September 9, 1976, and the official announcement was made about 16 hours later. <br><br>Mao Zedong's death - YouTube<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Mao Zedong's death announcement - YouTube<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Now the person who actually made the announcement was not any of the Gang of Four, the leaders of the Cultural Revolution that had just concluded a year earlier. It was not Deng Xiaoping, the leader who actually took over China and reversed the Maoist policies. It was not Zhou Enlai, the premier of China who had passed away 8 months earlier.<br><br>The announcement was made by a man named Hua Guofeng who had been the minister of public security until being appointed as a member of the party's political bureau and vice premier after Zhou Enlai's death. But what was his relationship with Mao? Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng, and Zhou Enlai were known to have a very close relationship, with Zhou being Mao's premiers since 1949, Hua being the governor of Hunan which is Mao's birth province, and Mao's wife Jiang Qing being a member of the Gang of Four which controlled the propaganda departments of China.<br><br>So, in short, Hua Guofeng was someone that the Gang of Four, Deng Xiaoping, and the military trusts to make the announcement about Mao's death. However, what he did next was quite interesting. After making the announcement, Hua Guofeng had the Gang of Four arrested which was approved by Deng Xiaoping and the military. This ended the Cultural Revolution and Deng Xiaoping eventually took over as the paramount leader of China until his retirement in 1992.<br><br>&#x200B;