Settling the Score of the Cultural Revolution: The Trial of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing.

The Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was the most turbulent event in the history of the People's Republic of China. As yet no firm statistics are available concerning the human losses during the Cultural Revolution. A recent article suggests that the number could be as high as two million, although so far there is no way to verify this figure. In addition to the massive number of deaths, more people suffered from harassment in the form of imprisonment, physical and psychological abuse, and economic difficulties, such as relocation or unemployment due to political reasons. This paper examines the measurements that the post-Mao government employed to handle the public grievances of the Cultural Revolution, focusing on the trial of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques in 1980-81. The trial, on one hand, served as the party's apology to the Chinese people, and many victims of the Cultural Revolution were vindicated afterward. It helped stabilize the situation and consolidate the power of Deng's government upon the closing of the old chapter. The trial, on the other hand, was also an embarrassment to that government from the legal point of view. One important legacy of the trial, however, is the creation of the official myth of the Cultural Revolution, which claims that Lin Biao and jiang Qing, rather than Mao, were responsible for the disastrous Cultural Revolution. This official verdict has dominated the discourse of the Cultural Revolution until today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]