Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius

A poster from 1974 by Zhang Yan (张延). It reads "Criticize Lin, criticize Confucius - it's the most important matter for the whole party, the whole army and the people of the whole country."

The Criticize Lin (Biao), Criticize Confucius Campaign (simplified Chinese: 批林批孔运动; traditional Chinese: 批林批孔運動; pinyin: pī Lín pī Kǒng yùndòng) (also called the Anti-Lin Biao, Anti-Confucius campaign^[1]) was a political campaign started by Mao Zedong's third wife, Jiang Qing, which lasted from 1973 to 1974. It was an extension of the then-current anti-Lin Biao campaign, and was used to indirectly attack the then-Premier Zhou Enlai.

Academics such as Yang Rongguo connected Lin Biao and other ousted leaders to Confucian policies, accusing them of following his philosophy. Lin Biao's alleged treason was linked to its ancient supposed moral equivalent. Confucius's alleged attempt to roll back the tide of history by upholding the values of the Slave Society of Western Zhou was an allegorical attack on Premier Zhou Enlai's policies that potentially undermined the legacy of the Cultural Revolution. It was part of a series of campaigns in the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution.

See also

• Jiang Qing
• Lin Biao
• Zhou Enlai

References

1. ^ Spence's "The Search for Modern China" 2nd Edition, p.603