Jiang Qing
As
Mao’s wife,
Jiang wrote revolutionary plays, promoted socialist art, and was a member of the
Cultural Revolution Group. She was a
left wing opponent of reform, often working against
Zhou En-li. She wanted to protect the gains of the
GPCR by controlling the propaganda apparatus. Her career as an actress/singer was going very poorly before her marriage to
Mao, after which she was able to use her influence both to further her own career and get back at her old enemies.
During the 1980 trial of the
Gang of 4,
Jiang denied any guilt or wrongdoing during the
GPCR and accused her prosecutors of
anti-Maoist counter-revolutionaryism.