BEIJING — Hua Guofeng, one of the last of the early generation of Communist revolutionaries who was named briefly to succeed Chairman Mao Tse-tung, died Wednesday, Chinese state media reported. Hua, who is credited with putting China on the path to reform by removing the Gang of Four, was 87.
Sometimes dismissed as insignificant, Hua was a man caught between two eras who created a bridge over the gap before having the good sense to exit the political stage gracefully.
In the past, the Communist Party has waited several days to announce the death of a major current or former leader, giving political factions time to fight for position and the party time to control the damage.
Rumors of Hua's death have been rife for days in Beijing, suggesting the announcement was delayed less for political reasons than to avoid spoiling the leadership's big Olympics coming-out party. No cause of death was cited other than an "unspecified disease."
"The most important thing is how relevant his death is to the politics of today, which shows how much China has changed," said Steve Tsang, a professor at Oxford University. "I'm sure there's an element of management in the announced timing. When he actually died, we don't know, but I suspect it was in the course of the Olympics."
Mao picked Hua to succeed him as a compromise candidate, unwilling to name a successor either from the radical Gang of Four, which included Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, or from the hard-line revolutionaries. Mao, on his deathbed, reportedly wrote in a message to Hua: "With you in charge, I am at ease," although some doubt its authenticity.
But in what some credit as his biggest contribution during a two-year reign that started in September 1976, Hua destroyed the Gang of Four politically, allowing China to ease away from the Cultural Revolution. "Without him, it would have been much more difficult to get rid of them, so on that count his contribution was huge," said Huang Nangping, professor at Peking University's School of Marxism and Leninism.
Hua sparked criticism for the underhanded way it was carried out, however. A month after taking power, members of the hated group were invited to an 8 p.m. meeting in the Great Hall of the People's Hall of Embracing Benevolence. The meeting was a sham -- the supposed topics of discussion included the design for Mao's tomb -- and, once there, group members and their supporters were arrested by the army. Mao's wife was picked up a short time later at her home.
