The events that occurred during the "Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius" campaign were "complex and often confusing", but can be identified as occurring through four main phases. The first phase of the campaign began after the 1st Plenary Session of the
10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in 1973. Following this session, Mao encouraged public discussions focused on criticizing
Confucius and
Confucianism, and on interpreting aspects of historical Chinese society within a
Maoist theoretical perspective. These initial debates focused on interpreting the issues of slavery, feudalism, and the relationship between Confucianism and
Legalism according to the
social theories published by Mao and
Karl Marx. Confucius himself was condemned as a defender of slavery and a denigrator of women who had hindered China's development by resisting historical progress. The criticisms of Confucius merged with a pre-existent campaign to criticize Lin Biao, who was condemned as a "
capitalist roader" by his enemies among a radical faction of the Party led by
Jiang Qing. Mao described Lin as a "closet Confucianist", "bourgeois careerist", conspirator, and "ultra rightist". The
revolutionary operas were used as an ideological tool during the campaign, and their promotion through official state channels surged in 1974. The third phase began after Zhou Enlai reorganized the
State Council during the
4th National People's Congress, in January 1975. At the People's Congress, Zhou brought many cadres back to work who had been forced out of power during the 1966–1969 phase of the Cultural Revolution. In comparison with the first stage of the Cultural Revolution, the rehabilitated leaders led by Zhou were able to exercise significant influence. Feeling strong support from his supporters on 31 January 1974 at the enlarged meeting of the Politburo, Zhou was able to strongly request not to involve the armed forces in a campaign for "four great freedoms", namely, writing, free expression of opinions and extensive discussion, and general criticism.
Deng Xiaoping, who was among those rehabilitated under Zhou, sought to turn the campaign back against the radical faction by linking Confucius to resistance to modernisation and better education – goals that Deng was pursuing at the time, against the radicals' opposition. In particular, they used the ongoing anti-Confucius campaign to attack the 12th century BC
Duke of Zhou, a major figure in Confucianism, whose name recalled that of Zhou Enlai. The fourth and final phase of the campaign coincided with Zhou's illness and hospitalization. After 1974, the campaign against Lin Biao and Confucius reached its climax, and soon subsided. However, beginning in the summer of 1975 the Gang of Four started a new campaign, introducing public debates on the
Water Margin and the "war on empiricism" as a tool to criticise Zhou and their other enemies, notably Deng, which sidelined "criticism of Confucius." Deng Xiaoping then took many of Zhou's responsibilities, acting as premier in Zhou's absence until Deng was again forced out of power, in 1976. After Mao died, the Gang of Four also directed a campaign against
Hua Guofeng, who was named Mao's successor. The campaign ended with Hua's arrest of the Gang of Four, in October 1976. The Anti-Lin, Anti-Confucius campaign was the last campaign of the Maoist era, and with the demise of the Gang of Four, such campaigns were largely abandoned as a feature of Chinese politics. ==Theoretical focus==