Yao Wenyuan, a prominent figure in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, is released from prison after serving 20 years, marking a significant moment in post-Cultural Revolution reconciliation.
He was a Chinese literary critic, politician, and member of the Gang of Four during China's Cultural Revolution. He was born in Zhuji, Zhejiang, to an intellectual family. His father, Yao Pengzi was a writer, translator and art critic.
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He began his career in Shanghai as a literary critic, where he became known for his sharp attacks against colleagues, such as in June 1957 against the newspaper Wenhuibao.
Since that time, he began to closely collaborate with leftist Shanghai politicians, including the head of the city's Propaganda Department, Zhang Chunqiao.
His article "On the New Historical Beijing Opera 'Hai Rui Dismissed from Office'", published in Wenhuibao on November 10, 1965, launched the Cultural Revolution.
On October 6, 1976, he was arrested for his participation in the Cultural Revolution and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1981. He was released on October 5, 1996, and spent the remainder of his life writing a book and studying Chinese history.
He lived in Huzhou and Shanghai and became the last surviving member of the Gang of Four after Zhang Chunqiao died in April 2005. According to China's official Xinhua news agency, he died of diabetes on December 23, 2005, aged 74.