1976 Tiananmen Square Incident

When most folks outside of China hear of the Tiananmen Square Incident, and most people either think of the massacre that occurred in 1989. But there was an earlier incident. In 1976, people were getting tired of the Cultural Revolution, but any one who stepped out of line could be criticized. Zhou Enlai, the premier of the country and a beloved figure, died. Mao was sick, and leftists forces were preparing to take over the country and continue the Cultural Revolution. But on the death of Zhou Enlai, masses of people filled up Tiananmen Square without authorization from the government as a way to protest the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. These people also posted numerous poems on the walls throughout the city. Today, we look at what happened during the 1976 Tiananmen Incident and analyze one of the poems.