This is an article creation in progress which will eventually be migrated to Death and Succession of Mao Zedong.
Mao Zedong died on September 9, 1976. As the supreme leader of China for some 27 years, Mao's death opened a void in the leadership and no transitional framework. Mao's two designated successors, Lin Biao and Liu Shaoqi, were both disgraced politically and died during the Cultural Revolution. After Lin's death in 1971, Mao had opted not to appoint a clear successor. His frail health opened the way for in-fighting between numerous factions within the Communist Party of China in a struggle for succession.
On the eve of Mao's death, three loose factions formed: radicals led by Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four, reformists led by Deng Xiaoping, and an intermediary faction led by Hua Guofeng. Hua claims to have been Mao's "legitimate successor" from a personal note written by Mao that said "With you in charge, I am at ease" (Chinese: 你办事，我放心), while Jiang Qing and the Gang also attempted to seize power by painting Hua as illegitimate.
Under Hua's leadership, the Gang of Four were arrested in a bloodless coup and convicted of treason several years later. However, Hua himself would be defeated by Deng Xiaoping in the ultimate struggle of succession. Hua's attempts at preserving the Maoist line eventually gave way to Deng's reform agenda. Deng became paramount leader of China in 1978. To avoid such future crises, Deng attempted to implement an institutionalized framework for succession, which generated mixed results in practice.