Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius
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The Criticize Lin (Biao), Criticize Confucius Campaign (simplified Chinese: 批林批孔运动; pinyin: pī Lín pī Kǒng yùndòng) was a political campaign started by Mao Zedong's third wife Jiang Qing, which lasted from 1973 to 1974. It was an extension of the then-current anti-Lin Biao campaign, and was used to indirectly attack the then-Premier Zhou Enlai. Academics such as Yang Rongguo connected Lin Biao and other ousted leaders to Confucian policies, accusing them of following his philosophy. Lin Biao's alleged treason was linked to its ancient supposed moral equivalent. Confucius's alleged attempt to roll back the tide of history by upholding the values of the Slave Society of Western Zhou was an allegorical attack on Premier Zhou Enlai's policies that potentially undermined the legacy of the Cultural Revolution. It was part of a series of campaigns in the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution.