The Gang of Four (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: S rn bng) was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (19661976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang's leading figure was Jiang Qing (Mao Zedong's last wife). The other members were Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen.The Gang of Four controlled the power organs of the CCP through the later stages of the Cultural Revolution, although it remains unclear which major decisions were made by Mao Zedong and carried out by the Gang, and which were the result of the Gang of Four's own planning.

The Gang of Four, together with general Lin Biao who died in 1971, were labeled the two major "counter-revolutionary forces" of the Cultural Revolution and officially blamed by the Chinese government for the worst excesses of the societal chaos that ensued during the ten years of turmoil. Their downfall on October 6, 1976, a mere month after Mao's death, brought about major celebrations on the streets of Beijing and marked the end of a turbulent political era in China.Their fall did not amount to a rejection of the Cultural Revolution as such, but it was organized by the new leader, Premier Hua Guofeng, and others who had risen during that period. Significant repudiation of the entire process of change came later, with the return of Deng Xiaoping at the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and Hua's gradual loss of authority.

The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, abbreviated to Premier, sometimes also referred to informally as the Prime minister, is the head of government and leader of the State Council of China. The premier is nominally the principal advisor to the president of the People's Republic and holds the highest rank in the civil service of the central government.

The premier is formally approved by the National People's Congress upon the nomination of the president. In practice, the candidate is chosen within the Communist Party of China (CPC) through deliberations by incumbent Politburo members and retired Politburo Standing Committee members as part of the process of determining membership in the incoming new CCP Politburo Standing Committee. Under this informal process, the eventual future premier is initially chosen as first vice-premier before assuming the position of premier during a subsequent round of leadership transitions. Both the president and the premier are selected once every five years. The premier is limited to two terms, but the president is not. The premier has always been a member of the CCP Central Politburo.

The incumbent premier is Li Keqiang, who took office on 15 March 2013. He succeeded Wen Jiabao.