Yao Wenyuan (January 12, 1931 – December 23, 2005) was a Chinese literary critic, politician, and member of the Gang of Four during China's Cultural Revolution.

[1] 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.

[citation needed] Confused by this unexpected attack, Beijing's party leadership tried to protect Wu Han, providing Mao the pretext for a full-scale "struggle" against them in the following year.