ABSTRACT
In order to understand the fall of Lin Piao, one must take into account the distribution of power between the Party and the military as well as the relationship and the interaction between the central military elite and the regional military elites. Lin was the visible symbol of military power in the country and the man responsible for opposing, or rather reversing, Mao's well-known principle about the Party commanding the gun. Since the idea of army dictatorship or military overlordship of the country contravened the principle "Party commands the gun," Chairman Mao Tse-tung was expected to oppose it. Chou En-lai's remarks reflected the Maoist leadership's keen desire and determination to assert Party supremacy over the army. At the end of the Cultural Revolution, Lin Piao did not emerge as the unchallenged military leader of China though he undoubtedly wielded considerable power and influence.
