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April 1, 2019

The Conspiracy of Lin Biao: Glory, Mystery, and Death

Most of the time we are told stories filled with mystery, and these stories usually have a conclusion. However, some stories are filled with mystery and their conclusions are yet another mystery. This is exactly what happened with the story of Lin Biao’s death. Lin Biao was Chairman Mao Zedong’s Vice-Chairman, who was a Chinese political leader and distinguished man who achieved glory for being one of the most honorable men in China, after fighting in many battles, such as the Chinese Civil War in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Lin Biao deeply believed in Mao’s communist movement and was supportive of his political ideals completely. Yet, on September 13, 1971, the plane in which Lin Biao was aboard, mysteriously crashed after supposedly running out of fuel while flying over Mongolia. The Chinese reported that no person aboard the Trident 1-E aircraft had survived.1

One word from Chairman Mao is worth ten thousand from others. His every statement is truth. We must carry out those that we understand as well as those we don’t. – Lin Biao2

A photograph of Lin Biao | Courtesy of Paulnoll

Lin Biao, originally named Lin Yurong, was born in Huanggang, Hubei province, China on December 15, 1907. Growing up, he was deeply affected by the differences between social classes and cultural upheavals within China. As a teenager, he became interested in the socialist and communist movement in China, and in 1923, he joined the Socialist Youth League. Lin rapidly became a well-known name in China, after being pivotal to the victory of the Chinese Civil War (1927-1950).3 But the Chinese Civil War was just the beginning of his support of the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman Mao. Years later, during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), he led the youthful group named Red Guards, a group known to spread Mao’s communist propaganda and cult beliefs, but unfortunately Lin Biao had died years before this came to an end. Even though, until the very last days, Lin had always supported Mao completely, becoming known as “Mao’s best student” and “closest comrade-in-arms.”4 This devotion towards Mao and his movement eventually led him to be officially named and recognized as “Mao’s heir” within the Communist Party.5 And by this point, Lin Biao had become the second most powerful man in China, second only to Mao himself.6

The mystery in Lin Biao’s death lies in the fact that, while Mao’s government accused Lin Biao of being a traitor, a report from Soviet officials who inspected the wreckage of the downed aircraft (because it had crashed on the Soviet Union’s border), reported that no body over the age of fifty was found.7 This suggested that Lin Biao had never been aboard that plane to begin with. But then, what had happened to Lin Biao? Had he been killed days before the airplane crashed? Furthermore, if there was no body found, then what explains his disappearance? Actually, it is said that Mao invited Lin Biao and his wife to a dinner at his house after finding out of his betrayal, planning to execute him. Lin Biao eventually discovered his plan while having dinner, so he fled Mao’s home. Lin Biao couldn’t manage to get away too far. In no time, his grand limousine, known as the ‘Red Flag,’ was soon being chased by Mao’s elite Security Unit 8431. Instantly, the Security Unit caught up to Lin Biao, shooting down and destroying the limousine after an altercation, in which both Lin and his wife died at the scene. Of course, this version was never revealed to the Chinese people.8

The front page of the “Project 571” Outline | Courtesy of Wikimedia

The story of Lin Biao is so mysterious because even until April 1, 1969 during the Cultural Revolution, when he was the leader of the People’s Liberation Army, Lin Biao effectively led the party. And by 1971 he was already rumored to have planned a coup leading to this death in the same year. Some historians believe that the only reason why Lin Biao disappeared was because Mao became too wary of the power Lin Biao had–but nothing has been proved nor found. 9 Furthermore, it is believed that Lin Biao had a similar fear but he feared that Mao would replace him with somebody else, instead of him being the one who would eventually inherit Mao’s position. Hence, Lin speedily planned Mao’s assassination and a coup d’etat to assume power. In spite of their many years of close comradeship, several political differences came between them. While Lin Biao preferred having an army administrating the country, Mao preferred and wanted to rebuild the Communist Party as a new power base. Therefore, by the early 1970’s, the two had drifted apart.10 Many conspiracy theories behind Lin Biao’s “Project 571” began to emerge. One theory was that Lin was not acting alone, but in collusion with his family, specifically his son Lin Liguo, who was one of the masterminds in planning the coup to establish a new government in Guangzhou, China.11 The plan was drafted and planned under the code “Project 571” as a play on words, which, if read in Chinese, is pronounced “wu gi yi” and when spoken means “armed uprising.” The project had everything coded, and Mao was mentioned under the code name “B-52.” The plan was to exploit Mao’s tour of South China and to execute him aboard his private train. However, Mao returned to Beijing safely and the plan was never carried out.12 Soon after Mao discovered their plan, Lin Biao and his family boarded a plane and attempted to flee China. Mysteriously, the airplane crashed on September 13, 1971 while flying over Mongolia, where everyone aboard died, including Lin Biao, or so it was reported by Mao’s government. But again, the Soviet’s report, upon inspecting the crash, stated otherwise.13

The crashed Trident 1-E aircraft near the Sino-Soviet border that Lin Biao and family members were said to be aboard | Courtesy of Shanghaiist

Thus, Lin Biao’s death continues to be vague and ambiguous. Decades after his death, the puzzle pieces are scattered, and the missing pieces continue to hinder knowing the full story of Lin Biao and whether he really did plan to assassinate or overthrow Mao. Perhaps it was solely a plan of his son Lin Luguo. But how did Lin Biao really died? Was the conspiracy of the “Project 571” real? How is it that a man who had followed Mao for so long had drafted a plan to assassinate the one person to whom Lin Biao himself had supported and fought for all his life? Due to Chinese influence and story cover-up, as well as Mao’s control in the government, no further evidence to answer so many questions can be found…and we’ll probably never know. One thing remains in history, is how the story of Lin Biao remains a tale of glory, mystery, and death.

Mao and Lin Biao smiling. They had a close relationship in which Mao saw Lin Biao as one of his most trusted men | Courtesy of Laurenream
  1. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.
  2. BrainyQuote, s.v. “Lin Biao”.
  3. Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. “Lin Biao Chinese Military Leader” by Edward J.M. Rhoads.
  4. Encyclopedia of Modern China, 2009, s.v. “Lin Biao 1907–1971,” by David Pong.
  5. Encyclopedia of Modern China, 2009, s.v. “Lin Biao 1907–1971,” by David Pong.
  6. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21,2019.https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.
  7. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.
  8. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.
  9. “Lin Biao” New World Encyclopedia, July 23, 2018. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lin_Biao#Attempted_coup_and_downfall
  10. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21,2019.https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.
  11. Encyclopedia of Modern China, 2009, s.v. “Lin Biao 1907–1971,” by David Pong.
  12. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21,2019.https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.
  13. Orville Schell, “A Chinese Puzzle Missing Some Pieces,” The New York Times, May, 15 1983. Accessed February 21, 2019.https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/books/a-chinese-puzzle-missing-some-pieces.html.

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Fatima Navarro

BA in International and Global Studies

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Recent Comments

Krystal Rodriguez

I had never heard of this before and know very little about communism in China. I do though love mysteries and unsolved mysteries for their suspense. This article did a great job at presenting the Zedong and Bao dynamic while leaving us interested and wanting to hear more. Even though we don’t get a real conclusion or answer I enjoyed the read and want to learn more.

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03/04/2019

11:24 am

Christopher Hohman

Nice article. It is always interesting to learn about a little political intrigue, especially as it relates to the communist party in China and other powerful Communist states. It does not surprise me at all that Mao may have had his right hand man killed especially since he was planning on committing a coup against Mao. Although, perhaps there was no bad will at all and the plane just crashed on its own, but I seriously doubt that.

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03/04/2019

11:24 am

Engelbert Madrid

This is a great article, and I found it interesting to see how the rise of communism in China was a drastic change for the Chinese community. The mystery of Lin Bao’s death was a crucial point of the rise of Communist China, and it’s unfortunate to know what really happened to him. In my opinion, I think Mao Zedong was responsible for the death of his best friend, and it’s almost the same story between Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.

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03/04/2019

11:24 am

Nadia Carrasco

This was a very interesting article and story to tell. I had not heard anything about this story before so I learned a lot through this article. I found it crazy how communism rose emerged in china through mystery! Although we don’t get a real answer to the end I did enjoyed the read and still want to learn more. Overall this was a very different topic and good article.

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05/04/2019

11:24 am

Tyler Reynolds

This was a interesting topic to chose. I think the author could have polished up on the introduction and some of the article’s structure( I dislike certain word usage and phrasing. For example: Replace “Actually, it is said that Mao invited Lin Biao and his wife to a dinner at his house after finding out of his betrayal, planning to execute him.” with “Some say Mao inviting Lib Biao and his wife to dinner at his house with the intent on executing him for his betrayal”)

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07/04/2019

11:24 am

Amariz Puerta

I really enjoyed reading this article I thought it was very well written and thought through. I remembered learning about the rise of communism in China and how it affected the Chinese community. I personally despised Mao because of all the actions he condoned. I remember learning he would tie little girls feet together because he wanted every girl to have perfect feet. I really recommend to this article to anyone worth the read!!

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07/04/2019

11:24 am

Octaviano Huron

Very interesting article about major conspiracy theories of Chinese history. Lin Biao was no doubt an influential leader to the Communist regime during the Chinese cultural revolution, so his death is a major platform of debate that ties with the corruption of government that goes all the way up to Mao Zedong himself. Did he really betray his own people? Or did he see himself as a replacement for the head of Chinese Communism? Very well-written.

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14/04/2019

11:24 am

Miriam Gonzalez

Such an interesting article. I had no idea about this misterious story of Lin Biao. I think Mao might’ve had something to do with Lin’s death, but at this point we’re just speculating. It is indeed a mystery.

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15/04/2019

11:24 am

Engelbert Madrid

The ambition of power and glory could be two things that lead Mao Zedong to eliminate his loyal friend, because that’s the way how the human mind is. Although there is no clear evidence if Mao Zedong was responsible for the death or disappearance of Lin Bao, I find it mysterious that Lin Bao all of a sudden disappeared when he was under Mao Zedong. Lin Bao seemed to be a true loyalist of Mao, and I don’t he would betray his leader for power and glory.

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17/04/2019

11:24 am

Nadia Carrasco

This article caught my attention from the very beginning with the title. This mysterious story has a lot of twisted turns I was not expecting. One being, that is could have been his loyal friend that caused his death. The author did an amazing job at telling the story and making each point very clear. Overall, I loved this article!

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18/04/2019

11:24 am

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