The Gang of Four...

The last of the gang of four has died.

Yao Wenyuan, the final surviving member of the Gang of Four that terrorized China during the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution by persecuting thousands of people, has died, the government said Friday. He was 74.

Nearly every Chinese city dweller who was alive at the time can tell of a relative or friend who was beaten, harassed or driven to suicide, often by tormenters who took advantage of the unrest to avenge grudges.

The violence pitted neighbor against neighbor, wrecked the economy and forced a generation of intellectuals to work in the countryside.

Good riddance.