In 1981, the four former Chinese leaders of the Gang of Four were brought to trial by the Supreme People's Court of China, with Jiang Hua presiding. During the trial, Jiang Qing was outspoken in her protests, and was the only one of the four to argue her own defense by claiming she followed the orders of Chairman Mao Zedong. Zhang Chunqiao refused to admit any wrongdoing, while Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen expressed repentance and confessed to their alleged crimes. The prosecution separated political errors from criminal acts, including the usurpation of state power and party leadership, as well as the persecution of 750,000 people, of which 34,375 died during the period 1966-1976. The official records of the trial have yet to be released.

As a result of the trial, Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao were given the death penalty, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. Wang Hongwen and Yao Wenyuan were each given life and twenty years in prison, respectively. All four members of the Gang of Four have since passed away--Jiang Qing committed suicide in 1991, Wang Hongwen died in 1992, and Yao Wenyuan and Zhang Chunqiao died in 2005, having been released from prison in 1996 and 1998, respectively.