Wang Nianyi (1932 - 2007)，an expert in the history of CCP and the Cultural Revolution, was considered one of the pioneers and founders of the study of the Cultural Revolution in China. He joined the People's Liberation Army in 1949, and became a CCP member in 1950. After graduating from university in 1960, he worked as an instructor of CCP history at the People's Liberation Army National Defense University. He suffered from a stroke in 1992 and died on September 13, 2007.
Wang Nianyi published more than 50 papers on the CCP history. In 1988, Henan People's Publishing House published his book *The Age of Great Turmoil*, which is recognized as a masterpiece of the study of the history of the Cultural Revolution at home and abroad, and was reprinted several times. Wang conducted in-depth research on Lin Biao and suggested as early as 1996 at a conference about the Cultural Revolution hosted by Institute of Contemporary China Studies that Lin Biao's defection was coerced by Mao Zedong. Wang admitted that when he wrote *The Age of Great Turmoil* in the 1980s, he already had different opinions about the Lin Biao incident, but dared to write only vaguely about it, but later decided to break the taboo and "write straight". He co-authored several books on the Cultural Revolution with other researchers, but was unable to publish them. According to the scholar Qi Zhi, Wang was often warned by the authorities, and after the publication of his article about Lin Biao's defection, which he co-wrote with researcher He Shu and Chen Zhao, administrators from the National Defense University repeatedly approached him to forbid him to write, but were rebuked by Wang.
Wang Nianyi published more than 50 papers on the CCP history. In 1988, Henan People's Publishing House published his book *The Age of Great Turmoil*, which is recognized as a masterpiece of the study of the history of the Cultural Revolution at home and abroad, and was reprinted several times. Wang conducted in-depth research on Lin Biao and suggested as early as 1996 at a conference about the Cultural Revolution hosted by Institute of Contemporary China Studies that Lin Biao's defection was coerced by Mao Zedong. Wang admitted that when he wrote *The Age of Great Turmoil* in the 1980s, he already had different opinions about the Lin Biao incident, but dared to write only vaguely about it, but later decided to break the taboo and "write straight". He co-authored several books on the Cultural Revolution with other researchers, but was unable to publish them. According to the scholar Qi Zhi, Wang was often warned by the authorities, and after the publication of his article about Lin Biao's defection, which he co-wrote with researcher He Shu and Chen Zhao, administrators from the National Defense University repeatedly approached him to forbid him to write, but were rebuked by Wang.
