The Culture of PowerOn the night of September 12 13, 1971, Lin Biao, Mao Zedongs officially recognized closest comrade in arms and chosen successor, was killed in a mysterious plane crash in Mongolia. The Chinese government did not issue an announcement of Lins death, and it became generally known only in the summer of 1972, when the official explanation stated that Lin had masterminded plans for a coup dtat and the assassination of Mao, and died fleeing to the Soviet