The book tells about the most prominent personalities of the PRC who played a certain role in the modern history of China. These include Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Lin Biao, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Qing, the wife of Mao Zedong. Specific historical facts and documents show how former comrades in the national liberation struggle ultimately found themselves on opposite sides of the barricade and became irreconcilable enemies. Particular attention is paid to the period of the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976), which the Chinese themselves dubbed “the decade of great unrest and chaos,” the preconditions for its emergence are revealed, and its true goals are shown. It was during this period of “great unrest” and “chaos” that each of the members of the “five” fully showed himself as an individual.