published estimates. Official figures A 1988 book by several members of the Chinese State Seismological Bureau states that people died in the quake, which reflects the official figure reported by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. A webpage of the Chinese Earthquake Administration dated 2009 also attributes " deaths and 164,851 serious injuries" to the Tangshan quake based on an early 1982 study. There are various reports that the "official death toll was later given by the Chinese government as ", without specifying a source. As of 2017, the Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Wall contained the names of 246,465 victims, who were registered by relatives. Political aspects The remarkably low death toll of the Haicheng earthquake the previous year – initially said to be fewer than 300, much later estimated at a still very modest 2,041 – had been credited to measures taken in response to an accurate and timely prediction. This was touted as demonstrating the validity of the Chinese methods of earthquake prediction (including inspiration from "Mao Zedong Thought") and "the superiority of our country's socialist system!" With China in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, "belief in earthquake prediction was made an element of ideological orthodoxy that distinguished the true party liners from right wing deviationists", and it was everyone's duty to criticize those who doubted the feasibility of earthquake prediction. As a backdrop to this, and of deep concern to the Chinese Communist Party, was a collectively recognized but unvoiced awareness that in traditional Chinese belief, natural disasters are considered disruptions in the natural order of "heaven" (Tian) and may signify the loss of legitimacy (the "mandate of heaven") of the current government. This view was underlined by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in southwestern China just three weeks later. On the other hand, an ongoing mass education campaign before the quake showed that the government was aware and concerned, and the prompt and massive response following the quake demonstrated the government's competence to alleviate suffering and restore normal production, drawing on resources from across the nation. This was contrasted with the hardships faced by disaster victims (especially the poor) under previous regimes, where assistance was lacking. Mao Zedong was already ailing at the time of the earthquake. In the event, he died only six weeks later on September 9, 1976, ushering the downfall of the Gang of Four and bringing the Cultural Revolution to an end. Geology Tangshan