 Cong was soon denounced as a "rightist" and a member of a "counterrevolutionary clique", together with Liu Shaotang, Wang Meng, and .The four writers were collectively known as the "Four Black Swans" () of Beijing.Cong's wife Zhang Hu (), who was also a reporter at "Beijing Daily", was condemned as a rightist at the same time for criticizing excessive formalism and bureaucracy at her employer.