Madame Mao was on the of the most powerful figures in the People’s Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976. She held significant influence and political power in Communist China under her husband’s Mao Zedong regime. Before becoming one of China’s “Gang of Four” that would create upheaval during its reign, Madame Mao was an actress in Shanghai. Her ability to play different parts and wear many faces explains this women who would die being known by eight different names.
Madame Mao was born by the name of Li Shumeng on March 14, 1914. Her mother was a “courtesan” which is a fancy word for a fancy prostitute. Anchee Min in her novel Becoming Madame Mao writes about her childhood in detail. Madame Mao witnessed the abuse inflicted upon her courtesan mother and after being cast out of their home by her father, Madame would escape to live with her grandparents. Witnessing harsh subjugation of women at an early age may have fueled many of the Madame’s efforts to attain power. Instead of “marrying her father and becoming her mother”, Madame did the exact opposite and became the oppressing force on the people and arts of China while she was in power.
Madame Mao had a small time acting career in China’s Shanghai during her early 20′s. One play that she featured landed her in prison as it was deemed “subversive to the authorities.” Anchee Min’s novel portrays what young Chinese actresses had to go through in order to even get a role on the stage in Shanghai. Often acquiring a role on the stage involved comprising oneself in various ways. Because her life in the theater didn’t offer much hope for the future, Madame Mao joined a student organization and the Communist Party which sources say was common for young people in their early 20′s at the time.
While in Yan’am, Madame Mao met Mao Zedong who would later become her husband and fellow revolutionary. Wen they first met, both Madame Mao and Mao Zedong had been through unsuccessful marriages. Interestingly, Mao Zedong’s second wife was mentally unstable and was residing in Russia. Later in life, Madame Mao was diagnosed as a hypochondriac who required two sedatives to manage through the day and three sleeping pills at night. Madame Mao was so particular about distraction that she didn’t allow servants to wear shoes in the Imperial Villa and she discouraged clothes rustling. Moreover, Madame Mao would require the house to be 21.6 degrees Celsius during the winter months and 26.5 degrees Celsius during the summer months.
After marrying Mao, his affections would dwindle. Mao would bring in virgins from the countryside for his pleasure while Madame Mao would sleep elsewhere. Their relationship turned from passionate to professional when Madame Mao suggested to Mao Zedong that theatrical works shown across China were contrary to his initiative. Madame Mao would then slowly rise to power. In the trial of her treasonous behavior, accusations were made against Madame Mao primarily in the area of destroying Chinese art and persecuting actors across China. Madame Mao staged Communist plays showing a binary message of “good” characters being those of the working class farmer and the “bad” characters being more educated and driven to make money. Madame’s Mao influence was primarily on Chinese art and theater which would control the messages sent to the general Chinese population. She was even accused of hiring people disguised as member of China’s Red Guard to raid homes of people in Shanghai that could possess information on her early acting career.
Madame Mao wore her hair very short and underneath a cap. She resembled the men of her time period and is often non-distinguishable when standing in pictures of her and the Gang of Four. This masculinity, or rejection of femininity and beauty, is significant to Madame Mao’s life and would impact the life of Chinese women. Many Chinese women would not grow their hair long and were forced to cut it in order not to be prideful or beautiful. In school, teachers cut all girls’ hair to make sure that all girls’ looked the same. My former professor still keeps her hair very short because she has grown accustomed to this look. Chinese culture at the time stressed being humble. In the language of Mandarin, it is customary to be incredibly humble in all words in phrases. If you are to complement a women by saying: “Ni shi hen piao liang” (You are very pretty), she should respond: “Nali, Nali” or “Bu Piao Liang”. I worked with a women from Shanghai and noted her beauty saying: “Ni hen mei” (You are very beautiful). She responded simply: “Bu mei” (Not beautiful). When this women moved to America, her hair was very short as was expected of her. She has since grown her hair very long and has embraced her beauty.
Madame Mao was also active in political groups to further the mission of Mao Zedong. When he died, records show that Madame Mao remained calm and showed no outward signs of grief. This ambivalence was also witnessed during her trial. Madame Mao dismissed her lawyers during the trial and represented herself claiming that all actions she took were in accordance with the decree of the late Mao Zedong. She was sentenced to death in 1981 but was changed to life imprisonment. She was diagnosed with throat cancer. She was released on a medical condition to a hospital where she hung herself. In the note found at the scene it said: “Chairman, I love you! Your loyal student and comrade is coming to see you.”
Madame Mao goes down in history unfavorably but nonetheless reached great heights in a nation where women’s rights were extremely limited. If she had used her power and influence for the betterment of society and the treatment of women, perhaps we would have seen a difference in the lives of women from the China’s countryside in present day. My Chinese professor, Huang Lao Shi, said that Madame Mao was kept on house arrest and was not allowed to speak to anyone outside of her home because she had spent a significant amount of time close to Mao Zedong. Authorities did not want Madame Mao discussing the personal life of Mao Zedong explained Huang Lao Shi. I deduct from this that there is still much about Mao Zedong and Madame Mao that we will never truly know.
Please stay involved in our Herstory Month Series!
What it takes to make a modern woman
Other Posts by Eryn:
Black History’s Leading Literary Lady
The Black Panther Party For Self Defense
Intelligence of Interference? COINTELPRO and the Black Panther Party
“How they sold Marcus Garvey for rice”-LH
Yes you’re a woman…just a different kind
Vote to Discontinue Black History Month
Where’s my Forty Acres and a Mule
Too black to be white, too white to be black
I don’t date outside my species!
Savagely Celebrating the Negro National Anthem
Eryn is a Bostonian native who currently resides in the Metro New York area. She completed her B.A. in Psychology from St. John’s University where she also studied Mandarin, Chinese. Eryn has conducted psycho-social, medical, and environmental research. When she’s off the clock, Eryn spends time learning about world cultures, languages, and the best restaurants in town. She is currently working on her first novel A Beautiful Autymn. You can find more of Eryn’s work ranging from free-writes, poetry, and social analysis at http://autymn.wordpress.com
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