Jiang Qing

Jiang Qing was born in Zhucheng, Shandong province on 19 March 1914. Her birth name was Lǐ Shūméng (李淑蒙). Her father was Li Dewen (李德文), a carpenter, and her mother, whose name is unknown,[4] was Li's subsidiary wife, or concubine.[5] Her father had his own carpentry and cabinet making workshop.[4] After Jiang's parents had a violent argument, her mother found work as a domestic servant[6] (some accounts cite that Jiang's mother also worked as a prostitute) and separated from her husband.[7]

Jiang Qing on the cover of a film magazine

When Jiang enrolled in elementary school, she took the name Lǐ Yúnhè (李雲鶴), meaning "Crane in the Clouds", by which she was known for much of her early life. Due to her socioeconomic status and the fact that she was an illegitimate child, she was looked down upon by her schoolmates and she and her mother moved in with her maternal grandparents when she started middle school.[8] In 1926, when she was 12 years old, her father died. Her mother relocated them to Tianjin where Jiang worked as a child laborer in a cigarette factory for several months. Two years later, Jiang and her mother settled in Jinan. The following summer, she entered an experimental theater and drama school. Her talent brought her to the attention of administrators who selected her to join a drama club in Beijing where she advanced her acting skills. She returned to Jinan in May 1931 and married Pei Minglun, the wealthy son of a businessman.

From July 1931 to April 1933, Jiang attended National Qingdao University (renamed National Shandong University in 1932) in Qingdao. She met Yu Qiwei, a physics student three years her senior, who was an underground member of the Communist Party Propaganda Department. By 1932, they had fallen in love and were living together. She joined the "Communist Cultural Front", a circle of artists, writers, and actors, and performed in Put Down Your Whip, a renowned popular play about a woman who escapes from Japanese-occupied north-eastern China and performs in the streets to survive. In February 1933, Jiang took the oath of the Chinese Communist Party with Yu at her side, and she was appointed member of the Chinese Communist Party youth wing. Yu was arrested in April the same year and Jiang was subsequently shunned by his family. She fled to her parents' home and returned to the drama school in Jinan. Through friendships she had previously established, she received an introduction to attend Shanghai University for the summer where she also taught some general literacy classes. In October, she rejoined the Communist Youth League and, at the same time, began participating in an amateur drama troupe.

In September 1934, Jiang Qing was arrested and jailed for her political activities in Shanghai, but was released three months later, in December of the same year. She then traveled to Beijing where she reunited with Yu Qiwei who had just been released following his prison sentence, and the two began living together again.

Jiang Qing in a 1935 film poster

Jiang Qing returned to Shanghai in March 1935, and became a professional actress, adopting the stage name "Lán Píng" (meaning "Blue Apple", Chinese: 蓝苹). She appeared in numerous films and plays, including Goddess of Freedom, Scenes of City Life, Blood on Wolf Mountain and Wang Laowu. In Ibsen's play A Doll's House, Jiang Qing played the role of Nora.

With her career established, she became involved with actor/director Tang Na, with whom she appeared in Scenes of City Life and Goddess of Freedom. They were married in Hangzhou in March 1936; however, he soon discovered she was continuing her relationship with Yu Qiwei. The scandal became public knowledge and he made two suicide attempts before their divorce became final. In 1937, Jiang joined the Lianhua Film Company and starred in the drama Big Thunderstorm (大雷雨). She reportedly had an affair with director, Zhang Min; however, she denied it in her autobiographical writings.

In 1967, at the beginning of China's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Jiang declared eight works of performance art to be the new models for proletarian literature and art.[9] These "model operas", or "revolutionary operas", were designed to glorify Mao Zedong, The People's Liberation Army, and the revolutionary struggles. The ballets White-Haired Girl,[10] Red Detachment of Women, and Shajiabang ("Revolutionary Symphonic Music") were included in the list of eight, and were closely associated with Jiang Qing, because of their inclusion of elements from Chinese and Western opera, dance, and music.[11] During Richard Nixon's famous visit to China in February 1972, he watched Red Detachment of Women, and was impressed by the opera. He famously asked Jiang who the writer, director, and composer were, to which she replied it was "created by the masses."[12]

Note: This table only lists films from the 1930s. It does not include later documentaries.

Mao and Jiang Qing writing together in Yan'an, 1938

Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937, and the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, which destroyed most of its movie industry, Jiang left her celebrity life on the stage behind. She went first to Xi'an, then to the Chinese Communist headquarters in Yan'an to "join the revolution" and the war to resist the Japanese invasion. In November, she enrolled in the "Counter-Japanese Military and Political University" (Marxist–Leninist Institute) for study. The Lu Xun Academy of Arts was newly founded in Yan'an on 10 April 1938, and Jiang Qing became a drama department instructor, teaching and performing in college plays and operas.

Shortly after arriving in Yan'an, Jiang became involved with Mao Zedong. Some communist leaders were scandalized by the relationship once it became public. At 45, Mao was nearly twice Jiang's age, and Jiang had lived a highly bourgeois lifestyle before coming to Yan'an. Mao was still married to He Zizhen, a lifelong Communist who had previously completed the Long March with him, and with whom Mao had five children. Eventually, Mao arranged a compromise with the other leaders of the CCP: Mao was granted a divorce and permitted to marry Jiang, but she was required to stay out of public politics for twenty years. Jiang abided by this agreement. However, thirty years later, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Jiang became active in politics.

Li Na, Jiang Qing and Mao in Yan'an in 1943

On 28 November 1938, Jiang and Mao married in a small private ceremony following approval by the Party's Central Committee. Because Mao's marriage to He had not yet ended, Jiang was reportedly made to sign a marital contract which stipulated that she would not appear in public with Mao as her escort. Jiang and Mao's only child together, a daughter named Li Na, was born in 1940.

Jiang Qing took advantage of the Cultural Revolution to wreak vengeance on her personal enemies, including people who had slighted her during her acting career in the 1930s. She incited radical youths organized as Red Guards against other senior political leaders and government officials, including Liu Shaoqi, the President at the time, and Deng Xiaoping, the Vice Premier. Internally divided into factions both to the "left" and "right" of Jiang Qing and Mao, not all Red Guards were friendly to Jiang Qing.

Jiang's rivalry with, and personal dislike of, Zhou Enlai led Jiang to hurt Zhou where he was most vulnerable. In 1968, Jiang had Zhou's adopted son (Sun Yang) and daughter (Sun Weishi) tortured and murdered by Red Guards. Sun Yang was murdered in the basement of Renmin University. After Sun Weishi died following seven months of torture in a secret prison (at Jiang's direction), Jiang made sure that Sun's body was cremated and disposed of so that no autopsy could be performed, and so that Sun's family could not have her ashes. In 1968, Jiang forced Zhou to sign an arrest warrant for his own brother.[16] In 1973 and 1974, Jiang directed the "Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius" campaign against premier Zhou because Zhou was viewed as one of Jiang's primary political opponents. In 1975, Jiang initiated a campaign named "Criticizing Song Jiang, Evaluating the Water Margin", which encouraged the use of Zhou as an example of a political loser. After Zhou Enlai died in 1976, Jiang initiated the "Five Nos" campaign in order to discourage and prohibit any public mourning for Zhou.[17]

Poster showing Jiang Qing promoting the fine arts during the Cultural Revolution while holding Mao's Little Red Book. The slogan reads: "The invincible thoughts of Mao Zedong illuminate the stages of revolutionary art!"

On 5 September 1976, Mao's failing health turned critical when he suffered a heart attack, far more serious than his previous two earlier in the year. Upon being contacted by Hua Guofeng, Jiang Qing returned from her trip to the countryside and spent only a few minutes in the hospital's Building 202, where Mao was being treated. Later she returned to her own residence in the Spring Lotus Chamber.

On the afternoon of 7 September, Mao's condition took a turn for the worse. Mao had just fallen asleep and needed to rest, but Jiang Qing insisted on rubbing his back and moving his limbs, and she sprinkled white powder on his body. The medical team protested that the dust from the powder was not good for his lungs, but she instructed the nurses on duty to follow her example later.

The next morning, 8 September, she went into Mao's room to visit him again. This time, she wanted the medical staff to change Mao's sleeping position, claiming that he had been lying too long on his left side. Li Zhisui, the lead doctor on duty objected, explaining to her that Mao could breathe only on his left side. Jiang ordered Li to move Mao nonetheless. As a result, Mao's breathing stopped and his face turned blue. Jiang Qing left the room while Dr. Li and the rest of the medical staff put Mao on a respirator and performed an emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Eventually, Mao was revived and Hua Guofeng urged Jiang Qing not to interfere further with the doctors' work. However, nearly all of Mao's organs failed and he fell into a coma by the end of that day. With Mao beyond recovery and unwilling to further prolong his suffering, Jiang and other members of the Chinese government decided to disconnect Mao's life support mechanism.

Mao's death occurred just after midnight at 00:10 hours on 9 September 1976. Mao's chosen successor, Hua Guofeng, became the chairman of his funeral committee. It was believed Hua was a compromise candidate between the free-marketeers and the party orthodox. Some argue this may have been due to his ambivalence and his low-key profile, particularly compared to Deng Xiaoping, the preferred candidate of the market-oriented factions. The party apparatus, under orders from Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao, wrote a eulogy affirming Mao's achievements in order to justify their claims to power.

By this time, state media was effectively under the control of the Gang of Four. State newspapers continued to denounce Deng shortly after Mao's death. Jiang Qing was little-concerned about the weak Hua Guofeng, but she feared Deng Xiaoping greatly. In numerous documents published in the 1980s, it was claimed that Jiang Qing was conspiring to make herself the new Chairman of the Communist Party.[18]

There are several reasons for Jiang Qing's large repertoire of names. A large part of it has to do with the fluctuating period she lived in. At the time of her birth, many female children never received given names or formal education.

Her father named her Li Jinhai (To Receive A Boy) because he wanted a son, but this was altered after her birth to Li Shumeng (Dim Lady). She enrolled in school under a more dignified name, Li Yunhe (Cloud Crane) and simply changed it for convenience to Li He.

As was customary for Chinese actors during that time, she chose a stage name, which was used in all the plays and films that credited her roles. Lan Ping (Blue Apple) was the name she was known by within Chinese film circles and a name she came to identify with.[24]

It is unclear when she changed her name to Jiang Qing (Blue River), but it probably occurred before her arrival in Yan'an. It is believed that the character "Qing" was chosen because it related to the concept of Blue ("Lan"). There is some evidence that the name signified her status as a communist and a severance from her "bourgeois" past. She also used Li Jin to pen a number of articles she wrote during the Cultural Revolution.[25]

Eventually, to protect her identity, she used Li Runqing (Shining Blue) when she was hospitalized after being released from prison. Her tombstone bears the name "Li Yunhe".[26]

1. Birth name: Lǐ Jìnhái (simplified Chinese: 李进孩; traditional Chinese: 李進孩)
2. Given name: Lǐ Shūméng (Chinese: 李淑蒙)
3. School name: Lǐ Yúnhè (李云鹤; 李雲鶴)
4. Modified name: Lǐ Hè (李鹤; 李鶴)
5. Stage name: Lán Píng (蓝苹; 藍蘋)
6. Revolutionary pseudonym: Jiāng Qīng (江青)
7. Pen name: Lǐ Jìn (李进; 李進)
8. Last used name: Lǐ Rùnqīng (李润青; 李潤青)
9. Commonly referred to in English-language literature as: Madame Mao

• Becoming Madame Mao
• Jiang Qing and Her Husbands
• Politics of the People's Republic of China

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jiang Qing.

• Feature on Madame Mao by the International Museum of Women.
• Jiang Qing's tomb.
• Hudong.com, Jian Qing, 84-minute documentary film (on-line, in Chinese)