Becoming Madame Mao Reaction Paper

Becoming Madame Mao

Anchee Min: 337 pages

1. In the beginning of Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min, the story is told of a girl by the name of Yunhe. The first story from our heroine is when her mother is binding her feet. She refuses and later is applauded for it. Eventually her mother becomes quite poor and Yunhe runs away to join the opera house. She then is brought in by her grandfather who helps to "tune" her in her singing.

During her time as an actress, Yunhe changes her name to Lan Ping and becomes romantically involved with quite a few men. During her time in Shanghai, she joins the communist party. While she doesn't know much about communism at this point, this even triggers a major stepping stone on her way to fame.

Eventually Lan Ping meets the great Mao Zedong, who is currently the head of this rising communist party. Very soon she and Zedong become lovers; eventually they marry and have a child together. Later on, after China has finally become communist, it is found that Mao has been having affairs. Not wanting to lose the power she had, Lan Ping, now called Jiang Ching, becomes one of the most vocal of the politicians. To her dismay, her husband becomes ill. While the thought of him dying saddens her, the thought of losing support upsets her even more.

Upon the passing of Mao Zedong, a new Mao is chosen, much to Madame Mao (Jiang Ching)'s dislike. She is shown as a traitor to the Communist party and eventually is taken to prison. There she is forced into labor, and that is all that is told of the story of Madame Mao.

2. One particular incident in the book is when Lan Ping's lover, Yu Qiwei, is thought dead by the party. Eventually she moves on with life and even gets a new lover. After a few months it is found that Yu Qiwei