Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing (Chinese江青, Pinyin Jiang Qing, Chiang Ch'ing W.-G., * in Zhucheng March 1914 (诸城), Shandong Province, † 14 May 1991 Beijing) was the fourth and last wife of Mao Zedong and a driving force behind the Chinese Cultural Revolution. During her career as an actress she was under the name Lan Ping (Chinese:蓝 苹) known in the course of her life she participated in various other names. She married Mao Zedong in 1939 and was often called due to its position as the "First Lady" of China in the Western literature as " Madame Mao ".
Life
Early years
Jiang Qing was born as Li Shumeng (李淑 蒙, lǐ Shūméng ) in Zhucheng, Shandong Province. Her father, Li Dewen, who was already 60 years old, according to a source had a small craft company, for another a tavern. The name of the mother, who was 30 years old, is unknown. She was probably Lis concubine, a position that made her contempt for his contemporaries. The father was a drunk who frequently quarreled with the mother. According to one source it was sad when the daughter was five years old, both the mother and forced so to get by as servants in homes of the wealthy. When the daughter was six years old, her mother broke her how it was still common in this period, the bones of the foot, allowing her then but not to wear the bandages, so that your feet developed normally.
Li Shumeng visited, with interruptions, two primary schools in Zhucheng. Their behavior was not always consistent in line with the expectations you put on a girl. She was more of an outsider who, when challenged, disputes did not go out of the way. The mid-1920s turned to her mother to their family of origin in Jinan and asked for support for herself and her daughter. The parents were willing, so that Li Shumeng came into the custody of the material safe and socially recognized grandparents. From them she received her new name, Li Yunhe (李云鹤, lǐ Yunhe ). My life is now moving in a more leisurely pace. The grandfather allowed her to attend the middle school. 1926/27, her mother took her then to Tianjin at a much older half- sister of the girl. Li Yunhe visited in this period, no school, but reluctantly helped in the household of half-sister. 1928 Li Yunhe returned to Jinan to the grandparents back. The mother married again and probably played in the life of her 14 - year-old daughter from that time no greater role.
1928 was the girl for several months as a member of a somewhat staid suburban theater group, although it is unclear whether they did so voluntarily. But returns at the request of his grandfather, who had freely buy again back home. A little later she applied to the newly established at the provincial level academy for experimental theater (山东 省立 实验 剧院, Shandong Shengli Shiyan Juyuan ) and was accepted to her and the family surprise. As one of only three girls in her class, she studied up to the closure of the school end of 1930. Apart from classes in traditional forms of theater, the students were also given the opportunity to learn western music instruments and to study new theatrical forms of expression like the modern spoken drama.
In 1931 she went to Qingdao, was a student and traveling actress. In addition, Li He joined the " League left dramatist " and " League of left writers " in 1932, she joined the Anti-Imperialist League in addition to. By so gained confidence, they worked toward the goal of Communist Party membership. They finally entered 1933, the Communist Party of China in Qingdao.
Shanghai - theatrical and political ambitions
In the same year moved to Shanghai, Jiang Qing. There, she performed with the Shanghai factory - studies troupe as an actress while she taught simultaneously at a night school for workers and tried to make contact with the working in the underground Communist Party in Shanghai. As a result of these efforts, there was an arrest by the Kuomintang. After her release, Jiang Qing took her acting career back on and worked for two years in left-wing films. Her stage name as a film actress was Lán Ping (蓝 苹= blue apple). During these years she also turned increasingly to politics and played in a proletarian theater association, who performed "progressive" pieces for the rural population. During her time as an actress Jiang Qing led relationships or marriages with different men, among others, Tang Na, a left writer and propagandist of proletarian literature. This took, allegedly when he learned of a possible affair his wife, an unsuccessful suicide attempt, which later the party leadership should serve as one of the reasons for rejecting decided the relationship between Jiang Qing and Mao.
Yan'an - the fourth wife of Mao Zedong
1937 that the now 23- year-old actress to Yan'an to work at the Academy of Dramatic Art. After six months of basic military training, she studied at the Lu Xun Academy, occasionally spoke at the Mao on philosophy and literature. To get rid of the name Li Yunhe and Lan Ping and the associated unhappy memories of Shanghai, she took, like many others, with their new communist life and a new name - Jiang Qing.
In 1939, she began her love affair with the almost 20 years her senior leader of the Long March, Mao Zedong. Since Jiang Qing already had several marriage-like compounds behind, had been brought in Shanghai with some scandals in connection and also Mao's previous wife Hè Zǐzhēn (贺子珍), which enjoyed great popularity repressed, the party leadership of Mao's choice was not pleased. It is believed that Jiang Qing was consequently even the need, before publicly not perform with Mao, not to engage in party or even to seek political office. Perhaps, therefore, Jiang Qing operated in the first eight years of their marriage, especially as Mao's secretary.
Beginnings as First Lady
In the early 1950s attempted Jiang Qing and over again, even to engage in politics, took, for example, 1950/51 to the land reform in eastern China and in the reform of marriage law in the area of Wuhan part. In 1954 she brought an ideological discussion about the novel Dream of the Red Chamber in motion. However, these attempts were not crowned with great success: Jiang Qing was forced to keep their engagement secret and had to resign from her post as Director of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Party in late 1951. So it was again Mao's secretary and remained the entire 1950s in this office. During this time, Jiang Qing was suffering from various diseases - it is assumed that it is mainly concerned psychosomatic complaints - such as where they stayed a few times for treatment in the Soviet Union. In Jiang Qing's own memories of the 1950s were marked by physical and political stress, illness and recovery, withdrawal from political office and resumption of previous positions alternated.
Rise to Power
It was not until the mid-1960s were Jiang Qing's efforts for political influence gradually successful. Your area of interest in the political arena remained continue the culture. In 1964, Mao showed on important occasions such as the National Day with her, in the same year she was elected to the National People's Congress. In 1966 it was finally Jiang Qing, who was sent by Mao to the Peking University to start from there, a mass movement that should go down as a "cultural revolution" in the story. Jiang Qing played a key role in the " Cultural Revolution Group ". She spoke in this initial phase of the Cultural Revolution often at mass meetings, even led the march of the masses in Beijing for the 25th anniversary of Mao's Yan'an speeches the presidency - an event that simultaneously the culmination of Jiang Qing's made popularity. They put a stop to the successful publication of any non-Communist works in all areas of art. In particular, China's popular Old Opera House suffered from a performance ban in favor initiated by Jiang new operas with communist content, the so-called eight " model operas". In addition, they contributed to the destruction of large library collections of ancient China. During this time, she used her growing power and wealth was unpopular artist and former colleagues condemn to death by fast food. Jiang Qing worked here together with Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen, the four were to be attacked later as so-called "Gang of Four ". From then on it was - according to Mao Zedong - one of the most powerful people in the People's Republic of China. In this role, she managed to raise the young Red Guards against her unpopular party leaders like Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi.
In April 1969, Jiang Qing was elected to the Politburo. Also in the planning of the national campaign against Lin Biao in 1970/71 she was instrumental in. Moreover, they revised until the mid -1970s, introduced in the 1960 revolution operas, ballets and musical compositions, was also customize by some film versions. Jiang Qing's personal influence on art and culture was so great that even speaking in terms of the historical development of Chinese art from a " Jiang Qing era " in this phase.
Decline and death
Jiang Qing lost during the Cultural Revolution in popularity and was towards the end of the reign of Mao to the welcome screen for all the outrages of the Mao regime. Their aggressive, cold demeanor and a variety of inhuman actions brought China's public in addition to against them. It became the "evil woman " stigmatized, as Mao's wife had used to their position, the " Empress" soar, which have increasingly sick and isolated Mao manipulated and could not be held as responsible for its errors.
1976, just a month after Mao's death, Jiang Qing was arrested with other members of the Gang of Four in 1981 and sentenced to death on probation. The sentence was commuted to life in prison two years later. In 1991, she was discharged for health reasons; ten days later, she committed suicide.
Jiang Qing, ending a very turbulent life, which was mainly influenced by their years of effort for recognition and political influence. Often described as a woman with an extraordinary degree of intelligence, ambition and determination, but at the same time as in private as well as in professional relationships referred to as chronically insecure, she cried out with contemporaries always extreme reactions sparked enthusiastic praise or outright refusal from.