Madame Mao

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Many writers have sought to rescue female figures from history, but few have approached an unsympathetic character like the one Anchee Min presents in her historical novel. Known as the White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China, Madame Mao was responsible for numerous bloody executions, targeting those who had wronged her. Ultimately, she was reviled and executed, while her husband was celebrated as a hero. Before becoming Mao's first lady, Jiang Ching was an actress and star in Communist films. Anchee Min, who grew up in Red China, was captivated by Jiang Ching's independence, strength, and beauty. This fascination serves as the impetus for Min's remarkable narrative, which oscillates between the stories of the actress and the dictator, complicating the historical figure of Madame Mao. The novel opens with vivid descriptions of the brutal practice of foot binding, which Madame Mao narrowly escaped. However, her spirit remained constrained by a tumultuous upbringing, marked by a violent father and a mother who was a concubine. These early experiences of trauma shape her later brutality. Min suggests that the cycle of violence continues through generations. Despite its flawed structure, which shifts between third and first person, the work remains engaging—defiant, morally ambiguous, and hard to put down.