Jiang Qing
Born in 1914, Jiang Qing was not one to sit in the background. Also known as Madame Mao, Qing took on many different roles: Chinese actress, major political figure, and a Communist Revolutionary. She also became the fourth, and final wife, of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China. Though it is believed China’s population grew from around 550 million to over 900 million under his leadership, his regime also resulted in purges, forced labour, and arbitrary execution. This led to an astonishing forty to seventy million deaths, the most brutal regime to have ever taken power worldwide.
In November 1938, despite being married and divorced twice before, Jiang married Mao Zedong in the Chinese city of Yan’an; today celebrated by Chinese communists as the birthplace of the revolution. At this point, she became the inaugural “First Lady” of the People’s Republic of China. Throughout the 1940s served as Mao’s personal secretary. In the 1950s and 60s, she played a major role in the Cultural Revolution. In the 50’s she was head of the Film Section of the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department, and in 1966 she was appointed the deputy director of the Central Cultural Revolution Group. She held significant influence in state affairs, particularly when it came to culture, and in 1969 gained a seat on the Politburo.
When Mao died from a heart attack in September 1976, aged 82, Jiang’s power was significantly weakened, as she had gained most of her political legitimacy from her connection to Mao. Less than one month after Mao’s death, Jiang was arrested and subsequently condemned by party authorities as having caused significant devastation and damage from her role in the Cultural Revolution. Initially, Jiang was sentenced to death. However, her sentence was commuted in 1983 to life imprisonment.
In 1991, Jiang was released from prison early because she had been diagnosed with throat cancer. While receiving treatment in hospital, aged 77, Jiang hanged herself in the bathroom and left a note stating: “The revolution has been stolen by the revisionist clique”. She also believed she would be reunited with her husband, Mao, as she wrote: “Chairman, your student and fighter is coming to see you!” She died two days short of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Cultural Revolution.