The White-Boned Demon: A Biography of Madame Mao Zedong

by Ross Terrill

Book Overview

This is the most complete and authoritative account of the childhood and tumultuous life of Jiang Qing, from her early years as an aspiring actress to her marriage and partnership with Mao Zedong, the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688024610
• ISBN13: 9780688024611
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 446 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Inside a Complex Mind

This certainly seems to be the definitive biography of Jiang Qing, third and final wife of Chairman Mao. It provides a fascinating look not only at this particular woman, but at the culture that spawned, nurtured and ultimately rejected her. Terrill contextualizes her struggle to acquire power, looking at Jiang primarily as an individualist, but also as a feminist in a country that couldn't receive her. The very title of the book ably demonstrates the point that Terrill repeatedly makes: Jiang Qing was not allowed to assert an identity outside of that provided by her husband--at least, not until China repudiated her. In her own country, earlier editions of this book were marketed under her name, as Chinese authorities sought to distance the woman from her husband, preserving the myth of Mao while completing the demonization of his wife of 38 years. When I first started the book, I was a little suspicious of its author, who seemed far too sympathetic of Jiang Qing given her role in the Cultural Revolution. However, on balance Terrill doesn't excuse her, although he does admire her peculiar integrity, particularly in her refusal to compromise her values during her trial. One of her enemies commented after her candid performance there, "I have always hated Jiang Qing; now I hate her a little less." In the end, his biography may make others feel the same. She was flamboyant, petty and vengeful, but above all a woman of towering ego, who refused to be the one thing that her society most demanded: self-effacing.

Interesting, indepth, complicated

Ross Terrill writes a detailed life story of Mao's 4th wife, Jiang Qing. Without some knowledge of events in China, it would be confusing as Terrill sticks to Jiang's life and psychology more than to the historical backdrop. The book gets complicated because Chinese names are so foreign to westerners with many similar names and some names the same for women as for men. Jiang Qing is the woman's third name, taken when she becomes Mao's wife. Mr. Terrill does a valiant job of reminding the reader who someone is when he appears again in the narrative after many pages. I recommend reading Life and Death in Shanghai first for an overview of the Cultural Revolution.

a very timely read - recommended to everyone

This book is a laborous attempt to highlight a huge danger of a society reliant on both totalitarian tenets and on a Tzar-like charisma of a single human leader. With no democracy nor a modern social system based on rule of law and free flow of information, PRC China as of today faces the same - or even grander - catastrophic risk of implosion as depicted in the book. Especially so given China's growing presence and power militarily, politically and economically.

An Important Look Madame Mao

This book was totally engrossing. Having read many previous historical accounts of the last 5 decades of Chinese History, I never fully understood the role of Jiang Qing. Always, in other books, her one and only epithet would be something like, "an ambitious actress from Shanghai..." That would be fine to describe a lesser figure in the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, but I always felt it completely inadequate when discussing THE instigator of said turmoil. This book helps to elucidate the woman who caused so much of the havoc that took China to the brink of destruction for so long a time.This book shows the young Qing as, indeed, the ambitious Shanghai actress, and the drama that would resurface 30 years later, with her in power over her numerous enemies. Also, the book is not singularly concentrated on Qing; rather, it shows the complex, at times Kafakaesque intrigues of the Communist system under Mao. Of how good friends and mentors, Zhou Enlai for example, who tried to keep a hospital-bound Qing in high spirits when even Mao himself did not (or did not care), later became bitter enemies, and the back-stabbing necessary to retain power (or stay alive) in Mao-era China.Very interesting work, completely readable. The only gripes I have with this book is that I have read several of the books Terrill uses as his sources, and I noticed on several occasions that he includes, verbatim, what others already wrote. He does give credit sometimes, though. Also, I found his extensive use of footnotes-cum-elaboration to be quite cumbersome, and wish he had just put the extra detail into the body itself, and not at the bottom of the page--it just throws off your reading and got aggrivating at points. However, these are minor points; the book itself is quite excellent, and I would highly recommend it for those wishing to get another angle on the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.

The Greatest Revolutionary

Terrill made a very impressive life-account of Jiang Qing a.k.a. Madame Mao. I am very impressed by this truthful and honest account of Jiang Qing. Madame Jiang Qing is totally unlike any modern communist Chinese personality; she was a political wife, the woman behind the charismatic Chairman Mao Zedong. Who is this lady? How was she able to survived the turmoil of prewar Shanghai period, the Communist Revolution and lastly the Cultural Revolution. Modern China is famous for a few women, e.g. Madame Soong Qingling, Madame Wang Guangmei, Madame Deng Yingchao, and lastly Madame Jiang Qing. For all these women except for Madame Soong Qingling were women of power due to their husband who had privileged positions within the Communist Party. On the other hand, Madame Soong was the symbolism of the previous Republican Era, perhaps the torch-bearer of Dr Sun Yat Sen's idealism. Jiang Qing is a paradox in Chinese Communism, she was not the typical peasant woman nor is she the idealistic communist comrade. She was neither, instead she was an ambitious and budding film star, gaining popularity in the Shanghai prewar era. In all accounts, she is a true bourgeois and capitalistic person. But, nevertheless this lady rose to become the greatest revolutionary leader of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Li Shumeng, the infant name of Jiang Qing, was born in Shandong province in Northern China in 1914 where the Chinese Revolution was still in action. Athough the Chinese Revolution brought to an end to the 2000 years of Imperial China but nothing much change, it was very much like the old order. The Confucianist China was in fact retrogressing towards the Warlord Era where the might of the sword becomes the law in Peking. Jing Qing upbringing was not something to remember, she was a daughter or a minor wife (probably a concubine too), thus resulting in no special privileges. Her father Li Dewen was not the ideal parent, he drank heavily and enjoyed a rather poor reputation in Zhucheng. However, her mother was ambitious, perhaps an earlier version of the future Jiang Qing. Shumeng (pure and simple) was rather an ill-chosen name, it does not reflects upon the aggressive and outward looking Jiang Qing. Later, Jiang Qing's name was change by her grandfather to Li Yunhe (crane in the clouds), too rustic but yet one of the most suitable name for Jiang Qing. Jiang Qing was never the Confucianist demure woman but she challenged all avenues and made great inroads for the emancipation of women in China. I admire such strong character than made up the true nature of Jiang Qing. Li Yunhe, later to be christened again as Lan Ping (blue apple); life as an actress was seedy, perhaps too seedy for the communist comrade. Terill describe clearly her love affairs with her first three husbands from Mr Fei, Yu Qiwei and Tang Na. Her first marriage was a shamble, there was little love between this couple, it was with Yu Qiwei