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Becoming Madame Mao

3.51 of 5 stars 3.51 · rating details · 2,329 ratings · 239 reviews

Many writers have engaged in the project of rescuing female figures from history, but few have tackled such an unsympathetic character as Anchee Min does in her historical novel Becoming Madame Mao. Known as the White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China, Madame Mao was blamed for countless bloody and vengeful executions; she sought out those who had wronged her...more Many writers have engaged in the project of rescuing female figures from history, but few have tackled such an unsympathetic character as Anchee Min does in her historical novel Becoming Madame Mao. Known as the White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China, Madame Mao was blamed for countless bloody and vengeful executions; she sought out those who had wronged her in the past and wiped them off the face of the earth. Eventually she was reviled in China and executed, even as her husband was revered as a hero.

Before her stint as Mao's first lady, Jiang Ching, as she was then known, was an actress, a singer, and a star in Communist films. Anchee Min grew up in Red China and watched Jiang Ching from afar; she was fascinated by her for many years, by tales of her independence and strength, and by images of her beauty. In a way, the great villain and demon was a role model for Anchee Min, and her teenage devotion is the engine of her remarkable novel. Moving back and forth between stories of the actress and the evil dictator, Min complicates the Madame Mao of history.

As a girl, Madame Mao narrowly escaped having her feet bound. The book opens with graphic descriptions of this process and of the ensuing infection that freed her. But if her feet were not bound, her spirit was. Reared by a mother who was the last concubine of a rich man, and a father who liked to hit his girls with shovels, Madame Mao as a young girl felt herself doomed: "I see my father hit Mother with a shovel. It happened suddenly. Without warning. I can hardly believe my eyes. He is mad. He calls Mother a slut. Mother's body curls up. My chest swells. He hits her back, front, shouting that he will break her bones." The father then goes on to treat his daughter the same way. Decades later, when Madame Mao manifests deep brutality, Min seems to be saying that what goes around comes around. Flawed by a clumsy structure that vacillates between third and first person arbitrarily, Becoming Madame Mao is nevertheless an immensely interesting work--defiant, morally ambiguous, and difficult to put down. --Emily White

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Paperback, 306 pages

Published 2001 by Allison & Busby (first published 2000)

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Sep 14, 2011 Mariel rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Eva Braun

Recommended to Mariel by: don't cry for me China

Who knew Chairman Mao was so hot?

Oh that was shameless, Mariel. Way to start off a book review! With sex! Bad, bad, bad. Historical figures shouldn't be used to write cheesey love scenes. They should be used to advertise products on tv and that's it! Anchee Min, you're shameless. Have you no shame?

I don't feel like writing two Madam Mao book reviews so I'm going to shamelessly combine reviews of this chick lit book with a review of a biography written by an Australian guy that could have been...more Who knew Chairman Mao was so hot?

Oh that was shameless, Mariel. Way to start off a book review! With sex! Bad, bad, bad. Historical figures shouldn't be used to write cheesey love scenes. They should be used to advertise products on tv and that's it! Anchee Min, you're shameless. Have you no shame?

I don't feel like writing two Madam Mao book reviews so I'm going to shamelessly combine reviews of this chick lit book with a review of a biography written by an Australian guy that could have been the Jim Cazaviel character in the film version of The Stoning of Soraya M.
Madame Mao: The White-Boned Demon He's super proud of himself because he's not as sexist as the men he confronts in his investigation of blatant sexism for a book that he'll be paid for writing. The men are like "Oh, why write a book about such a bad woman?" and in the movie it's like "Don't listen to that silly woman! She's a woman!" He's like, "Yes, I know. Women!" They were just as bad she was (the white-boned demon, I mean). And they are hypocrites because nothing the sexy stud muffin Mao did was bad. The men are still oh, women should have been gentle judge-y in tone. I picture a smug Jim Cazaviel face behind the pen. They were both cruel and both made lives of Chinese people more miserable than they had could have been. But why do they have to demonize the woman and erect the memory of the man as a hero? Why did the woman have to be good and it was okay for the man to be a total dick? Both authors come from a place of wanting to find out what happened and then ultimately shy away from how gross of a woman she was with the distance of evil! Get behind me, white boned demon! Why did a woman get to do this to people because Chairman Mao wanted to bone her? Was it that sly of a move to demand marriage? Isn't there an old Chinese proverb about not buying the cow when you can get the sex for free? (I was impressed how she tried to use their fear of women against them, such as removing her clothes to avoid interrogation. At least she wasn't afraid to use both sides of the sex coin. Historically it was a dull sided coin, as far as I'm concerned. Not boring to those who suffer but boring to me sitting here right now.)

Min apparently had a crush on Madam Mao aka the white-boned demon aka Jiang Ching aka Li Runqing. I had wanted to read this book because I was curious why the author had had a crush on their first lady of communism while growing up in China. I guess it was an excuse to put herself in the place of someone who had hot sex with Chairman Mao. I'm so confused! She must have made a list of everyone she didn't like, any slight or fuck over and then when she got a bit of power from the Chairman Mao sex she used it to do them in. Or she did what a lot of assholes did when communism gave them their tiny bit of evil power. Maybe the young Min had fantasies about the bitch girl who had a nicer regulation something or other than she had? Or it could have been her glamorous film career and looks before she took on the guise of a comrade. I don't know. This book doesn't have it. Why was Madam Mao interesting to Anchee Min?

What this book has is first person perspective of the lady. Self serving perspective. It was oh so romantic, this and that person fucked me over, I was the only little girl to suffer from feet binding in China (that was nasty). Maybe it was the thing about serial killers becoming serial killers become their mom was a prostitute. The perspective switches to what really happened in a regurgitation of the first. It wasn't juxtaposed reality enough to warrant the constant back and forth. The prose was cheesey as fuck either way.

I thought that Chairman Mao was hot in the sack.
Chairman Mao was hot in the sack.
It's really frustrating to read a whole book like that! (I'm going to go take a shower.)

I didn't think that her old love affairs or supposed crush on Mao made it okay. It wasn't okay that she "loved" her daughter when she wanted something from her. What was the motive to get closer to a woman like this? I think it had more to do with her notoriety, or Min wasn't good enough of a writer to express her own feelings about the maligned woman. I liked Terrill's book a bit more because at least he got that Qing was pretty much a bad actress in her own life. She'd quote lines from plays she had performed in. Maybe she didn't remember they were even plays. It was all a big lie to her to get what she wanted. Applause, money or position. She thought she identified with Ibson's A Doll's House and the world denied her her spoils. Or it was a line she repeated a lot when she didn't get anything she wanted. It sounded good the first time excuse. Chairman Mao was a position. Wouldn't most who lived in China "love" him? My father used to say to "deny, deny, deny" when confronted with a lie.It was safer (emphasis on er rather than safe) to. Qing had that part down. Never break out of character, even if it means having no character.
Or the bad writing was a demonstration of bad acting... I'm confused!(less)

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Jun 19, 2012 alana Semuels rated it 2 of 5 stars

This gets two stars instead of the one it probably deserves because it's an interesting premise. A human side to Madame Mao. But its told in three different voices -- often on the same page -- which makes it difficult to follow and not very engaging. You never get very close to the character, which is the whole point of a book like this. I read in the afterword that it took 5 years to get published, and I wonder if the publisher played around with it a lot or something. I kept thinking it read l...more

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Dec 17, 2008 Kevin Barrett rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved it. It combines three things I love; China, historical fiction, and a strong female lead.

This book is written as if it were a memoir of the wife of Mao Zidong. Anchee Min pieced the story together with various historical records and all of the characters in the book were actual people. We see her as a young girl refusing to submit to having her feet bound, to a young lady who pursues Mao out of intrigue and a desire for power. From the neglected wife kept hidden from the Chinese people,...more

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Dec 18, 2008 Nicolebroadwater rated it 1 of 5 stars

I have read several books by Anchee Min and this by far is the worst. I enjoyed all of her other books so I kept reading this book thinking it would get better yet it never did. She switches from third person to first person throughout the book and it becomes confusing. In addition, you never get into the character. This book is touted at making the "white bone demon" seem more human but it does not do this. Instead, you are left hating the so called heroine of the book and wondering if it will...more

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Apr 07, 2009 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reduced the history of Chinese communism to petty personal quests for influence and the affection of a tyrant. Made me want to learn more about the era.

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 17, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arts-and-historical

Many writers have engaged in the project of rescuing female figures from history, but few have tackled such an unsympathetic character as Anchee Min does in her historical novel Becoming Madame Mao. Known as the White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China, Madame Mao was blamed for countless bloody and vengeful executions; she sought out those who had wronged her in the past and wiped them off the face of the earth. Eventually she was reviled in China and executed, even as her husband...more Many writers have engaged in the project of rescuing female figures from history, but few have tackled such an unsympathetic character as Anchee Min does in her historical novel Becoming Madame Mao. Known as the White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China, Madame Mao was blamed for countless bloody and vengeful executions; she sought out those who had wronged her in the past and wiped them off the face of the earth. Eventually she was reviled in China and executed, even as her husband was revered as a hero.

Before her stint as Mao's first lady, Jiang Ching, as she was then known, was an actress, a singer, and a star in Communist films. Anchee Min grew up in Red China and watched Jiang Ching from afar; she was fascinated by her for many years, by tales of her independence and strength, and by images of her beauty. In a way, the great villain and demon was a role model for Anchee Min, and her teenage devotion is the engine of her remarkable novel. Moving back and forth between stories of the actress and the evil dictator, Min complicates the Madame Mao of history.

As a girl, Madame Mao narrowly escaped having her feet bound. The book opens with graphic descriptions of this process and of the ensuing infection that freed her. But if her feet were not bound, her spirit was. Reared by a mother who was the last concubine of a rich man, and a father who liked to hit his girls with shovels, Madame Mao as a young girl felt herself doomed: "I see my father hit Mother with a shovel. It happened suddenly. Without warning. I can hardly believe my eyes. He is mad. He calls Mother a slut. Mother's body curls up. My chest swells. He hits her back, front, shouting that he will break her bones." The father then goes on to treat his daughter the same way. Decades later, when Madame Mao manifests deep brutality, Min seems to be saying that what goes around comes around. Flawed by a clumsy structure that vacillates between third and first person arbitrarily, Becoming Madame Mao is nevertheless an immensely interesting work--defiant, morally ambiguous, and difficult to put down.(less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Louise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: china-fic-lit

It's hard to imagine more complex subject matter. Anchee Min deserves credit for her efforts. Using the first and third person she tells the story from what may be Jaing Qing's point of view. The third person is also used to give background and historical perspective.

Min fashions not a cold hard Jaing Qing, but one who showers all her affection on her husband to the detriment of her daughter and country. She has ambition, drive and a staunchly feminist streak.

The book is strong in portraying her...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Jenny Tang rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Simply remarkable.
Anchee Min displays the character of Jiang Ching in such vivid manner!
Many may think the style of Min's writing is confusing, as she uses first person and then third person. I, on the other hand, find this writing style creative and engaging. It's carefree and let's me understand more of the personality of Madame Mao. Each character has their own structure and Min has let you understand the characters through their traits and actions.
As a 14 year old high schooler, I did firs...more

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Feb 21, 2011 The Politick added it

i really liked this book, the writing style fascinated me.

although we covered a bit of China's history with Mao Zedong in school, i was not very familiar with who he was exactly. and so, it was out of interest of Mao that i pulled this book from the school library's shelf.

not only did this novel help me to understand who Mao was, it also gave me insight on his own private life and habits.
yet, the text is not only about Mao. it is about his actress of a wife, Jiang Qing.

she was a strong and powe...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Gianna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: asian

Sure, I knew about the Cultural Revolution, but I never wondered about Mao’s personal life or about the personal life of Madame Mao. Drawing on actual historical figures and events, Anchee Min creates a compelling fictionalized portrait of Mao’s forth wife, the woman known as the “white-boned demon” even when she was alive. We see the young, spirited girl struggling first to survive and then to establish herself as an actress. We can even sympathize with her. Anchee Min, who was an actor herself...more Sure, I knew about the Cultural Revolution, but I never wondered about Mao’s personal life or about the personal life of Madame Mao. Drawing on actual historical figures and events, Anchee Min creates a compelling fictionalized portrait of Mao’s forth wife, the woman known as the “white-boned demon” even when she was alive. We see the young, spirited girl struggling first to survive and then to establish herself as an actress. We can even sympathize with her. Anchee Min, who was an actor herself, certainly has the background knowledge to describe the artistic circles at the time.

We see Yunhe’s —the girl who fights against having her feet bound—gradual transformation to Jiang Ching in the greatest role of her life: on the stage of her marriage to Mao and, eventually, at the core of political leadership in China. “For Madame Mao,” writes Min, “there is no line between living and acting. The Cultural Revolution is a breathing stage and Mao is her playwright” (p. 184).

At times, the main character is powerfully convincing. At times, she comes across as one-dimensional. For example, her desire for political power seems fueled entirely by her very personal desire to please Mao and to become closer to him. We learn about Jiang Ching's machinations, about her vindictive actions and her most intimate thoughts, but I am not sure I know who exactly she was and what exactly drove her, even after I closed the book.

The style is fairly dramatic, sometimes overly dramatic, and Min is good at using metaphors. The tiger metaphor, for example, runs through the second half of book as Madame Mao’s political life is compared to riding a tiger: One cannot get off the back of the tiger because she will be eaten. I actually liked the interplay between the first-person account (the character’s own voice) and a third-person view. The rhythm felt strange at times. Min likes to use a series of clipped, incomplete sentences, and I realize she does it for effect,
but it just sounded as if a composer had overused the “staccato” notes in a piece of music. I can't imagine that it is easy to write about someone like Madame Mao, especially in a work of fiction, but Min’s book is an interesting perspective on her life.
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May 14, 2012 itpdx rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a fictionalized account of the life of Jiang Ching, Mao Tse Tung's wife. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It isn't paranoia if "they" are actually out to get you.

It is challenging to write a story from the point of view of someone who is warped and is dealing with a power structure that is mostly hidden from their view. Anchee Min does an interesting job of doing this.

I would recommend having a basic understanding of twentieth century Chinese history be...more

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Jul 11, 2008 Alyssa rated it 1 of 5 stars

I read Anchee Min's Red Azalea before reading this one and I enjoyed Red Azalea SO much more than Madame Mao. In fact, I disliked her writing style in Madame Mao so much that I didn't even finish it. I felt bad because I liked Azalea so much that I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't do it. It bugged me that she went back and forth from first person to third person and I just found myself not really caring... :(

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Mar 10, 2012 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Becoming Madame Mao was a very insightful novel, of how a woman who would become one of the most powerful people in China for a time, developed from a young girl whose Mother was an abused concubine, and who at time was just a tiny child who narrowly escaped, having her feet bound, and later in life two marriages that left her heart broken. The book is written from her perspective, and from the perspective of someone else looking in from the outside. It takes the reader into the struggles of an...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Yvette Neisser Moreno rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

While the first two-thirds of the book were riveting and extremely well-written, I was disappointed with the last third, which deals with Madame Mao's role in the Cultural Revolution and beyond. At this point, the story gets bogged down in politics and historical facts, including a lot of name-dropping of figures in Chinese politics, which have no resonance for your average Western reader. I loved the emotional insights and vivid, convincing descriptions of Jiang Ching's (Madame Mao) interior wo...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Tess rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This book incorporates some of Mao's writings and poems which I found appropriate. I enjoyed reading the book but found some difficulty because of many characters involved. I found Madame's Mao life very colorful starting from her family background, career as an actress and her role as Chairman Mao's wife.

Some interesting points mentioned about Mao were having many concubines (most of which were actresses) for longevity but his health dwindled maybe because of poor diet and old age. I was a lit...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Tomi Westerberg added it

Ive read this 2 times. As a historical fact, i dont keep this book as really accurate. First, there are errors about the exact dates of things. Second, there never wasnt "Last Supper" concerning the death of Lin Biao. Lin wasnt killed by orders from Mao, inside the Forbidden City. His son was plotting it all up, and they really crashed on a plane crash. The plane crash was real thing, it wasnt cover up made my Mrs. Qing, as its told in this story! Third, its frustrating that she didnt write, her...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Petty Witter rated it 1 of 5 stars

Not a biography as I had first thought, it was only on opening the book that I learnt that though the author had, and I quote, 'Tried (her) best to mirror the facts of history' this was in fact a novel.

Chronicling the life of Madame Mao from aged 4 when she was already displaying a fierce determination through her acting/opera career and her many relationships to her suicide, this is the story of a woman who constantly recreates herself, the story of a woman who despite her somewhat humble begin...more

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Aug 04, 2009 Shelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really like Anchee Min and was excited to read this book. However, i couldn't even get half way through.

The style of writing was very dry and at times confusing, as it kept switching from 3rd person to 1st person and back. I did keep reading a while after I lost interest because I thought it would get better, but the characters were so distant and flat that I really couldn't connect with them. I'm the type of person who likes to connect with the characters or at least the idea that the author...more

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Mar 21, 2010 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12th

This was a great historical novel about Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Ching. Madame Mao is not just the White-Boned Demon everyone labeled her to be. Through her novel, Min vividly paints the life of Madame Mao Jiang Ching and her transformation from a lowly commoner to the most powerful woman in China. The epigraph Min includes describes Madame Mao's life:

You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your desti...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Heidi Cooke rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really wish I had a better understanding of the politics in China between 1945 & 1976 before reading this book. However, despite occasionally tripping over my lack of political knowledge and inability to pronounce Chinese names, I did find this book fascinating. The character study was indeed puzzling, triumphant, and pitiful all at once. The author, Anchee Min, has a beautiful writing style. It flows easily and she has the talent of being able to word a description simply and so fittingly...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Camy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I did not mind that the narrative switched from first, second, to third person - the reason was probably to create a story that flowed dynamically. Becoming Madame Mao was certainly a very arduous and conflicted journey for the protagonist. Through it all I sometimes felt myself a little lost and confused. The whole reign was certainly one of terror and horrific back-stabbing and extreme cruelty. Reading this continued to give me insight on the Chinese Cultural Revolution and how power is all-co...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Cina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

I found this book to be entertaining and a nice read. I found myself being drawn to Mao too like a moth to a flame. Tyrannical leader that he may be, his personality attracted me.

I felt Jiang Ching through out the whole book only wanted to feel sincere love, of course the benefits of being powerful as well but under it all love was her goal. I think more so her ultimate goal was not really to play the character of a heroine like she thought and felt but more so to play the character of a wife....more

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Nov 09, 2012 Susan Howard rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was somewhat disappointing. While some of the factual parts were fascinating, the author could not decide whether or not to tell the story from a first person or simple narrative point of view. Sometiems it would flip within two sentences. I found it disconcerting.

I will say that the woman who became Mao's wife during his reign was conniving, spiteful, and power hungry, but very clever. And the potrayal of Mao himself was one of man who wrote poetry, yet thought little of ordering the...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Silvia Iskandar rated it 5 of 5 stars

Got lost in its poetic prose. The way Min describes things is genuine and wonderful. She described the sunset horizon as that of watermelon, green grass, topped with orange and bright red sky; described the heroine's state as raddish (couldn't remember the vegetable exactly) pickled in sorrow...wish I had taken down notes.

It could have been a boring biography with all the details, but Anchee Min weaved gems in her story and presented us with a beautiful and sad story.

Love it, love it, love it....more

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May 04, 2011 Sarah Wagner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: china, historical-fiction

I just could not get into this historical biography of Mao Zedong's wife. Jiang Qing, as she was later known, lived a fascinating life in twentieth-century China as both an actress and wife to a Communist dictator. However, while I knew a little about Jiang Qing's life, I failed to find Becoming Madame Mao compelling. While Anchee Min does a good job of describing Jiang Qing's background as an actress and its effect on her later actions, I found the novel difficult to follow and far from engross...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Silvia Iskandar rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Jan 18, 2010 Bill Currie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Being able to put herself into Madam Mao life took courage on Anchee Min's part. So much is speculation, yet she ties it well to historical knowledge with an excellent story line. I found the Soviet connection interesting in that of a Mother to a fledgling child, yet Mao's preceptive resistance to their way of constructing a Soviet satellite state.

I came away realizing had only the US military and Johnson had studied Mao's war against the Nationalist would they have known how the Vietnamese wer...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Bobafett added it

I believe that this was a extraordinary interesting book about someone love and struggle to achieve a higher purpose in her life, finally achieve it thought lie, deceit, and conniving her way up the communist hierarchy in China. This is exactly what Madame Mao Jiang Qing did after she became the wife of Mao Te-Tung. Many historian blame her for the extension of Cultural Revolution in China which kill over 25 million people, leading to her name as the White Boned Devil. Personally order her past...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I've wanted to read this book ever since seeing John Adams' opera Nixon in China this past March, but it took this long for the library to finally have it available. A fictionalized biography of Madame Mao Jiang-Ching (the wife of Chariman Mao), it allows Anchee Min to explore the motivations of both Madame and Chairman Mao. It's written in a very unusual style: frequent shifts between first and third person, and short sentences that gave the prose a breathless quality. I'm not sure I liked this...more

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Aug 30, 2009 Steve Ganns rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm going to be brief in my review of this Novel. I think it's terrific. In fact, I'll go a step further and say it is the best fiction work I've read in a long time. Not since reading Shogun, have I enjoyed a style of writing more. Anchee Min seems to be able to combine the terse style of Hemingway with the ethereal style of E. L. Doctorow in Ragtime--to create an entire universe that allows the reader to gently plunge in. I can't find a thing wrong with this book. ... Visit my blog for more: h ...more

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About Anchee Min

Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957. At seventeen she was sent to a labor collective, where a talent scout for Madame Mao's Shanghai Film Studio recruited her to work as a movie actress. She moved to the United States in 1984. Her first memoir, Red Azalea, was an international bestseller, published in twenty countries. She has since published six novels, including Pearl of China and the forthc...more

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