Jiang Qing

Jiang Qing
江青
Jiang in 1976
Spouse of the paramount leader of China
In office 1 October 1949 – 9 September 1976
Leader	Mao Zedong (party chairman)
Succeeded by	Han Zhijun
Spouse of the President of China
In office 27 September 1954 – 27 April 1959
President	Mao Zedong
Succeeded by	Wang Guangmei
Personal details
Born	Li Shumeng or Li Jinhai March 1914 (1914-03) Zhucheng, Shandong, China
Died	14 May 1991(1991-05-14) (aged 77) Beijing, China
Cause of death	Suicide by hanging
Resting place	Beijing Futian Cemetery
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Spouses	Pei Minglun ​ (m. 1931⁠–⁠1931)​ Tang Na ​ (m. 1936⁠–⁠1937)​ Mao Zedong ​ ​ (m. 1938; died 1976)​
Children	Li Na
Criminal penalty	Death sentence with reprieve, later commuted to life imprisonment
Signature

Jiang Qing^{[a][note 1]} (March 1914 – 14 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party and Paramount leader of China. Jiang was best known for playing a major role in the Cultural Revolution as the leader of the radical Gang of Four.

Born into a declining family with an abusive father and a mother who worked as a domestic servant and sometimes a prostitute, Jiang Qing became a renowned actress in Shanghai, and later the wife of Mao Zedong in Yan'an, in the 1930s. In the 1940s, she worked as Mao Zedong's personal secretary, and during the 1950s, she headed the Film Section of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Appointed deputy director of the Central Cultural Revolution Group in 1966, Jiang played a pivotal role as Mao’s emissary during the early stages of the Cultural Revolution. Collaborating with Lin Biao, she advanced Mao’s ideology and promoted his cult of personality. Jiang wielded considerable influence over state affairs, particularly in culture and the arts. Propaganda posters idolised her as the "Great Flagbearer of the Proletarian Revolution." In 1969, she secured a seat on the Politburo, cementing her power.

Following Mao's death, she was soon arrested by Hua Guofeng and his allies in 1976. State media portrayed her as the "White-Boned Demon," and she was widely blamed for instigating the Cultural Revolution, a period of upheaval that caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Chinese people. Initially sentenced to death in a televised trial, Jiang's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1983. Released for medical treatment in the early 1990s, she committed suicide in May 1991.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).