User:Arilang1234/Draft/Comrade Chiang Ching

Comrade Chiang Ching is a biography of Jiang Qing written by Roxane Witke, a American sinologist and professor of history at the State University of New York, based on exclusive interviews granted to her in 1972, in which Jiang is described as " both sex symbol and potentate, movie actress and commissar".

Background

After conducting interviews with the wifes of Zhou Enlai and Zhu De in 1972, Witke interviewed Jian Qing, alledglly arranged by Zhou Enlai. After Witke returned to the USA, Beijing authority decided the Jiang Qing interview was a mistake, and offered generous "financial incentive" to discourage her from writing the book. Witke nonetheless went on to write and publish the book, which is described as:"the most intimate, detailed and complete English-language biography ever written about anyone in Peking's secretive, secluded leadership, except perhaps Mao himself."

Jiang Qing's personal life

Jiang Qing revealed to Witke that she enjoyed watching her own private collection of specially imported movies like Gone with the wind and western cowboy films, and through watching cowboy movies, she had come to the conclusion that it was "monopoly capitalist groups" that had annihilated the Red Indians on North America, a popular concept still held among many young Chinese netizens, using it to attack "American Imperialism".

Review

Donald S. Zagoria

Donald S. Zagoria of Foreignaffairs.com:"They disclose a power-hungry and completely unscrupulous "empress" engaging in sordid, Byzantine intrigues under the guise of purifying the "masses.""

Reference

Category:Biographical books