Written by Sha Yexin Genre history | Original language Chinese | |
Characters Jiang Qing
Mao Zedong
Tang Na
He Zizhen
Xiao Feng Setting Shanghai, 1935–1937
Yan'an, 1938
Mount Lu, 1959
Beijing, 1966–1980
(Dazhai, Shanxi, 1976) | ||
Jiang Qing and Her Husbands is a Chinese historical play written by Sha Yexin in 1990. The play follows Jiang Qing from a young actress in the 1930s to the most powerful Chinese woman in the 1970s, focusing on her relationships with the many men in her life including Mao Zedong. The play draws comparisons between Jiang Qing and one of her best-known acting roles, Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.
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Owing to its highly sensitive subject, the play was banned in both mainland China and British Hong Kong. In 2010, the play was adapted by Perry Chiu Experimental Theatre and premiered in Hong Kong's Sheung Wan Civic Centre in Cantonese. Starring Perry Chiu as Jiang Qing and produced by Chiu's husband Clifton Ko, the adaptation was also successfully performed in Canada, but actually differs in content from the original. The adaptation's English title is I Am Chairman Mao's Bitch!, which derives from a famous quote by Jiang Qing during her 1980 trial (and also featured in the play): "I was Chairman Mao's dog. When he told me to bite someone, I did it."