Ben stevenson bruce greenwood arrives on a cultural mission. When li cunxin was a boy in china during maos cultural revolution, he was. Maos last dancer is the autobiography of li cunxin. This fact shouldnt deter anyone from reading this moving account of a chinese peasant boys rise to fame as a ballet dancer and subsequent defection to the west. Maos last dancer a teachers notes penguin books australia. A great insight into china and how families were effected after the cultural revolution. In my book maos last revolution i try to show that the cultural revolution wasnt a. Raised in a desperately poor village during the height of chinas cultural revolution, li cunxins childhood revolved around the commune, his family and. Cao chi, australian ballet dancer chengwu guo chinese. During the cultural revolution 1966 1976 chairman maos red guards.
Maos last dancer is an autobiography of li cunxins life meaning that everything that happened in the book is completely real. Selected almost through happenstance to attend the beijing dance academy, lis talent. Li cunxin is portrayed by birmingham royal ballet principal dancer chi cao simplified chinese. In my opinion, i think this makes the story even more compelling, heartbreaking, and moving.
At the age of eleven, li cunxin was one of the privileged few selected to serve in chairman maos cultural revolution by studying at the beijing dance academy. Much more than his very lovely picturebook biography, dancing to freedom. Goodreads members who liked mao s last dancer also liked. Souvenirs depicting president xi jinping and mao zedong on display in a shop in beijing. The young reader edition of the international bestseller. From him being destined to be a peasant boy working out in the fields to a worldfamous professional dancer. Maos last dancer by li cunxin 9780143574323 dymocks. Walker childrens 0 1 0 summary the young reader edition of the international bestseller. This picture book version of maos last dancer is notable for its beautiful. At age 11, li was chosen by madame maos cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to beijing, where he would study.
At the age of eleven, li cunxin was one of the privileged few selected to serve in chairman mao s cultural revolution by studying at the beijing dance academy. It was 1972, the height of maos cultural revolution, and an entire nation. The story takes place in rural china during the cultural revolution that happened from 1966 to 1976. But that day, some strange men come to his school madame maos cultural delegates.
Li cunxin, born in 1961 in qingdao, china, is known as mao s last dancer because he was discovered as a ballet dancer during the cultural revolution launched by mao zedong 1893 1976. Mao s last dancer, the autobiography of li cunxin, is told in a simple, straightforward manner, principally because english is not the authors native language. Further explanation of the peoples co mmunes and t he cultural revolution. Mao s last dancer is a 2009 australian film based on professional dancer li cunxins autobiography of the same name. In rural china, he and his family had lived through extreme poverty with few opportunities to escape. Find books like mao s last dancer from the worlds largest community of readers.