Considered one of the most powerful women in China’s history, Jiang Qing (19 March 1914 – 14 May 1991) began acting at the age of 18. Using the stage name Lán Píng, she appeared in numerous films and plays and married the actor/director Tang Na in 1935. A public scandal erupted in 1937 when Jiang moved in with Zhang Min, a married man who led a theatrical troupe. Tang Na attempted suicide twice before the couple’s divorce in 1937.
In August 1938, she became secretary of the archives of the Communist party's Military Commission, placing her in close proximity to 44-year-old Mao Zedong. Mao was divorcing his wife, and he and the 24-year-old Jiang soon began living together and by late 1938 she announced that she was pregnant.
In April 1969, Jiang became the first woman ever elected to the 21-member Politbureau, and as Mao’s health deteriorated in the 1970s, she exerted more control. When Mao died in September 1976, Jiang Qing and 3 others (the Gang of Four) tried to maintain control over China and on 5 October formally announced that Jiang should be named party chair. The Gang of Four was arrested the next day. The Chinese media began referring to Jiang as the “White-boned Demon.”
The Gang of Four were put on trial and convicted. Jiang received a suspended death sentence. She was released from prison in 1988 and placed under house arrest. Diagnosed with throat cancer in early 1991, the 77-year-old Jiang Qing hanged herself in her hospital room on 14 May 1991. Her obituary in the Chinese media made no mention of her political status, or that she was ever married to Chairman Mao.
