Anchee Min
Anchee Min is a Chinese-American author born in Shanghai, who has navigated the complexities of life under Communist rule in China. Growing up during the political upheaval under Mao Zedong, Min's early experiences included severe family hardships and mandatory participation in the Red Guards, where she faced moral dilemmas, such as denouncing her beloved teacher. At seventeen, she was sent to a collective farm, where she confronted the harsh realities of political and personal oppression, including the risks of a clandestine love affair with a fellow worker. Min's journey took a dramatic turn when she auditioned for a lead role in a Communist propaganda film, which introduced her to the ruthless world of the Shanghai film industry overseen by Jiang Qing, Mao's wife.
After facing political challenges and a demotion within the industry, she emigrated to the United States in 1984, where she furthered her education and pursued a writing career. Min's acclaimed works, including her autobiography *Red Azalea*, explore themes of sexuality and personal freedom as metaphors for political liberation, reflecting her unique perspective on the intersection of individual and societal struggles. She has also authored several historical novels that delve into significant figures in Chinese history, enriching the understanding of cultural narratives. Through her writing, Min offers insights into her past and the broader implications of freedom and identity.
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Subject Terms
Anchee Min
Writer
- Born: January 14, 1957
- Birthplace: Shanghai, China
Author Profile
Writer. Born in Shanghai, Anchee Min experienced the political turmoil of Communist China under Mao Zedong from an early age. During her childhood, Min’s family was forced to move into a series of shabby apartments while her parents were demoted from their teaching positions to become factory workers. Min joined the Red Guards in elementary school and underwent a wrenching introduction to political survival when she was forced to denounce her favorite teacher as a Western spy.
Min’s major experience with the clash between personal and political needs came at seventeen when she was assigned to an enormous collective farm. Forced to live as a farmer in order to be a “true” revolutionary, Min witnessed the destruction of a friend whose relationship with a man led to her madness and his death. Min therefore knew the danger she faced when she fell in love with the leader of her work force, the charismatic Yan. The two eventually began a sexual relationship that violated the strictures against premarital sex and committed the “counterrevolutionary crime” of lesbianism.
Fighting to maintain her relationship with Yan and survive the brutal life on the farm, Min received an unexpected respite when she was chosen to audition for the lead in a Communist propaganda film being produced in Shanghai. This move thrust her into an even more ruthless environment. The Shanghai film industry was overseen by Jiang Qing, Mao's wife and a revolutionary zealot in her own right. Min was rescued through her relationship with the enigmatic “Supervisor,” the film’s producer, who became Min’s lover and protector. Min’s deliverance, however, was short-lived. Qing’s removal from power in 1976 brought about the political downfall of those associated with her. The Supervisor was able to save Min from returning to the collective farm, but he was unable to keep her from being demoted to a menial position within the film studio.
Faced with an uncertain future and continued repression, Min accepted an offer from the actress Joan Chen, a fellow film student in Shanghai, to emigrate to the United States, arriving in 1984. While learning English, she worked at a variety of jobs and received a master of fine arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990.
The great strength of Min’s 1994 autobiography, Red Azalea, is its combination of frank narrative and lyrical description. Linking the personal and the political, Min uses sexuality in her writing as a metaphor for the individual’s hunger for connection; sexual freedom thus indicates political freedom, and sexual expression becomes a revolutionary act. She has published several historical novels, including Becoming Madame Mao (2001), about Jiang Qing; The Last Empress (2007), about Empress Dowager Cixi; and Pearl of China (2010), based on the life of Pearl S. Buck. She published a memoir, The Cooked Seed: A Memoir, in 2013, outlining her experience from a Chinese labor camp to living in the United States.
Bibliography
Jolly, Margaretta. “Coming out of the Coming Out Story: Writing Queer Lives.” Sexualities, vol. 4, no. 4, Nov. 2001, pp. 474–496. doi.org/10.1177/136346001004004. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.
Min, Anchee. “Anchee Min: After the Revolution.” Interview by Roxane Farmanfarmaian. Publishers Weekly, 5 June 2000, www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/39698-pw-anchee-min-after-the-revolution.html. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.
Quan, Shirley. Rev. of Becoming Madame Mao, by Anchee Min. Library Journal, 15 Mar. 2000.
Scott, A. O. “The Re-education of Anchee Min.” New York Times Magazine, 18 June 2000, www.nytimes.com/2000/06/18/magazine/the-re-education-of-anchee-min.html. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.
Seaman, Donna. Rev. of Katherine, by Anchee Min. Booklist, 1 Apr. 1995. p. 1378.
Steinitz, Rebecca. "Speaking for China." Women's Review of Books, vol. 28, no. 1, 2011, pp. 19–20.
Xu, Wenying. “Agency via Guilt in Anchee Min’s Red Azalea.” MELUS, vol. 25, no. 3-4, 2000, pp. 203–219. doi.org/10.2307/468243. Accessed 16 Apr. 2023.