The story is begun with the description of Li parent’s wedding and their marriage which is described so beautiful, and traditional – an extremely old Chinese marriage and wedding. According to the author, he wants to give the readers a general idea about the life and the environment at that time, and to express the cruel life as well as the love his parents had to spend. Then the book is divided into three parts: My Childhood – Beijing –The West.
My Childhood recounts a very distinguished reality and genuine daily life in China during the 1970s. It was an innocent childhood of the author when all the things he can enjoy were some meat, some toys or a wild little bird! It was the time when the country was being turned upside down by the horrors, stupidities and tyranny of the so called Cultural Revolution. China which was described as a country that “you don’t have to lock your door at night”, and the people, especially the author were considered as a frog at the bottom of the well.
Part two – Beijing – is telling about a more distant horizon when he spent about 7 years studying and make interest in ballet. That is the place he made many of his lovely friends as well as the guidance, the great quality of his training and encouragements from his teacher and from this beautiful art. What Li most regrets about this time is “we squandered a lot of precious time on propaganda. We even stoped doing ballet classes for a few days because Mao had made a new saying and we had to study it over and over, chew it, regurgitate it – it’s incredible the amount time we wasted”.
Cunxin’s world became larger again when, as a young adult, he was given opportunity to travel to Houston to train with that city’s ballet company – Part three, The West – now he could see clearly that lies of the Chinese authorities were just that. A richer and freer world existed with infinitely greater artistic freedom. He was angry. He had been betrayed. This part includes his two marriages and also his life after several years away from home. And as time pass by, China itself mellowed as Deng Xiaoping gradually changed China from an introverted tyrannical state to something which was not totally free but certainly freer than China of that existed during the 1960s and 1970s.
The book is the true story of the author’s life which is considered as a vicissitudinous and a desirable life. From a peasant poor boy, and a true, faithful follower of the communist ideal to a dancer and then a defector, Li then became a prominent ballet star not only in the United States but also in the world. However, he did not get to be united with his parents until 1984. And in 1988, he and his wife, Mary were granted permission to go back to China – at last “Going home”.
The most moving scenes in this book for me was when Li left his home to go to Beijing, chapter Leaving Home and when Li’s parents were allowed to visit him in the USA six years after his defection. The last dinner at home and the morning he was leaving made my eyes misty. All the emotions and the mood that he felt were so natural, so soft and so truthful that reminded me to my feelings when I left Viet Nam to come here for studying. Obviously, I know his feelings were much more emotional than mine but his childish and innocent thoughts which are described so well touch my heart. The society as well as the lifestyle in his story is similar to Vietnam’s in several years after 1975, so when I read this book, I could imagine and capture the vibe of Qingdoa at that time personally even if I was only told from my parents and that make me more interesting in reading and understand Li’s circumstances and his reason for defection, especially the feeling of the small frog escaping from a dark well. As the author said that he did not want any other writers who had offered him to write about his life, because of his fears that they would not be able to express as truly and emotional as himself. He wants to write by his own to show his true feeling from the bottom of his heart.
In brief, Mao’s Last Dancer is not only a story of the author himself, but also a truly description about China’s society and people during the years of the Cultural Revolution until now. This is really a heartening rags-to-riches story of Li, an inside look through a young man's eyes in China under Mao. As his story was about courage, loss and challenge, it transported the readers into his experiences and aspirations. His delivery was powerful and effective and he certainly had the audience with him all the way, conquered, inspired and enriched.
Reference:
Mao's last dancer by Li Cunxin – Book Summary and Book Reviews, , 17/08/05
Li Cunxin – An interview with author, , 17/08/05
Li Cunxin, Dancer Magnificent,
, 17/08/05
Li Cunxin – An interview with author, , 17/08/05
Li Cunxin, Dancer Magnificent,
, 17/08/05
* Li Cunxin, Mao’s Last Dancer, New York : Putnam, 2003.