Editing Jiang Qing (section)

{{short description|Chinese political figure and wife of Mao Zedong (1914–1991)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Family name hatnote|[[Jiāng (surname 江)|Jiang]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Jiang Qing
| native_name         = {{nobold|江青}}
| native_name_lang    = zh
| image               = Jiang Qing 1976.jpg
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = Jiang in 1976
| order               = Spouse of the [[paramount leader]] of [[China]]
| term_start          = 1 October 1949
| term_end            = 9 September 1976
| leader              = [[Mao Zedong]] ([[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|party chairman]])
| successor           = [[Han Zhijun]]
| order1              = [[Spouse of the President of the People's Republic of China|Spouse of the President of China]]
| term_start1         = 27 September 1954
| term_end1           = 27 April 1959
| president1          = [[Mao Zedong]]
| successor1          = [[Wang Guangmei]]
| party               = [[Chinese Communist Party]]
| blank1              = Criminal penalty
| data1               = [[Death sentence with reprieve]], later commuted to [[life imprisonment]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date text|March 1914}}
| birth_place         = [[Zhucheng]], [[Shandong]], [[Republic of China (1912–49)|China]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|1991|5|14|1914|3|19}}
| death_place         = [[Beijing]], China
| death_cause         = [[Suicide by hanging]]
| resting_place       = Beijing Futian Cemetery
| birthname           = Li Shumeng or Li Jinhai
| spouse              = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Pei Minglun|1931|1931}}|{{marriage|[[Tang Na]]|1936|1937}}|{{marriage|[[Mao Zedong]]|20 November 1938|9 September 1976|end=[[Death and state funeral of Mao Zedong|died]]}}}}
| children            = [[Li Na (daughter of Mao Zedong)|Li Na]]
| signature           = Signature of Jiang Qing, October 10, 1966.jpg
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| c = 江青
| p = Jiāng Qīng
| w = Chiang<sup>1</sup> Ch'ing<sup>1</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|j|iang|1|-|q|ing|1}}
}}

'''Jiang Qing'''{{efn|{{lang-zh|s=江青|p=Jiāng Qīng|w=chiang ch'ing}}}}{{Notetag|Jiang Qing is a common name of this topic, but she had various names in her life. Please read [[#Names|Names]] section for details.}} (March 1914{{spaced ndash}}14 May 1991), also known as '''Madame Mao''', was a Chinese [[communist]] [[revolutionary]], actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of [[Mao Zedong]], the [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|Chairman of the Communist Party]] and [[Paramount leader]] of [[China]]. Jiang was best known for playing a major role in the [[Cultural Revolution]] as the leader of the radical [[Gang of Four]].

Born into a declining family with an [[Domestic violence|abusive]] father and a mother who worked as a [[Domestic worker|domestic servant]] and sometimes a [[Prostitution|prostitute]], Jiang Qing became a renowned [[Actor|actress]] in [[Shanghai]], and later the wife of Mao Zedong in [[Yan'an]], in the 1930s. In the 1940s, she worked as Mao Zedong's [[Personal assistant|personal secretary]], and during the 1950s, she headed the Film Section of the [[Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party|Publicity Department]] of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP).

Appointed deputy director of the [[Central Cultural Revolution Group]] in 1966, Jiang played a pivotal role as Mao's emissary during the early stages of the [[Cultural Revolution]]. Collaborating with [[Lin Biao]], she advanced Mao's ideology and promoted [[Mao Zedong's cult of personality|his cult of personality]]. Jiang wielded considerable influence over state affairs, particularly in culture and the arts. Propaganda posters [[Idolatry|idolised]] her as the "Great Flagbearer of the [[Proletarian revolution|Proletarian Revolution]]." In 1969, she secured a seat on the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|Politburo]], cementing her power.

Following Mao's death, she was soon [[Smashing the Gang of Four|arrested]] by [[Hua Guofeng]] and his allies in 1976. [[State media]] portrayed her as the "[[Baigujing|White-Boned Demon]]," and she was widely blamed for instigating the Cultural Revolution, a period of upheaval that caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Chinese people. Initially sentenced to [[Death sentence with reprieve|death with a two-year reprieve]] in a [[televised trial]], Jiang's sentence was [[Death sentence with reprieve|commuted]] to [[life imprisonment]] in 1983. [[Medical parole|Released for medical treatment]] in the early 1990s, she committed [[suicide]] in May 1991.