Synopses & Reviews
From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America and with an American woman. Two years later, through a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice.
Review
"[F]ull of rich details that give it emotional immediacy and power." San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
"[A] fascinating glimpse of the history of Chinese-U.S. relations and the dissolution of the Communist ideal in the life of one fortunate individual." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[C]oncerns not only a dancer's coming of age in a turbulent time but also individual strength, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit." Library Journal
Review
"Nicely written and humane: for anyone interested in modern Chinese history or for fans of dance." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Nicely written and humane: for anyone interested in modern Chinese history or for fans of dance." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
The extraordinary memoir of a peasant boy raised in rural Maoist China who was plucked from his village to study ballet and went on to become one of the greatest dancers of his generation.
From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America-and with an American woman. Two years later, through a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice.
THE BASIS FOR A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE"
About the Author
Li Cunxin has displayed the ultimate in perseverance and determination throughout his life from excelling in the grueling ballet training demanded by the Beijing Dance Academy to his 16 years as one of the premier dancers from the Houston Ballet to his latest career as a stockbroker and motivational speaker. He now lives in Australia and travels extensively around the world giving presentations. Visit his Web site at www.licunxin.com.
Table of Contents
Mao's Last Dancer A Wedding: Qingdao, 1946
Part One: My Childhood
1. Home
2. My Niang and Dia
3. A Commune Childhood
4. The Seven of Us
5. Na-na
6. Chairman Mao's Classroom
7. Leaving Home
Part Two: Beijing
8. Feather in a Whirlwind
9. The Caged Bird
10. That First Lonely Year
11. The Pen
12. My Own Voice
13. Teacher Xiao's Words
14. Turning Points
15. The Mango
16. Change
17. On the Way to the West
18. The Filthy Capitalist America
19. Good-bye, China
Part Three: The West
20. Return to the Land of Freedom
21. Elizabeth
22. Defection
23. My New Life
24. A Millet Dream Come True
25. No More Nightmares
26. Russia
27. Mary
28. Going Home
29. Back in My Village
30. Another Wedding: Qingdao, 1988
Postscript
The Li Family Tree
Acknowledgments