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About Mao's Last Dancer
Product Description THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERThe 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 Review “[A] fascinating memoir…told simply but passionately, with subtle humor and unguarded emotion.”— The Houston Chronicle “Mix Billy Elliot with Torn Curtain and you’ll have some of the tale in very broad outline…well-paced…full of adventures.”— Kirkus Reviews “Fascinating reading…unfolds with honesty, humor, and a quiet dignity. This book has wide appeal, for it concerns 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 “The facts of his life are astonishing on their own, but what makes Li Cunxin’s engrossing autobiography so captivating is his enthusiastic retelling of every twist and turn.”— Vogue (Australia) About the Author Li Cunxin was born in a small village near the city of Qingdao, in northern China. At eighteen, he was selected to perform at the Houston Ballet, which led to a dramatic defection to the United States. He has performed as a soloist with the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication PART ONE - MY CHILDHOOD Chapter 1 - HOME Chapter 2 - MY NIANG AND DIA Chapter 3 - A COMMUNE CHILDHOOD Chapter 4 - THE SEVEN OF US Chapter 5 - NA-NA Chapter 6 - CHAIRMAN MAO’S CLASSROOM Chapter 7 - LEAVING HOME PART TWO - BEIJING Chapter 8 - FEATHER IN A WHIRLWIND Chapter 9 - THE CAGED BIRD Chapter 10 - THAT FIRST LONELY YEAR Chapter 11 - THE PEN Chapter 12 - MY OWN VOICE Chapter 13 - TEACHER XIAO’S WORDS Chapter 14 - TURNING POINTS Chapter 15 - THE MANGO Chapter 16 - CHANGE Chapter 17 - ON THE WAY TO THE WEST Chapter 18 - THE FILTHY CAPITALIST AMERICA Chapter 19 - GOOD-BYE, CHINA PART THREE - THE WEST Chapter 20 - RETURN TO THE LAND OF FREEDOM Chapter 21 - ELIZABETH Chapter 22 - DEFECTION Chapter 23 - MY NEW LIFE Chapter 24 - A MILLET DREAM COME TRUE Chapter 25 - NO MORE NIGHTMARES Chapter 26 - RUSSIA Chapter 27 - MARY Chapter 28 - GOING HOME Chapter 29 - BACK IN MY VILLAGE Chapter 30 - ANOTHER WEDDING AFTERWORD TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION PART FOUR - MY STORY CONTINUES Chapter 31 - KEEPING HEARTS WARM Chapter 32 - “NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE” Chapter 33 - PAPER WISHES Acknowledgements DISCUSSION GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS ABOUT THE AUTHOR “Li’s well-paced account of the ensuing cloak-and-dagger episodes that lead to his defection to the West adds suspense to a tale already full of adventures, but there are no conventional bad guys to be found in it. Indeed, he writes with fine compassion for the Chinese consul who attempts to dissuade him from becoming an outcast: ‘unlike me, he had to go back and would probably never manage to get out again.’ Nicely written and humane: for anyone interested in modern Chinese history or for fans of dance.” —Kirkus Reviews “Honest and refreshing.” —Adeline Yen Mah, author of Falling Leaves “A moving, true story of family love and a boy’s great courage on his journey from terrible poverty to the world stage—one of the books of the year.” —Women’s Weekl
