Publication
Penguin Australia (2003), Edition: 1st, 445 pages
Description
This is the true story of how, by the thinnest thread of a chance, one moment in time changed the course of a small boy's life in ways that are beyond imagination. One day he would dance with some of the greatest ballet companies of the world. One day he would be a friend to a President and First Lady, movie stars and the most influential people in America. One day he would become a star: Mao's last dancer, and the darling of the West. Here is Li Cunxin's own story, a beautiful, rich account of an inspirational life, told with honesty, dignity and pride.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
An autobiography of Li Cunxin, one of the world’s best male ballet dancers.
Cunxin, a sensitive young boy from a very tightly woven and very poor community in rural China, is chosen at the age of eleven to go to Beijing and join Madame Mao Dance Academy based just on his good looks and his
Blame it on my communist background, but I loved this story. So many things I could relate to! Took me no time to read the 400 pages. I loved the style too. One could tell it was written in a second language with a great flare for storytelling.
Cunxin, a sensitive young boy from a very tightly woven and very poor community in rural China, is chosen at the age of eleven to go to Beijing and join Madame Mao Dance Academy based just on his good looks and his
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ability to learn. After an initial (two year long!) adjustment to the harsh conditions there and strict work ethics, he becomes an accomplished dancer, and is chosen as one of two students to go to the United States on a stipend. He finally defects and stays on in the United States, visiting China and re-uniting with his family many years later.Blame it on my communist background, but I loved this story. So many things I could relate to! Took me no time to read the 400 pages. I loved the style too. One could tell it was written in a second language with a great flare for storytelling.
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LibraryThing member xiWen
I still remember it as the first book I've read that made me really cry.
LibraryThing member itbgc
I consider this one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Li Cunxin tells a beautiful story of family love and sacrifice, struggling through dire poverty, and the results of hard work and perseverance. Once I started reading this book, I could hardly put it down.
LibraryThing member caddaye
Loved this book and found his whole life fascinating. A great cultural book that will keep the pages turning right to the end and yes there were definite tears...
LibraryThing member nur
The life of Li Cunxin is heart wrenching but satisfying read. To be seperated from his family at such an early age to have the opportunity to reach for his dreams of becoming a professional dancer and fulfilling those dreams. The hardship his family lived and the struggle Li went through to come
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out on top but unable to have a life with his family left me saddened. Show Less
LibraryThing member sandrajoan
I really liked reading this historical memoir of a man who reached succes during the time of Mao in China. I liked the relevant history as well as the personal story of success. It's a hefty book, but well worth it.
LibraryThing member broughtonhouse
I found this absolutely compelling reading: a story of struggle and personal achievement set against a background of brutal repression. Li Cunxin tells his own story of how he became one of the world's greatest dancers and the seemingly insurmountable problems he had to overcome to achieve his
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goal. Don't miss it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ceibhionn
Mao’s last dancer a book about the life of Cuxin li, a boy from china who gets picked and taken away from his family to go to the Beijing academy of dance. Reading this book I was fascinated about the way his life was at home in with his poverty stricken family living in a communist country and
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then how though it was at the academy. It was hard to imagine that life could be like that not to long ago. I really thought it was an amazing story about life, not only in china but about the life of a dancer (the life of a dancer in communist china) and how Cuxin had to work so hard and all the sacrifices he had to make to achieve his dreams. I could hardly put the book down. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who enjoys reading about real life people and the experiences they had and if you enjoy dance (ballet) because even though it is really hard to relate to the characters because there life is so different from ours you can kind of relate to the determination and love that Cuxin li has for dance. Show Less
LibraryThing member WinonaBaines
Fascinating to see how he managed to overcome his circumstances.
LibraryThing member Zed0401
What an incredible story. I loved every page of this book and just wanted to keep reading it. An amazing insight into a completely different culture and way of life. I adored the amazing little boy in this book and I found it completely enjoyable considering my very limited knowledge of ballet. A
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highly recommended, heart warming story. Show Less
LibraryThing member angelitamay
Looking forward to the movie!
LibraryThing member mthelibrarian
"Mao's Last Dancer" was terrific, engaging, and suspenseful from beginning to end. A large section of the beginning is devoted to Li's boyhood in rural China in a large, very poor, but very loving family of 7 boys. Li is selected to study ballet as part of Mao's program to include dancers from all
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walks of Chinese life. He really knows nothing about ballet in advance, but discusses the extensive rehearsals, his classmates and teachers, how much he missed home, etc. Eventually the story moves to Houston and elsewhere. There is an afterword providing updates on many of the key characters. It's a powerful "family trumps all" message and an amazing life story. Show Less
LibraryThing member autumnesf
I found this as a book on tape at the library and decided to listen to it in the car. My poor kids are always stuck listening to something -- and yet in the end they tell me to turn it on whenever they get in the car as it catches their attention. I didn't know anything about this book and just
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started listening to it. Probably a good thing as I wouldn't have picked it otherwise. The story is about a famous Chinese ballet dancer and his life. It is actually a rather good book and heartbreaking also. It is a good look at how hard it is to leave China and settle somewhere else. He ends up defecting while in America going to a dance college workshop. You also learn how this affects the people that sponsored him, his family left behind, and what it did to his soul. I am glad that I listened to it instead of reading it, as this gave it another deminsion to keep your interest. If you have a trip coming up, this would be worth checking out and listening to. Show Less
LibraryThing member DaptoLibrary
Winding up 2006 with our book club brought us to the biography, Mao's Last Dancer by Le Cunxin. This amazing story follows the poor peasant boy Li Cunxin through Mao's Red China to fame and fortune in the west as a world renowned ballet dancer.
This is the first biography our club has read
First of all, Joan was quick to point out that the writing of this book lacked passion, even though the story itself was fascinating. Most everyone agreed. We were all interested in what life was like for Cunxin and his family as peasants under Mao's communist regime, but the story and its characters were a little one dimensional, which, with a story such as this is not unusual. Cunxin is a dancer, not a writer.
Shirley brought up the question of the children's diet within Cunxin's commune and how they managed to be as healthy as they were. They seemed to have so little to eat but there was few references made to the degree of fatalities due to health issues. Did Cunxin purposely avoid this aspect, or was their diet really not so bad? In today's western society maybe we are made to believe we need more than we really do!
The strong family bond of the peasant Chinese was also mentioned, as was the Chinese culture itself and how these people accepted their fate. But without a doubt the strongest point this book brought to all of us was the form of brain-washing Mao's cultural revolution performed on its people, especially the children. We all found this appalling, and those of us who have read Wild Swans recoginised similar observations of this time in China. Tera was able to give us some first hand experiences of her visit to China in 1987, which helped to put this complex country and its people into even clearer perspective.
A few of us, myself included, felt that the hype this book received when first released put expectations a little high, but generally it was agreed that it is a worthwhile read that imparts remarkable knowledge of this time in China's history. And of course, at its core, it is a rags to riches fairy tale. Something none of us can resist!
This is the first biography our club has read
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together, so it was interesting to see what sort of discussion it provoked. Not as lively as some of our others, but noteworthy none-the-less.First of all, Joan was quick to point out that the writing of this book lacked passion, even though the story itself was fascinating. Most everyone agreed. We were all interested in what life was like for Cunxin and his family as peasants under Mao's communist regime, but the story and its characters were a little one dimensional, which, with a story such as this is not unusual. Cunxin is a dancer, not a writer.
Shirley brought up the question of the children's diet within Cunxin's commune and how they managed to be as healthy as they were. They seemed to have so little to eat but there was few references made to the degree of fatalities due to health issues. Did Cunxin purposely avoid this aspect, or was their diet really not so bad? In today's western society maybe we are made to believe we need more than we really do!
The strong family bond of the peasant Chinese was also mentioned, as was the Chinese culture itself and how these people accepted their fate. But without a doubt the strongest point this book brought to all of us was the form of brain-washing Mao's cultural revolution performed on its people, especially the children. We all found this appalling, and those of us who have read Wild Swans recoginised similar observations of this time in China. Tera was able to give us some first hand experiences of her visit to China in 1987, which helped to put this complex country and its people into even clearer perspective.
A few of us, myself included, felt that the hype this book received when first released put expectations a little high, but generally it was agreed that it is a worthwhile read that imparts remarkable knowledge of this time in China's history. And of course, at its core, it is a rags to riches fairy tale. Something none of us can resist!
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LibraryThing member PennyBrainerd
Very interesting account of growing up in China under Mao's rule. Read the book after seeing the movie, and was surprised at some of the things they changed. The movie made it seem like he never saw his family again after being taken to the ballet school in Beijing. But, not only did he see his
It is amazing that people actually survived with little or no food and primitive shelter. The land they were given to farm barely eked out anything they tried to grow, and could be taken away from them by the government. Truly horrific, but he found joy by his surrounding family.
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family almost every year, but his parents were allowed to come to the US for many months at a time once Mao died and a new Open Door Policy began. Li could not return to China for many years after that, but he finally was able to go back and take his wife Mary with him to see where he grew up.It is amazing that people actually survived with little or no food and primitive shelter. The land they were given to farm barely eked out anything they tried to grow, and could be taken away from them by the government. Truly horrific, but he found joy by his surrounding family.
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LibraryThing member Mercury57
This is a tremendous book for anyone who wants to understand life in the dying days of Mao's regime in China. Li Cunxin's story is one of hardship and poverty which, through sheer effort of will and a few lucky breaks, becomes one of freedom and fame. It's told with engaging honesty as Cunxin comes
Highly recommended.
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to realise that everything he has been taught to believe in by the Mao regime is based on a lie. Through it, he questions the essence of Marxism and the future of his country. But though the political context is critical to his story, it never dominates because first and foremost this is a story about one man and his ambition to rise to the top of his chosen profession. At times it's a painful story as Cunxin endures physical and mental anquish but its balanced by the strength of affection and love given first by his parents in China and then by his second family in the ballet world. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member aryadeschain
If you're looking for a good book with an overall view of the real Chinese culture, well, this is the one. It's basically the story of a Chinese boy who lived in a really poor village during Mao Tse-Tung's dictatorship, the difficulties through which he and his family have been through and how, one
Important aspects of the Chinese culture are strongly emphasized in this book: traditions and habits, the importance of the family's bonds, the Chinese education, their thoughts about Mao's communism and the shock between different cultures. All of it told in an easy-to-read, and at the same time touching style. Definitely worth reading.
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day, his luck changed and he got the opportunity to have dance classes.Important aspects of the Chinese culture are strongly emphasized in this book: traditions and habits, the importance of the family's bonds, the Chinese education, their thoughts about Mao's communism and the shock between different cultures. All of it told in an easy-to-read, and at the same time touching style. Definitely worth reading.
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LibraryThing member KamGeb
A very interesting book about a young peasant boy who is chosen to go to Madam Mao's dance school and eventually becomes a principle dancer in the US. The most interesting thing is the first hand account of what it was like to grow up in Communist China: the lack of food, the children's attitudes
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towards Mao, and the Chinese value system. Show Less
LibraryThing member morningwalker
This is author, Li Cunxin's memoir of growing up in communist China during the communist revolution of Chairman and Madame Mao. It is an extraordinary tale of his poverty stricken life and his rise above it by being accepted at the age of 11 into Madame Mao's dance academy and defecting to the
Because his age is close to my own I couldn't help comparing his early years to my own as a person living in a free country. It was incomprehensible to imagine the lifestyle he endured as a communist as compared to mine as a person living in a free society. I was by no means living in luxury during my childhood but can now appreciate the simple freedoms I had as compared to his during that time.
A story well told and well worth reading to encourage hope and courage when neither seem attainable.
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United States at the height of his ballet career.Because his age is close to my own I couldn't help comparing his early years to my own as a person living in a free country. It was incomprehensible to imagine the lifestyle he endured as a communist as compared to mine as a person living in a free society. I was by no means living in luxury during my childhood but can now appreciate the simple freedoms I had as compared to his during that time.
A story well told and well worth reading to encourage hope and courage when neither seem attainable.
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LibraryThing member Limelite
When people talk about the lives of the famous, they often describe them as "extraordinary." Yet that descriptor is overused to the point when it hardly has any meaning now. But extraordinary seems inadequate to characterize the life of Li Cunxin, a member of the last class of China's ballet
In this autobiography, Li describes his youth as one of seven brothers, living in poverty unimaginable to Western readers. In spite of a subsistence diet during famine years of dried yams; in spite of outdoor privy; in spite of sharing a mud sleeping platform with his entire family, Li's lived surrounded with love and warm security.
At 11 he was selected to attend Mdme Mao's Dance Academy outside Beijing in spite of having never danced and having received such a rudimentary education (begun at age 10) that he could barely read and knew little other than the sayings of Chairman Mao. The conditions at the school were barely above those of his home commune, and Li experienced devastating homesickness. But he was determined to be the "frog who escaped the well," as his father had instructed him in a Chinese folk tale.
When still a teen his life's course changed forever when he was one of two dancers sent by the government to study with the Houston ballet in a cultural exchange program for a month. The artistry, freedom of expression, and his witness to the truth about America as opposed to the Maoist propaganda he'd known that bore no resemblance to the facts affected him profoundly. He would never be satisfied with the regimentation and restriction to his individuality again.
From his return to China until the day he left it once more to return to the Houston Ballet, Li fought for freedom and won it when he defected.
Without maudlin sentimentality but true and raw emotion, Li tells of the sacrifices, privations, and discipline he willing bore to find self-fulfillment in the West even when it meant ostracization from China and contact with his family for many years.
Li reveals a special kind of courage and mettle few men can summon for so long as he persisted in pursuing a life that allows him to fully live. He writes with a certain naivete and naked honesty that makes this book a compelling read about a truly extraordinary man.
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students trained in the Mao era.In this autobiography, Li describes his youth as one of seven brothers, living in poverty unimaginable to Western readers. In spite of a subsistence diet during famine years of dried yams; in spite of outdoor privy; in spite of sharing a mud sleeping platform with his entire family, Li's lived surrounded with love and warm security.
At 11 he was selected to attend Mdme Mao's Dance Academy outside Beijing in spite of having never danced and having received such a rudimentary education (begun at age 10) that he could barely read and knew little other than the sayings of Chairman Mao. The conditions at the school were barely above those of his home commune, and Li experienced devastating homesickness. But he was determined to be the "frog who escaped the well," as his father had instructed him in a Chinese folk tale.
When still a teen his life's course changed forever when he was one of two dancers sent by the government to study with the Houston ballet in a cultural exchange program for a month. The artistry, freedom of expression, and his witness to the truth about America as opposed to the Maoist propaganda he'd known that bore no resemblance to the facts affected him profoundly. He would never be satisfied with the regimentation and restriction to his individuality again.
From his return to China until the day he left it once more to return to the Houston Ballet, Li fought for freedom and won it when he defected.
Without maudlin sentimentality but true and raw emotion, Li tells of the sacrifices, privations, and discipline he willing bore to find self-fulfillment in the West even when it meant ostracization from China and contact with his family for many years.
Li reveals a special kind of courage and mettle few men can summon for so long as he persisted in pursuing a life that allows him to fully live. He writes with a certain naivete and naked honesty that makes this book a compelling read about a truly extraordinary man.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Erratic_Charmer
Li Cunxin was born into desperate poverty, the sixth of seven sons in a Chinese peasant family in Mao's China in the 1960s. At age 11 he was selected to attend Madame Mao's dance academy in Beijing. This autobiography describes the circumstances of his growing up in Qingdao, the harsh training at
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the dance academy, his eventual international recognition achieved through his determination and growing love of ballet, and his escape to America in the early 1980s. Li's life story is an amazing one, highlighted by both luck and tremendous hard work. The pacing of the book is a little slow at times but the almost-unbelievable twists and turns of fate combined with Li's naivete, humility, good humour, and great love for his family and teachers make it well worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
I enjoyed this story of the life of a young boy who becomes a world-famous dancer. This isn't great writing, but it's not bad and the story is gripping. At age 11, Li Cunxin is chosen to attend Madam Mao's dance school. He becomes an excellent dancer and defects to the US as a young man.
I wonder
Worth reading. And find clips of Li dancing on line -- he really is amazing.
I wonder
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how typical his story is. He is able to send money to his family and return to visit them several times. His parents are even allowed to visit him in the U.S. I think his high international profile afforded him and his family some privileges that other defectors and their families would not have access to. Worth reading. And find clips of Li dancing on line -- he really is amazing.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I really enjoyed this memoir. Li Cunxin was the sixth son born to a very poor Chinese peasant family. Then one day his luck changed. People from Madame Mao's Beijing Ballet School came to his village looking for likely candidates for their school. They almost left without selecting Cunxin but his
Although Cunxin had been a loyal Maoist when he got to the USA he realized he had been told many lies about capitolism. After the summer school he was able to return for a year's residency. Only 19 years old he fell in love with a fellow dancer and they got married. Cunxin then defected to the US. For many years he was not allowed to return to China but his parents were given visas to visit him. In a very moving passage they enter the theatre where Cunxin is waiting to perform.
I learned a lot about life in China under Mao and I also realized there was a profound shift when Deng Xio Peng took over. According to the author there is much more freedom now and his family has quite a good life. I was disappointed that he didn't say anything about Tianamen Square but perhaps he felt he would endanger his family who still live in China.
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teacher said to them "What about that one?" He passed their initial flexibility tests and was chosen to learn ballet. Far away from home and hating the lessons Cunxin nevertheless realized that he was lucky because the food was plentiful. After the first year he applied himself and became a very good dancer. So good he was chosen by a choreographer from the Houston Ballet to come for special classes in Houston.Although Cunxin had been a loyal Maoist when he got to the USA he realized he had been told many lies about capitolism. After the summer school he was able to return for a year's residency. Only 19 years old he fell in love with a fellow dancer and they got married. Cunxin then defected to the US. For many years he was not allowed to return to China but his parents were given visas to visit him. In a very moving passage they enter the theatre where Cunxin is waiting to perform.
I learned a lot about life in China under Mao and I also realized there was a profound shift when Deng Xio Peng took over. According to the author there is much more freedom now and his family has quite a good life. I was disappointed that he didn't say anything about Tianamen Square but perhaps he felt he would endanger his family who still live in China.
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LibraryThing member leah152
This book is so good, so inspiring.
The story follows Li Cunxin's journey from desperately poor peasant boy to the darling of the west as he is chosen from among hundreds of children to join Madame Mao's dance school and learn the artform of ballet.
Despite the subject matter, I loved this story.
Anyone who is in the depths of despair should read this book. You'll feel instantly better (& you'll never look at a sweet potato the same way again)
The story follows Li Cunxin's journey from desperately poor peasant boy to the darling of the west as he is chosen from among hundreds of children to join Madame Mao's dance school and learn the artform of ballet.
Despite the subject matter, I loved this story.
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Cunxin is a natural born story teller. It goes along at it's own pace but it's never boring or repetitive. There wasn't anything I really disliked about this book except the sadness the circumstances evoked. Some of the stories Cunxin told are absoloutely hilarious (it'll take me a while before I can see a muffin as food!) Anyone who is in the depths of despair should read this book. You'll feel instantly better (& you'll never look at a sweet potato the same way again)
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Subjects
Awards
Christopher Award (2005)
Nib Literary Award (Shortlist — 2004)
BookPeople Booksellers' Choice Award (Winner — 2003)
Whitcoulls Top 100 Books (95 — 2008)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003
ISBN
9780670040247
Other editions
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin (Paperback)