Chiang Ch'ing

In any case, Act II catapults from the real to the surreal when we reach the Nixons’ night at Chiang Ch’ing’s high-voltage ballet.

“Chiang Ch’ing was an actress before she met Mao,” she said recently.

The ubiquitous presence of these uniquely Chinese ideological weapons�wall posters�testified to the relentless campaign being carried out by party leaders against Chiang Ch'ing, the widow of Mao Tse-tung.

According to People's Daily, the "principles laid down" citation was concocted to indicate that only Chiang Ch'ing and her supporters were licensed to interpret Mao's instructions, thus becoming the sole guardians of his heritage.

Chiang Ch'ing had aspired to nothing less than the party chairmanship.