Jiang Qing Biography: Husband, Movies, Age, Death, Net Worth, Wikipedia, Height, Instagram

Li Shumeng, widely recognized as Jiang Qing, was prominent in China’s political and cultural history.

Born in March 1914 in Zhucheng, Shandong province, she began her career as an actress under the stage name Lan Ping.

In the 1960s, she played a pivotal role in the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).

Profile

• Full Name: Li Shumeng
• Stage Name: Jiang Qing
• Born: 19 March 1914
• Date of death: 14 May 1991 (Aged: 77 years old)
• Birthplace: Zhucheng, Shandong, China
• Nationality: Chinese
• Occupation: Actress and political figure
• Height: 1.66m
• Parent: Li Dewen
• Siblings: Li Ganqing, Li Yunlu
• Spouse: Tang Na (m. 1936–1937), and Mao Zedong (m. 1938–1976)
• Children: Li Na
• Relationship: Widowed
• Net Worth: Unknown

Early Life And Education

Li Shumeng was born on 19 March 1914 in Zhucheng, Shandong, China, as the only child of Li Dewen, a carpenter, and his concubine, whose name remains unknown.

Her early life was shaped by hardship and domestic abuse—her father was violent, and her much younger mother worked as a maid and, at times, resorted to prostitution to make ends meet.

While Jiang had no full siblings, she did have several half-siblings from her father’s other relationships, including Li Ganqing and Li Yunlu.

She began her education at a primary school in Zhucheng before moving to Jinan for her secondary schooling.

In 1931, she enrolled at National Qingdao University, where she pursued literature and drama. Though raised in a traditional setting, Jiang Qing was of Han Chinese ethnicity; she eventually adopted atheism.

Career

Jiang Qing began her professional career in the mid-1930s as an actress in Shanghai’s vibrant film and theater scene, performing under the stage name Lan Ping.

She earned acclaim for portraying Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. She appeared in several notable films, including Goddess of Freedom, Scenes of City Life, Blood on Wolf Mountain, and Lianhua Symphony.

However, her entertainment career was short-lived, as her personal life—marked by turbulent relationships and public scandals involving fellow actors and filmmakers—ultimately led to her dismissal from the Lianhua Film Company and the end of her acting pursuits.

Following the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1937, Jiang Qing left the city and joined the Communist resistance in Yan’an, where she began a relationship with Mao Zedong, whom she married in 1938.

Though initially sidelined from political activities, she gradually assumed more responsibility within the Communist Party, including serving as Mao’s secretary and later leading the Film Section of the CCP’s Publicity Department during the 1950s.

During this period, she began shaping cultural policies, especially in film and theater, laying the groundwork for her later influence over Chinese arts and propaganda.

Jiang Qing’s political prominence peaked during the Cultural Revolution, beginning in 1966, when she was appointed deputy director of the Central Cultural Revolution Group.

She was key in reshaping Chinese cultural life, advocating for Maoist ideals and promoting revolutionary operas while suppressing traditional and “bourgeois” artistic expressions.

As a member of the CCP Politburo and the influential “Gang of Four,” she held significant power until Mao died in 1976.

Shortly afterward, she was arrested, held responsible for many of the Cultural Revolution’s excesses, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Jiang Qing died by suicide in 1991 while still in custody.

Social Media

Li Shumeng does not have a social media account.

Personal Life

Jiang Qing became Mao Zedong’s fourth wife in 1938, following a contentious relationship that attracted criticism within the Communist Party, as Mao was still married.

The couple had one child, a daughter named Li Na, born in 1940. Before her marriage to Mao, Jiang Qing had been briefly married to Tang Na from 1936 to 1937 during her acting career in Shanghai, though she had no other known children.

Filmography

• Goddess of Freedom (1935) as Yu Yueying
• Scenes of City Life (1935) as Wang Junsheng’s girlfriend
• Blood on Wolf Mountain (1936) as Liu Sansao
• Lianhua Symphony (1937) as the Rickshaw puller’s wife
• Wang Laowu- as Young Girl Li, leading actress
• The Storm (stage production, 1937)

Net Worth

Jiang Qing did not possess a publicly documented personal net worth.

Her prominence and influence stemmed largely from her role as Mao Zedong’s wife and her political involvement within the Chinese Communist Party, particularly during the Cultural Revolution, when she emerged as a central figure in the Gang of Four.