Mao Last Dancer Young Readers' Edition (Audible Audio Edition) Li Cunxin Paul English Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books
Download As PDF : Mao Last Dancer Young Readers' Edition (Audible Audio Edition) Li Cunxin Paul English Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books
One day, not so very many years ago, a small peasant boy was chosen to study ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy. His mother urged him to take this chance of a lifetime. But Li was only eleven years old and he was scared and lonely, pushed away from all that he had ever known and loved. He hated the strict training routines and the strange place he had been brought to. All he wanted to do was go home - to his mother, father, and six brothers, to his own small village. But soon Li realised that his mother was right. He had the chance to do something special with his life - and he never turned back.
Mao Last Dancer Young Readers' Edition (Audible Audio Edition) Li Cunxin Paul English Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books
At the beginning of the book, he writes it from a young child's perspective and as he grows older, you see him develop into a man. I could relate to his story since I was adopted from India. I cried when he finally returned to China because I, too, felt the same happiness and sadness. I traveled to China in 1982 and saw the poverty that these people lived in and even came upon a woman with bound feet. Li really goes into detail of the poverty his family faced on a daily bases under Mao's rule and how he brainwashed the younger generation to believe in his philosophy. The older generation weren't gullible but were forced to comply. I watched one of Li's videos on Youtube and from listening to him speak, you feel the humility in this man even though he is a successful dancer and business man.Product details
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Mao Last Dancer Young Readers' Edition (Audible Audio Edition) Li Cunxin Paul English Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books Reviews
This is a wonderful book, Li Cunxin's struggle against impossible odds to go from a life of abject poverty to become a great ballet dancer. As a writer, Li has a great ability to portray and convey how a given experience feels, whether his life as a small boy, dance school in Beijing, his defection in Houston, his unsuccessful first marriage, his growth and success as a world class ballet dancer. My only criticism is that towards the end of his book Li's successes seem unending. He is not only a great dancer, but a perfect father, husband, stockbroker etc. But, given Li's drive and resilience, perhaps that was inevitable. In the end, it is a worthy book to read.
Mao's Last Dancer, the autobiography of Li Cunxin, is told in a simple, straightforward manner, principally because English is not the author's native language. This fact shouldn't deter anyone from reading this moving account of a Chinese peasant boy's rise to fame as a ballet dancer and subsequent defection to the West.
Plucked from the abject poverty of his large family by Mao's cultural warriors, Li is chosen to be a ballet dancer, primarily because he didn't scream when his tendons and ligaments were torn to test his flexibility. Although an unpromising student at first, he gradually improves and forms bonds with some of his teachers. Eventually he is allowed to travel to the United States and perform with the Houston Ballet. After returning home to China, he wangles a second visit to the States, becomes a star in the ballet company, secretly marries, and defects.
There are many enlightening details in Li's narrative--the harsh life and near starvation existence of his childhood; the constant barrage of communist propaganda that he's exposed to as he's growing up; the overwhelming contrast of teeming Bejing, where he is schooled, to the rural squalor of his beloved home; and his astonishment at the "truth" of the West, which exposes Mao's teachings for what they are--lies.
He feels guilty for abandoning his family and putting them at risk for retaliation by the Chinese government because of his defection. However, his parents, especially his mother, always wanted what was best for him--and that turned out to be escape. One could argue that the Chinese had trained him and given him the opportunity to achieve fame and fortune and that he responded with ingratitude. But he was always a pawn of the state, selected to perform in ballets long on propaganda and short on artistic merit.
I think that this story would make profitable reading for older children and teens as well as adults.
I just finished this book, and picked it because I have visited China and had so many horrible and questionable things about when Mao was Chairman of China. This is a true story written by the main character, Li, a poor pheasant of a close family of 7 boys. It's amazing how poor the pheasants were during Mao's rule and what they did to survive. Very fortunately for Li, because of his body type, he was picked to go to the main Chinese ballet dance academy in Beijing at 11 years old. He was so young and homesick for two years, then really got into his dance with classes each day for 7 years. Li gets an opportunity to visit the Houston Ballet and sees how Americans are free and not the evil propaganda of the west that Chairman Mao brainwashed everyone in China to believe. Li falls in love in Houston, defects, divorces, remarries and has raises a family in Australia. He remains close to his big family and travels to China often and sees how China changes after Chairman Mao leaves office. The history involved in this book along with the juxtaposition of Li's personal life by this very good writer makes this for an amazing book! One I will always remember.
This is the inspirational tale of a boy/man who trains as a dancer in China under Mao’s communist regime. Told in a straight-forward, unembellished style, it presents countless fascinating details of daily life and relationships that present a vivid picture of what the author experiences. The account is especially moving because it offers insight into the lovable character of people once considered enemies by the United States. Li’s peasant family endures brutal hardship, working long hours every day, suffering extremes of weather and lack of food, and yet they are quite resigned and able to enjoy each other and the good they have. Even the broader community seems to rejoice with Li’s successes rather than wallow in self-pity or envy. The story evokes sympathy for people who suffer under communism, but are also vulnerable to official propaganda, as we all are.
At the beginning of the book, he writes it from a young child's perspective and as he grows older, you see him develop into a man. I could relate to his story since I was adopted from India. I cried when he finally returned to China because I, too, felt the same happiness and sadness. I traveled to China in 1982 and saw the poverty that these people lived in and even came upon a woman with bound feet. Li really goes into detail of the poverty his family faced on a daily bases under Mao's rule and how he brainwashed the younger generation to believe in his philosophy. The older generation weren't gullible but were forced to comply. I watched one of Li's videos on Youtube and from listening to him speak, you feel the humility in this man even though he is a successful dancer and business man.
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