Editing Jiang Qing (section)

=== Beijing and Moscow ===
{{Blockquote|text=Sex is engaging in the first rounds; what sustains interest in the long run is power.|author=Jiang Qing<ref name="time quote"/>|title=|source=}}

==== First Lady ====
After the founding of the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, Jiang Qing became the nation's first lady.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=226|pp=}} However, her role was concealed from the general public in China or beyond throughout the 1950s.{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=|p=235}} During the 1950s, Jiang Qing left a generally favourable impression on those who interacted with her.<ref name=":6" /> In 1949, after [[Soong Ching-ling]] attended the founding ceremony in Beijing and returned to Shanghai, Mao Zedong sent Jiang Qing to see her off at the train station. It is said that Soong later remarked that Jiang was "polite and likeable." In 1956, Soong hosted [[President of Indonesia|Indonesian President]] [[Sukarno]] at a banquet in Shanghai, where Jiang and [[Liu Shaoqi]]’s wife, [[Wang Guangmei]], were also present. Soong reportedly praised Jiang for her refined manners and tasteful attire. During their conversation, Jiang even asked Soong to encourage Mao to wear a [[Suit and tie|tie and suits]], noting that [[Sun Yat-sen]] often did so and suggesting that foreigners found the simplicity of Chinese officials' clothing too monotonous.<ref name=":6" />

==== Film bureaucracy ====
[[File:1967-11 1967年 午门前批评 清宫秘史.jpg|thumb|A demonstration against ''[[Sorrows of the Forbidden City]]'' at the [[Meridian Gate]] of the [[Forbidden City]] in 1967]]
She served as the deputy director of the [[Film censorship in China|Film Guidance Committee]], overseeing the evaluation of film projects from 1949 to 1951.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=226|pp=}} In 1951, Jiang Qing was given a minor position of Film Bureau Chief. After her appointment, Jiang engaged in three attempts in establishing the standard for socialist art. Jiang's first attempt was her advice to ban the 1950 [[Hong Kong movie]] ''[[Sorrows of the Forbidden City]]'', of which Jiang believed to be unpatriotic. Her opinion was not taken seriously by the communist leadership due to the minor political influence of her office and the movie was distributed in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Mao intervened to support her.<ref name=":12">{{Cite thesis |last=Ludden |first=Yawen |title=China's Musical Revolution: From Beijing Opera to Yangbanxi |date=2013-01-23 |access-date=6 May 2023 |degree=PhD |publisher=[[University of Kentucky]] |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=aa67e5d8700121f1733de6c83434ffd4d28a6816 |place=Lexington, KY |pages=114–202 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506200649/https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=aa67e5d8700121f1733de6c83434ffd4d28a6816 |archive-date=6 May 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Later that year, Jiang critiqued and objected to the distribution of the movie ''[[The Life of Wu Xun]]'' for glorifying the wealthy landed class while dismissing the peasantry. Again, Jiang's opinion was dismissed. Mao had to intervene to support her again.<ref name=":12" />

Jiang's third attempt involved the role of literary criticism in the development of socialist art. She asked the editor of ''[[People's Daily]]'' to republish the new literary interpretation of the classic novel ''[[Dream of the Red Chamber|Dream of Red Mansions]]'' by two young scholars at Shandong University. The editor refused Jiang's request on the grounds that the party newspaper was not a forum for free debate. Again, Mao spoke up on Jiang's behalf.<ref name=":12" />

Jiang was a member of the Ministry of Culture's steering committee for film production.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Xiaobing |title=The Cold War in East Asia |date=2018 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-138-65179-1 |location=Abingdon, Oxon}}</ref>{{Rp|page=155}}

==== Medical treatment ====
Jiang was in poor health for much of the 1950s, leading her to step back from her official duties.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=227}} As a result, she had to move back and forth between Beijing and [[Moscow]].{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=|p=235}} In 1949, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent four rounds of treatment in the Soviet Union.<ref name=":6" /> In March 1949, she travelled to Moscow and [[Yalta]], returning in the autumn.{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=Chronology}} She visited Moscow again in 1952, staying until the autumn of 1953.{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=Chronology}} Due to severe pain in her liver, while the Chinese doctors were unable to fulfil their duties due to the [[Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns|Three-Antis Movement]], the Soviet doctors explored her liver through surgery.{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=|p=256}} Her life in the Soviet Union was rather reclusive, with only Russian doctors, nurses, bodyguards, and all reading materials only from the [[Sino-Soviet relations|Chinese diplomatic mission]].{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=|p=258}} In 1956, she made another trip to the Soviet Union for treatment and returned in 1957.{{Sfn|Witke|1977|loc=Chronology}}

During this period, as a foreign dignitary, she gained access to a wide range of films banned in the [[Soviet Union]], including many [[Hollywood movie|Hollywood productions]]. This exposure allowed her to stay informed about Western art trends, which later influenced her transformation of the [[Peking opera|Peking Opera]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Ludden |first=Yawen |date=2017-09-01 |title=The transformation of Beijing opera: Jiang Qing, Yu Huiyong and yangbanxi |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/jcca.4.2-3.143_1 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=143–160 |doi=10.1386/jcca.4.2-3.143_1 |issn=2051-7041|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1957, Jiang recovered from cervical cancer, though she believed she was still unwell, contrary to her doctors’ assessment of her good health.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=227}} Therefore, they recommended that she engage in therapeutic activities such as watching films, listening to music, and attending theatre and concerts.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=227}}

==== Cover-up ====
During the [[Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries]], Zhao Yaoshan, the [[Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics|Zhongtong]] agent who interrogated Jiang during her arrest in the 1930s, was executed.<ref name=":5" /> In January 1953, {{Ill|Yang Fan (politician)|lt=Yang Fan|zh|揚帆 (政治人物)}}, who had secretly written to Yan'an about Jiang's experiences in Shanghai, was imprisoned. [[Pan Hannian]], the Communist intelligence chief who defended Yang, was also jailed.<ref name=":5" />

In December, Mao Zedong travelled to [[Hangzhou]] with Jiang Qing. After his departure on 14 March, Jiang received an anonymous letter from Shanghai later that month. Initially disturbed and then angered, she sought out Zhejiang party chief [[Tan Qilong]], asserting her revolutionary commitment and requesting an investigation. Despite extensive police efforts, the sender's identity remained unknown.<ref name=":5" />

In 1958, while Mao attended a meeting in [[Nanning]], he met [[Huang Jing|Yu Qiwei]],'''{{Notetag|He was known as [[Huang Jing]] at the time and had married the journalist Fan Jin in Yan'an.{{Sfn|Terrill|1999|p=208|pp=}} Yu Qiwei and Jiang Qing had lived together but they did not have any [[Marriage certificate|certificate]] or [[wedding ceremony]].{{Sfn|Terrill|1999|p=34|pp=}} Their relationship could be deemed as a "modern marriage",{{Sfn|Terrill|1999|p=34|pp=}} or a form of [[cohabitation]] as per Chinese-language literature.<ref name=":6"/>}}''' who had a [[romantic relationship]] with Jiang. After being criticised by Mao, Yu suffered severe mental and physical distress. Upon arriving at [[Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (former)|Guangzhou Airport]], he [[kowtow]]ed before [[Li Fuchun]], pleading to be "spared." Li then escorted him to a military hospital. There, Yu attempted suicide by jumping out of a window, resulting in a broken leg. Yu died a few months later, and Mao sent a [[wreath]] in his name alone as a gesture of condolence.{{Sfn|Terrill|1999|p=208|pp=}}

In 1961, Zhu Ming, the widow of [[Lin Boqu]], wrote to the Party Central Committee regarding her late husband. Her handwriting matched that of the anonymous letter. When confronted, Zhu admitted to writing the letter and subsequently committed suicide.<ref name=":5" />