I have just finished reading the autobiography, Mao's Last Dancer (Li Cunxin)...what a read! It really made me think about how we can take things (house, family, job, love, opinions, freedom etc) for granted...when there are some people in this world who get beaten (or die) if they even think differently to what the authorities believe.Li was brought up in Communist China to a very poor family. At the age of 11, he was picked by some officials to be sent away to the Beijing Dance Academy where he would learn Ballet. Li spent 7 years in this harsh academy and only saw his family for 3 weeks every February.
In 1979 Li visited USA on a dance scholarship. He spent 6 weeks in Texas learning the famous western ballets (swan lake, nutcracker etc). When Li returned home after that short trip, he begged his teachers to allow him to go to America again. He really wanted to learn how to dance better. In 1980 Li was given permission to return to USA for 1 year.
In 1981, just before he was due to return to China, Li told Chinese officials there that he would not be returning to china. They refused to let him leave the Chinese consulate. Li spent 21 hours stuck in the consulate before an agreement was reached between the Chinese and US governments for Li to be allowed to stay. George Bush (Later President Bush 41) was the one who was most responsible for this. Part of the agreement was for Li to never write a book about his life. He kept that rule for 20 years but has now decided to tell the world the truth.
There is also a movie about Li Cunxin's story. I haven't seen it yet...but it is on my list of must see's. Here is the preview... (sorry, not sure how to make the screen smaller).
