Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957. As a child, she became a model member of the Red Guard. At seventeen she was sent to work on a communal farm, from which she was plucked by Madame Mao's associates to become a star of the Chinese propaganda film industry. After the death of Mao in 1976, Anchee Min was disgraced. She left China for the US in 1984; she now lives in California. She is best known for her memoir, Red Azalea.
Photograph © Lei Q. Min
