Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image

Mao's Last Dancer (Movie Tie-In)

Author Li Cunxin
Ebook
Berkley / NAL | Berkley
On sale Jul 27, 2010 | 528 Pages | 9781101458778
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Movie Tie-In Edition
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

The extraordinary memoir of a peasant boy raised in rural Maoist China who was plucked from his village to study ballet and went on to become one of the greatest dancers of his generation. 

From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America-and with an American woman. Two years later, through a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice.

THE BASIS FOR A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
Li Cunxin was born in a small village near the city of Qingdao, in northern China. At eighteen, he was selected to perform at the Houston Ballet, which led to a dramatic defection to the United States. He has performed as a soloist with the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet. View titles by Li Cunxin
Mao's Last DancerA Wedding: Qingdao, 1946

Part One: My Childhood

1. Home
2. My Niang and Dia
3. A Commune Childhood
4. The Seven of Us
5. Na-na
6. Chairman Mao's Classroom
7. Leaving Home

Part Two: Beijing

8. Feather in a Whirlwind
9. The Caged Bird
10. That First Lonely Year
11. The Pen
12. My Own Voice
13. Teacher Xiao's Words
14. Turning Points
15. The Mango
16. Change
17. On the Way to the West
18. The Filthy Capitalist America
19. Good-bye, China

Part Three: The West

20. Return to the Land of Freedom
21. Elizabeth
22. Defection
23. My New Life
24. A Millet Dream Come True
25. No More Nightmares
26. Russia
27. Mary
28. Going Home
29. Back in My Village
30. Another Wedding: Qingdao, 1988

Postscript
The Li Family Tree
Acknowledgments

“[A] fascinating memoir…told simply but passionately, with subtle humor and unguarded emotion.”—The Houston Chronicle

“Mix Billy Elliot with Torn Curtain and you’ll have some of the tale in very broad outline…well-paced…full of adventures.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Fascinating reading…unfolds with honesty, humor, and a quiet dignity. This book has wide appeal, for it concerns not only a dancer’s coming of age in a turbulent time but also individual strength, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit.”—Library Journal

“The facts of his life are astonishing on their own, but what makes Li Cunxin’s engrossing autobiography so captivating is his enthusiastic retelling of every twist and turn.”—Vogue (Australia)

Watch a video

About

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

The extraordinary memoir of a peasant boy raised in rural Maoist China who was plucked from his village to study ballet and went on to become one of the greatest dancers of his generation. 

From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America-and with an American woman. Two years later, through a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice.

THE BASIS FOR A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Author

Li Cunxin was born in a small village near the city of Qingdao, in northern China. At eighteen, he was selected to perform at the Houston Ballet, which led to a dramatic defection to the United States. He has performed as a soloist with the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet. View titles by Li Cunxin

Table of Contents

Mao's Last DancerA Wedding: Qingdao, 1946

Part One: My Childhood

1. Home
2. My Niang and Dia
3. A Commune Childhood
4. The Seven of Us
5. Na-na
6. Chairman Mao's Classroom
7. Leaving Home

Part Two: Beijing

8. Feather in a Whirlwind
9. The Caged Bird
10. That First Lonely Year
11. The Pen
12. My Own Voice
13. Teacher Xiao's Words
14. Turning Points
15. The Mango
16. Change
17. On the Way to the West
18. The Filthy Capitalist America
19. Good-bye, China

Part Three: The West

20. Return to the Land of Freedom
21. Elizabeth
22. Defection
23. My New Life
24. A Millet Dream Come True
25. No More Nightmares
26. Russia
27. Mary
28. Going Home
29. Back in My Village
30. Another Wedding: Qingdao, 1988

Postscript
The Li Family Tree
Acknowledgments

Praise

“[A] fascinating memoir…told simply but passionately, with subtle humor and unguarded emotion.”—The Houston Chronicle

“Mix Billy Elliot with Torn Curtain and you’ll have some of the tale in very broad outline…well-paced…full of adventures.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Fascinating reading…unfolds with honesty, humor, and a quiet dignity. This book has wide appeal, for it concerns not only a dancer’s coming of age in a turbulent time but also individual strength, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit.”—Library Journal

“The facts of his life are astonishing on their own, but what makes Li Cunxin’s engrossing autobiography so captivating is his enthusiastic retelling of every twist and turn.”—Vogue (Australia)

Media

Watch a video

Additional formats

Related Articles

Social Studies Books in Spanish The Arts History High School Middle School General Education & Professional Learning Graphic Novels English Language Arts Environmental Science Favorite Authors & Series Science

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

2024 Middle and High School Collections

Social Studies Books in Spanish The Arts History High School Middle School General Education & Professional Learning Graphic Novels English Language Arts Environmental Science Favorite Authors & Series Science
new penguin random house education high school collections sixteen thematic collections and resources for grades 9-12 curated by lorena german cicely lewis morgan taylor julia e torres and ronell whitaker
General Classroom Libraries English Language Arts Advanced Placement High School Graphic Novels

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

General Classroom Libraries English Language Arts Advanced Placement High School Graphic Novels
education translanguaging collections affirming bilingual and multilingual learners
General Graphic Novels Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series Classroom Libraries References Science Translanguaging Collections Social Studies The Arts History High School Middle School

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

General Graphic Novels Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series Classroom Libraries References Science Translanguaging Collections Social Studies The Arts History High School Middle School

Penguin Random House Secondary Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)