Jiang Qing was a Chinese actress and a major political figure during the Cultural Revolution. She was the wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party of China. She used the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by many other names. She married Mao in Yan'an in November 1938 and served as the inaugural "first lady" of the People's Republic of China. Jiang Qing was best known for playing a major role in the Cultural Revolution and for forming the radical political alliance known as the "Gang of Four". Jiang Qing served as Mao's personal secretary in the 1940s and was head of the Film Section of the Communist Party's Propaganda Department in the 1950s. She served as an important emissary for Mao in the early stages of the Cultural Revolution. In 1966 she was appointed deputy director of the Central Cultural Revolution Group. She collaborated with Lin Biao to advance Mao's unique brand of Communist ideology as well as Mao's cult of personality

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