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 in the harsh conditions of a communal farm, from which she was later 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 and left China for the US in 1984, where she now lives in California. Renowned for her memoir, Red Azalea, Empress Orchid is her fourth novel.