Chen Yan is a former housewife who now has a day job of impersonating Mao Zedong.
The 57-year-old Sichuan native makes a living out of 40 minute-long silent performances, in which she switches between waving to the crowds like the Great Helmsman did at Tiananmen Gate, smoking like the nicotine-addicted founder of the People’s Republic and staring solemnly into the distance, as if contemplating a bright future.
Profiled by the mainland People magazine, Chen’s notoriety has now expanded from China’s southwest to the entire nation. She is one of several Mao impersonators touring the nation, however impersonating Mao is still a sensitive topic. She was once questioned by authorities after being interviewed by a foreign journalist, the report said.
Looking like the late chairman, who passed away when she was in her twenties, is not easy for Chen. In an interview in 2007, she recalled in tears how she was mocked growing up due to her resemblance to Mao.
She recalled how a year earlier she finally embraced her appearance, and mustered up the courage to participate in a show on Southeast Television, a regional broadcaster.
A woman impersonating the former Communist Party chairman was still too controversial at that time, but the show allowed her to impersonate Tang Guoqiang, a well-known actor of Mao Zedong roles.