In 1961, just three years after Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward, Li Cunxin was born, the sixth son in a family of Chinese peasants who eked out a meager existence on a rural commune. want every one of you to remember this: never lose your pride and dignity no matter how hard life is.. --from Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin, Copyright Â© 2004 Li Cuxin, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., all rights reserved, reprinted with permission from the publisher.