The libretto is based only loosely on Madame Mao's life. Events are altered as needed. For example, a confrontation with another woman over Mao Zedong became a confrontation with his first wife.

The place was therefore called Shaoshan-Mount of the Shao Music. A village called Shaoshanchong at the foot of the mountain was where Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the late leader of China was born and ...