Ballroom dancing
Mao, the chairman of communist China, tried to push from the beginning the idea that all that is not useful for the country and for the betterment of the society should be eliminated so that the general population will only focus on working and building up the perfect communist society. Because of this, it is ironic to see that Mao himself is portrayed as a frivolous man, someone who enjoys dancing and good food. This aspect is ironic because while he has no trouble enjoying these aspects, he expects the rest of the population to be as austere as possible and only focus on working.
Like a father
Another way in which Mao was usually portrayed was as a loving father, someone who had everyone's best interest in mind. In many propaganda posters, he is posed as having his arms around small children, protecting and guiding them. It is thus ironic that despite these ways of portraying the leader, the main character describes him as a strange man, someone who it too fond of children, displaying more than often behaviors associated with pedophiles.
Protected by the great leader
Mei's family and the rest of the families of the young girls recruited to go to the city to work for the great leader, are under the impression that their children will be safe, protected by Mao. The parents harbor the idea that nowhere will their children be safer than working for the father of the country. It is thus ironic to see that under Mao those young girls are abused, their innocence stolen from them by the very man who was supposed to protect them.
Forbidden City
The title of the novel is a reference made to the imperial palace constructed in the 1400s to serve as a home for the imperial family and their servants. The palace was seen as a holy place because it housed what many seemed to perceive as the reincarnation of the Gods on earth. It is thus ironic that this name is given to a novel in which depravity and sin are the main themes.
Different truth for women
In the Chinese communist society, the leaders transmitted the idea that women are just as important as men. As such, women were expected to work int the same way men were and bring their contribution to society in the same way men were. While the official idea presented to the population was that there should be no difference between the sexes, the reality, as Mei soon discovered, was completely different. Ironically, women, despite all the propaganda, valued less than they did before the rise of the communist party. As such, women did not benefit from communism, but rather their value as a whole diminished greatly and the burdens put upon their shoulders only increased as they were forced to take on new roles.
