At the same time, the Cultural Revolution was under way. Two films Shangguan had appeared in, Early Spring in February and Stage Sister, had been denounced as "huge poisonous weeds".[4] She was also under severe persecution for her alleged affair with Mao. She was badly beaten by followers of Mao's wife Jiang Qing,[4][6] who gave her an ultimatum to confess her relationship with Mao.[8] At 3 am on 23 November 1968,[4][6] Shangguan Yunzhu jumped from her apartment in the Wukang Mansion to her death.[9]