Who is Guan Hongying from Death of a Red Heroine and what is their importance?

Guan Honging is the murder victim. Her given name, Hongying, translates at Red Heroine, giving the book its title. She is dead at the beginning of the novel and is only seen through the testimony of others. Guan is a national celebrity, a Chinese icon of sorts. Her public persona is that of a dedicated Communist worker. Her private persona is very different. To most people, she seems a very private person who keeps to herself. In reality she is actually a very calculating, uninhibited individual. Sexually, she is very open, performing acts with Wu, captured in photographs, that shock many of the other characters. She has targeted Wu as a husband, aware that in China's changing landscape her celebrity and influence is fading. In the end, it is left a mystery whether her passion for Wu or her political ambition led to her blackmailing Wu and, ultimately, her death.