Mao Anqing


Mao Anqing was the last surviving son of Mao Zedong, chairman of the People's Republic of China. He was the second son of Mao and his wife, Yang Kaihui. He suffered from a mental illness, possibly schizophrenia. He worked as a translator and never became active in politics.

Early life

Mao Anqing was born at Central South University Xiangya Hospital in Changsha, in Hunan province. His mother was executed by the local warlord, He Jian, in 1930. Mao Anqing, his elder brother Mao Anying and his younger brother Mao Anlong escaped to Shanghai. Their father was in Jiangxi province at the time, and they were looked after by local communist activists. They spent some time living on the streets, and Mao Anqing was badly beaten by a policeman in 1930. Some blame this beating for his later mental illness. His younger brother Mao Anlong died in Shanghai.
Mao and his surviving elder brother were sent to Paris in 1936, and then moved to Moscow, where they remained until 1947. Mao Anqing and his brother participated in World War II for the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany.

Later life

Mao returned to China with his brother in 1947 and joined the Communist Party of China. The Communist forces under his father defeated the opposing Kuomintang forces on mainland China in 1949, and proclaimed the People's Republic of China. His brother was killed in 1950 in Korea, and Mao Anqing's mental illness worsened. He spent considerable periods in mental hospitals.
Mao Anqing worked as a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences and the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, mainly translating books from Russian to Chinese as a Russian linguist. He also wrote various books on his father. He was never actively involved in politics.

Personal life

He married Shao Hua in September 1960. She later became a major general in the People's Liberation Army, and a member of the committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Together, they had one child, Mao Xinyu, who was born in 1970. They are the only known remaining male line descendants of Mao Zedong. Shao Hua died on 24 June 2008, In People's Liberation Army Hospital in Beijing, in the age of 69.