| Mao 毛 | |
|---|---|
| Current region | Beijing, China |
| Place of origin | China |
| Founder | Mao Zedong |
The family of Mao Zedong is a prominent political Chinese family. The most well-known member is Mao Zedong, who founded and led the People's Republic of China from 1949 until his death in 1976.
Mao's ancestors were:
Mao had four wives who gave birth to a total of 10 children:
Mao had several siblings:
Mao's parents altogether had five sons and two daughters. Two of the sons and both daughters died young, leaving the three brothers Mao Zedong, Mao Zemin, and Mao Zetan. Like all three of Mao Zedong's wives, Mao Zemin and Mao Zetan were communists. Like Yang Kaihui, both Mao Zemin and Mao Zetan were killed in warfare during Mao Zedong's lifetime. Note that the character zé (澤) appears in all of the siblings' given names; this is a common Chinese naming convention.
From the next generation, Mao Zemin's son Mao Yuanxin was raised by Mao Zedong's family, and he became Mao Zedong's liaison with the Politburo in 1975. In Li Zhisui's The Private Life of Chairman Mao , Mao Yuanxin played a role in the final power-struggles. [2]
Mao had a total of ten children, [3] including:
Mao's first and second daughters were left to local villagers because it was too dangerous to raise them while fighting the Kuomintang and later the Japanese. Their youngest daughter (born in early 1938 in Moscow after Mao separated) and one other child (born 1933) died in infancy. Two English researchers who retraced the entire Long March route in 2002–2003 [4] located a woman whom they believe might well be one of the missing children abandoned by Mao to peasants in 1935. Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwen hope a member of the Mao family will respond to requests for a DNA test. [5]
Through his ten children, Mao became grandfather to twelve grandchildren, many of whom he never knew. He has many great-grandchildren alive today. One of his granddaughters is businesswoman Kong Dongmei, one of the richest people in China. [6] His grandson Mao Xinyu is a general in the Chinese army. [7] Both he and Kong have written books about their grandfather. [8]
