Jottings from the Granite Studio

Xinhua reports that the last surviving son of Mao Zedong,* has passed away. The reclusive Mao Anqing, the middle son of The Great Helmsman and his second wife, was 83. （中文）

From The Guardian:

Yesterday a brief notice in the China News Service recorded the death of Mao Anqing, who survived his father to live on into a new China that the dictator would not have recognised.

Mao Zedong’s second child, who died on Friday, lived through civil war, the execution of his mother, street life in Shanghai, and a journey to Paris and to Moscow, where he studied under Stalin’s surveillance. Eventually he returned to China, where he was largely ignored by his father.

It might go without saying, but being the son of Mao probably did not an easy life make. The middle of three brothers born to Mao and Yang Kaihui, Anqing’s childhood coincided with one of the most chaotic and violent periods in China’s history (and that’s saying something). Their father was frequently away on campaigns and while Mao often referred to Yang as his “great love” (who’d you think it was? Jiang Qing? That women could scare babies from 100 meters) it was clear early on that Mao loved the ladies. His infidelities hurt Yang but–despite all of this–when she was captured in 1930 by a warlord with ties to the KMT, Yang reportedly chose death before denouncing her husband. Following her execution, the children were smuggled into Shanghai where the youngest died of dysentery. Anqing and his elder brother Anying, according to legend, were left to roam the streets of Shanghai, living by their wits for several years.

In 1936, Mao arranged to send Anying and Anqing to Moscow for school, where they stayed until 1947. Anying later served in the Korean War and died at the front lines, killed in an American aerial bombardment. Much was made of Mao Zedong’s “selflessness” in sacrificing his eldest son to the cause of defeating American aggression in Asia.

Less was said of Anqing, who reportedly suffered from bouts of mental illness (possibly schizophrenia) and was in and out institutions for much of his life. According to Xinhua, “Mao Anqing worked as a Russian translator in the Publicity (Read: Propaganda) Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China since 1949. He has translated a dozen of masterpieces of Marxism and Leninism and some books on political science.” But the truth is that he (was) kept out of sight for the better part of the last six decades.

He reemerged into public view last fall, to read a eulogy commemorating the 30th anniversary of his father’s death. At the time, Richard Spencer, of the Telegraph, wrote:

It is a fascinating document, and not just for its syrupy, over-the-top paean of praise for the Great Helmsman’s far-sightedness, charisma, leadership, etc.

For a start, it contained some genuinely touching personal insights. Mao Anqing is believed to suffer from a severe mental illness, possibly schizophrenia, and so perhaps the piece was written by his wife, or Party leaders….

When he goes on - in a sure nod to the behaviour of Party officials and leaders today - to praise Mao for never getting rich or allowing his relatives to seek office or get rich themselves, I wonder if there’s a note of self-pity, after all his suffering.

Anqing’s younger half-sisters have been known to complain that the rather basic allowances Mao settled on them
are not really enough for their daily needs.

The hint of criticism of Party leaders is also full of fascinating nuance. For a start, it sort of suggests that the attitude that the Party is another route for guanxi - or connections for advancement - is not such a new thing after all.

Anqing gives a list of people Mao refused to help, despite their earnest entreaties - uncles, a cousin. It shows what was expected, even if Mao didn’t give in himself.

Then, there’s the tantalising little joke when he mentions how Jiang Zemin himself, the last president, praised a letter Mao wrote about not helping your relatives get rich.

Is this nod to placate Jiang, to say it’s not targeted at him, or is it a barb?

Mao Zedong’s family of course continues on but tries to avoid the spotlight. (Or is the spotlight ordered to avoid them…?) His daughters Li Na and Li Min do make occasional appearances in media reports, but for the most part they live quiet lives in Beijing. Mao Anqing’s wife, Shao Hua, is a high-ranking officer in the PLA. When Shao Hua was promoted to Major-General in 1995, she was quoted as saying, “she would forever remember Dad’s teachings.” But Shao Hua too is far from a public figure. Anqing’s son, Mao Xinyu, who like his uncle and his mother serves in the PLA, published a set of stories about his grandfather and the family. But Xinyu is probably best known as “that fat guy who is Mao Zedong’s grandson.” None of the immediate family has achieved the financial success of the Jiang (Zemin) and Zhu (Rongji) clans. The only Maos rolling with the “Princeling” clique are the ones carried in the Jiang boys’ black leather man purses.

A good biography of Mao has yet to be written and it might be decades, if ever, before the necessary archival materials are available for such an endeavor. One wonders where Mao’s children might fit into such a book or what insight “Mao the father” might give us into “Mao the man.”
—————————-
*There is an interesting note from the Guardian piece about Mao’s “other” children. Given Mao’s rather prodigious, er, regimen, the idea shouldn’t be as shocking as it sounds.

Photograph top right: 1962 family photo. Mao Anqing is first from the left. Shao Hua is second from the left. The portly gentleman in the center needs no introduction.