Mao Zedong was revered by the CCP, but his private life was full of controversy. He had a famous quote: “I risk my life to conquer the world, what’s the big deal about having a woman?”
He had four official wives in his lifetime, and each of their stories was filled with love, sacrifice, and regret. From rural girls to revolutionary partners, how did their relationships with Mao Zedong begin and end in tragedy?
Archival documents reveal these unknown stories. Today, let’s delve into their world.
Let’s start with Mao Zedong’s first wife, Luo Yixiu. Many people may not have heard of her name because in the CCP’s official narrative, she was almost erased.
Luo Yixiu was the arranged wife chosen by Mao Zedong’s parents for him. In 1907, 18-year-old Luo Yixiu arrived at the Mao family ancestral hall in Shaoshan, Hunan, in a bridal sedan chair, and married the 14-year-old Mao Zedong.
It was a typical arranged marriage, but for the young Mao Zedong, it was an arrangement he completely rejected. He never shared a room with Luo Yixiu, and they rarely even spoke.
Three years later, at the age of 21, Luo Yixiu passed away from illness, and Mao Zedong did not shed a tear for her.
Later, he only mentioned this marriage to American journalist Edgar Snow in 1936, in a disdainful tone, even exaggerating the age difference from four years to six. He said, “When I was 14, my parents married me to a 20-year-old woman, but we never lived together, and I don’t consider her my wife.”
To Mao Zedong, Luo Yixiu was just a passing figure in his life, leaving no trace behind.
Next is a more mysterious story – Yao, Mao Zedong’s second “wife.” Note the quotation marks here because her relationship with Mao Zedong was never officially recognized, but it left a stunning secret.
In early 1920, the 26-year-old Mao Zedong met a woman named Yao in Changsha, and they soon started living together. In 1921, Yao gave birth to a son.
Two years later, Yao passed away, and Mao Zedong sent their illegitimate son to be raised by relatives. The child was named Huaguangzu by the relatives and later changed his name to Huaguofeng.
Yes, you heard it right! According to Hong Kong’s “Open” magazine, Huaguofeng may be Mao Zedong’s illegitimate eldest son. After the victory in the War of Resistance, Huaguofeng’s career progressed smoothly. After the CCP took power in 1949, he continued to rise in positions of power. Before Mao’s death in 1976, he entrusted Huaguofeng with power obtained by any means necessary, leaving a note saying, “I trust you to handle things.”
After Huaguofeng came to power, he advocated the “Two Whatevers,” faithfully following Mao Zedong’s line, and spent a huge sum of money to build a memorial hall, where Mao’s body was placed in Tiananmen Square.
Why was he so loyal to Mao Zedong? Perhaps, this was not only political loyalty but also a blood connection.
In 1980, Huaguofeng requested to change his surname to Mao and reveal his heritage to the Central Political Bureau, but it was rejected. In 2002, he, Mao Zedong’s daughters Li Min and Li Ne, paid their respects to Mao Zedong, writing on the wreath, “Devoted son Guofeng pays tribute.”
Is Huaguofeng Mao Zedong’s son? This secret remains a mystery to this day.
Now let’s talk about Yang Kaihui, Mao Zedong’s third wife, also the most glorified “revolutionary partner” in official propaganda.
In the winter of 1920, the 27-year-old Mao Zedong married the 19-year-old Yang Kaihui. Yang Kaihui was the daughter of Mao Zedong’s mentor Yang Changji, gentle and virtuous, deeply in love with Mao Zedong.
After marriage, she joined the CCP, assisting Mao Zedong in organizing materials and gave birth to three children, Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao Anlong. Mao Anying was born in 1922, only one year younger than Huaguofeng.
Yang Kaihui devoted herself to taking care of the family and children, never expecting that her husband would abandon her and their children.
In the 1920s, the CCP, under Soviet instructions, joined the Kuomintang but promoted communism internally, leading to a split. In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the “purge,” arresting CCP members. After a series of failed armed uprisings by the CCP, Mao Zedong fled to Jinggangshan following the Autumn Harvest Uprising’s failure.
While Yang Kaihui, with her children, stayed in the rural areas of Changsha, Hunan, living a life of hiding and moving.
In 1930, after Mao Zedong launched another attack on Changsha, Yang Kaihui and her children were arrested by forces under Hunan Province Chairman He Jian. He Jian proposed that as long as Yang Kaihui publicly disavowed her relationship with Mao Zedong, she could survive, but she refused.
According to Mao Zedong’s former secretary Li Rui’s recollection, on the day before her execution, Yang Kaihui cried out, “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” because she still had three young children. Thus, in November 1930, Yang Kaihui’s life was permanently frozen at the age of 29.
Before her death, Yang Kaihui was aware of Mao Zedong’s affair with another woman, as one of her relatives saw it firsthand in Jinggangshan. Moreover, even before that, Mao Zedong had flirted with other women.
There is a saying that goes: “A rabbit doesn’t eat grass near its burrow.” Yang Kaihui’s relative revealed that shortly after their marriage, Mao Zedong pursued and had a romantic relationship with Yang’s cousin.
In 1982, during the renovation of Yang Kaihui’s former residence, seven manuscripts were found hidden in the cracks of mud bricks. In 1990, during another renovation, an eighth manuscript was discovered. In the eighth manuscript, with knowledge of Mao Zedong’s infidelity, Yang Kaihui wrote that Mao Zedong was a “moral rascal, a political rascal.”
While Yang Kaihui lived in fear in the countryside, Mao Zedong had already begun living with a younger and more beautiful woman, He Zizhen. However, like Yang Kaihui, He Zizhen was eventually abandoned by Mao.
In August 1927, He Zizhen joined the Jiangxi Yongxin Red Guards on their way to Jinggangshan, becoming the only woman on the mountain, known as the “Yongxin Flower of Yongxin.”
In October of the same year, Mao Zedong and his remaining troops arrived from Hunan to Jiangxi. Amidst the welcoming men, Mao immediately noticed He Zizhen. At the time, He Zizhen was only 18 years old with a beautiful face, almond eyes, and a slender figure. The 33-year-old Mao was surprised: he never expected to find such a young and beautiful girl on Jinggangshan.
In May 1928, the two got married. At first, Mao and He’s marriage was sweet. He Zizhen took care of the sick Mao Zedong, seeking doctors, looking for herbs, and even gave birth to a daughter.
However, the good times did not last. In 1934, when the CCP began the “Long March,” in a harsh environment, Mao Zedong only focused on his physical release, leading He Zizhen to have three pregnancies within a year, weakening her body and appearance, turning her into a haggard woman.
In 1935, when the Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, He Zizhen thought they would finally settle down, only to find Mao Zedong having ambiguous relationships with female translator Wu Guanghui and American journalist Agnes Smedley. This embarrassed and angered the pregnant He Zizhen, who confronted Mao with violence, scratching the face of his lover with her nails. Despite this, Mao continued his affairs.
In 1936, He Zizhen gave birth to her and Mao Zedong’s fifth child Ji Jiao in a dilapidated cave filled with rats and scorpions. Ji Jiao, later known as Li Min, was born. However, within a year, she became pregnant again. The repeated pregnancies damaged her health. Mao publicly engaged in affairs with other women, causing her great sorrow.
In October 1937, exhausted physically and mentally, He Zizhen left her one-year-old daughter behind and traveled to the Soviet Union while pregnant. In 1938, she gave birth to a son, Li Hua, in Moscow. However, six months later, Li Hua died from pneumonia, leaving He Zizhen in inconsolable grief. She repeatedly applied to return to China, but Mao intercepted her letters, fearing that her return to Yan’an would disrupt his relationship with his new lover Jiang Qing.
In 1939, through Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong sent a letter to He Zizhen, stating: “I hope you will study well and make progress politically. We are comrades from now on.” With these few words, he announced the end of their marriage.
In 1947, He Zizhen returned to Northeast China with Li Min and Mao Anqing but was prohibited from entering Beijing to see Mao Zedong.
In 1950, she settled in Shanghai. According to her granddaughter Kong Dongmei’s recollection, He Zizhen would faint at the sound of Mao’s voice on the radio.
During the First Lushan Conference in 1959, He Zizhen met Mao secretly. This was the only and final meeting after 22 years of separation.
When Mao died in 1976, He Zizhen was not allowed to go to Beijing. In April 1984, He Zizhen passed away in Shanghai, completing a tumultuous life in loneliness.
Before a year had passed since Yang Kaihui’s departure from Yan’an, Mao Zedong was already deeply involved with a Shanghai actress named Lan Ping – who later became Jiang Qing – and their relationship quickly intensified. In November 1938, they married.
Jiang Qing became Mao Zedong’s close assistant during the Cultural Revolution. In 1966, Mao Zedong established the Central Cultural Revolution Group and appointed Jiang Qing as the first deputy head. With the title of “Madame Mao,” Jiang Qing effectively controlled the Cultural Revolution Group, becoming a key player in Mao Zedong’s launch of the Cultural Revolution.
After Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, Jiang Qing, as a member of the “Gang of Four,” was arrested and publicly tried. She was initially sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment, and was incarcerated in Qincheng Prison.
On May 14, 1991, Jiang Qing ended her own life while in prison.
Jiang Qing married Mao Zedong, and their marriage lasted until the end, becoming the “First Lady.” However, she also did not lead a happy life.
According to Mao Zedong’s personal doctor Li Zhishui’s recollection, he once saw Jiang Qing sitting alone on a wooden chair in Zhongnanhai, in tears. Jiang Qing told him, “Doctor, don’t tell anyone. The Chairman, in political struggles, no one can outmaneuver him. Even Stalin couldn’t handle him. In personal relationships, no one can outmaneuver him either.”
The CCP’s propaganda machine has always portrayed Mao’s feelings for Yang Kaihui as a great love story, and even depicted Karl Marx with Jenny von Westphalen, and Lenin with Krupskaya, as great love stories.
However, in reality, Karl Marx had an illegitimate child with a housemaid, and Lenin contracted syphilis from a prostitute, leading to his death.
Mao Zedong was not faithful to his several wives, beginning and ending his relationships with infidelity and abandonment.
Upon learning of Yang Kaihui’s sacrifice, he once sent a letter to the Yang family saying, “The death of Kaihui cannot be atoned for even with a hundred lives.” Meaning, even a hundred of himself could not bring back Yang Kaihui.
At that time, Mao Zedong had already begun another affair, and he didn’t even inform Yang Kaihui to hide with her children before launching the assault on Changsha, leaving them to fend for themselves. Was his declaration genuine or just a show of hypocrisy? The discerning can see the truth.
Subscribe to the “Century Truth” Clean World channel: [Link to the channel]
Subscribe to the YouTube channel: [Link to the channel]
Subscribe to the Telegram group: [Link to the group]