Chapter 01 Born in a farming family, attended a private school 1893 – 1908

Journalist: “Can you start by talking about your family background so that the public can understand your background?”

Mao: “Sure. On December 26, 1893, I was born into an ordinary peasant family in Shaoshan Village, Xiangtan County, Hunan Province. My father, Mao Yichang, was born in 1870, and my mother, Wen Qimei, was born in 1867, three years older than my father. The village where she lived was 10 kilometers away from Mao family’s home. My father got engaged to Wen Qimei when he was 10 years old. After the engagement, she moved into the Mao family’s home. They got married in 1885 when my father was 15 years old, and my mother was 18 years old.

The Mao family in Shaoshan Village has always been engaged in farming. My grandfather’s financial situation wasn’t very good, and he left behind some debts after his passing. Shortly after my father’s marriage, in order to earn more money, he joined the army. After serving for a few years, he earned enough money to repay the debts and had some savings. He then engaged in the business of trading rice and pigs. Our family had 16 rooms of different sizes and 22 acres of paddy fields. My mother raised sows and piglets for lending, as well as lent grains. At my parents’ request, I also participated in collecting debts for grains and pigs. According to the Communist Party’s perspective, this would be considered participating in exploitative activities. I never had to worry about food and clothing during my time of growing up, and I didn’t have much sympathy for the poor. My father was literate, had business acumen, and with the money he earned, he bought more land, becoming one of the wealthier people in the village. He hired a farmhand, cultivated the fields, and continued his business. According to the Communist Party’s classification, he could be considered a “rich peasant.”

My father’s name is Mao Yichang, and he was very diligent, frugal, and focused on family. When he had money, he replaced the thatched roof of the old house with tiles, but the walls were still made of mud, and the windows were wooden frames covered with wooden boards. Glass was rare and valuable at that time, and our furniture consisted of wooden beds, wooden tables, and wooden stools.

I am the third son of the Mao family, with the first two sons dying at a young age. In order to seek blessings for me, my mother would burn incense and worship Buddha everywhere. She named me Zedong, with ‘Ze’ being the generational name according to our family genealogy. My two younger brothers were named Zemin (born in 1896) and Zetan (born in 1905).

My mother’s name was Wen Qimei, and she was gentle and tolerant, never scolding her children. When I was young, I always followed my mother, going to temple fairs and worshiping Bodhisattvas. Wherever my mother went, she took me along. My mother believed in Buddhism, and I followed her in worshiping Buddha since childhood.”

Journalist: “It sounds like you were born into an ordinary rural farming family, and your parents were kind-hearted. Did you grow up in the village all along?”

Mao: “I spent 2-3 years often at my grandmother’s house. It wasn’t far from the Mao family home, just a two-hour walk at most. My mother would often leave me to stay at my grandmother’s house. My grandmother loved me dearly, and my two uncles and aunt treated me like their own son. I had a joyful and carefree time at my grandmother’s house. I also helped with light farm work like cutting grass and tending to the cattle. Around the age of five or six, I began to learn how to read. At night, my aunt would spin thread under the oil lamp, and I would sit beside her and read.”

Journalist: “When did you start going to school?”

Mao: “In 1902, when I was over eight years old, I returned from my grandmother’s house to Shaoshan and started attending a private school. I studied Confucian classics, starting with “The Great Learning”. I was diligent in my studies and had a strong memory, which laid a solid foundation in classical Chinese at the private school. I didn’t have a good relationship with my teachers because I found them too strict and demanding. When I was ten years old, I ran away from the private school. The teacher told my father that I was disobedient and too stubborn. So my father had to take me to another private school. Due to my strained relationships with teachers, I changed schools three times. Because I didn’t obey the rules, my father often scolded me, while my mother mostly remained silent.”

Journalist: “It seems that you have a stubborn personality. Was your father very strict in disciplining you?”

Mao: “My father was hardworking, simple, and had a sharp mind. He provided me with an education in the hope that I could write letters and bookkeep the account, which would be helpful for his business. However, I was only interested in reading books and not interested in numbers or physical labor. Unlike my younger brother Mao Zemin, who is three years younger than me, he was honest and hardworking in farming, inheriting my father’s diligence in managing the household and his sharp business acumen. My father couldn’t tolerate my fondness for reading leisure books, criticized me for being lazy, disobedient, and called me a “Wasteful son who lacks diligence and understanding of grains” and ‘An unfaithful, unfilial, lacking benevolence and righteousness, a prodigal child.’ Sometimes, he couldn’t help but resort to physical punishment, which made me resent him. Once, in front of guests, I confronted my father, and we had a heated argument. He called me lazy and useless, and I retorted. I ended up leaving home. My mother caught up to persuade me to return. My father also caught up, scolding me and ordering me to go back. I ran to the edge of a pond and threatened to jump in. My father had to soften his tone.”

Journalist: “During that time, early marriage was common in rural areas. When did you get married?”

Mao: “In 1907, when I was over 13 years old. She was the only woman in my life with whom I went through a wedding ceremony. In 1937, in Yan’an, I told the American journalist Edgar Snow that I had not engaged in a sexual relationship with her. That was a lie. At that time, I already had strong sexual desires, and I even committed an act of sexual assault against a 10-year-old girl in the village, which led to the villagers locking me up in the ancestral hall. My father was unwilling to spend more money on my education. I left the fourth private school and returned home to help with work. My parents wanted to increase the labor force, so they arranged my marriage and found a woman surnamed Luo for me. She was four years older than me, and I had no choice but to comply. However, less than two years after our marriage, she passed away due to illness.”