Mao Xinyu (born 17 January 1970) is a grandson of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

and a major general in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA) of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Early life and education

Mao was born on 17 January 1970 at People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing. He is the only child of

Mao Anqing Mao Anqing (; 23 November 1924 – 23 March 2007) was the last surviving son of Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. He was the second son of Mao and his wife, Yang Kaihui. He had a mental illness, possibly schizophrenia. He ...

and Shao Hua and one of Mao Zedong's twelve grandchildren. He spent the first 11 years of his life away from his parents, who were based in Russia. He graduated from the History Department of

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. The ...

in 1992. He is a researcher at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences, where he completed his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

Career

Mao has written several books, including ''Grandfather Mao Zedong (Yeye Mao Zedong)'', published by the National Defence University Press in October 2003. In June 2009, Mao was controversially promoted to major general. According to the ''Changjiang Daily'', he was the PLA's youngest general. Some critics attributed the promotion to

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

. "To have such an unqualified person become a general in China's military, it's an insult to the People's Liberation Army," said Pu Zhiqiang, a lawyer and human rights activist.Mao's grandson, promoted to major general, faces ridicule
by John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times, 4 August 2010 By contrast, Bao Goujin, a spokesman for the Academy of Military Sciences, said "he is a natural elevation. Mao's many achievements earned him the right to be promoted."Chairman Mao’s grandson Mao Xinyu is China's youngest general
, London Evening Standard, 2 August 2010 According to Mao, family was “definitely a factor. This is an objective fact you can’t avoid.” contributed to his promotion. Mao is also a member of the Chinese

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is the national-level organization that represents the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the political advisory body in the People's Republic ...

, an advisory group to the central government. In September 2011, Mao began teaching

Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...

at Guangzhou University Sontan College.

Family

Mao was born to Shao Hua () and

, the son of Mao Zedong and

Yang Kaihui Yang Kaihui (; courtesy name: Yunjin ; 6 November 1901 – 14 November 1930) was the second wife of Mao Zedong, whom he married in 1920. She had three children with Mao Zedong: Mao Anying, Mao Anqing and Mao Anlong. Her father was Yan ...

.More about Mao, from his grandson
Tapei Times, 15 January 2004 Mao's married Hao Mingli (郝明莉), a waitress, on 7 December 1997. They divorced after four years of marriage. His second wife is Liu Bin (), an air hostess, whom he met in 2000; they have a son, Mao Dongdong (毛东东, born 2003), and a daughter, Mao Tianyi (毛甜懿, born 2008). In 2013, he stated that "Many people have been put on an altar, including my grandfather.... But now, only by transforming them back into real people can they be understood and accepted by the public, who will then want to learn from them."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mao, Xinyu 1970 births Family of Mao Zedong Living people PLA Academy of Military Science alumni Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party alumni Renmin University of China alumni People's Liberation Army generals from Beijing Members of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Academic staff of Guangzhou University 21st-century Chinese historians Poets from Beijing Educators from Beijing 21st-century Chinese calligraphers Artists from Beijing 21st-century Chinese poets Historians from Beijing