On September 9, 1976, Chairman Mao died of illness, and the whole country mourned.

Since then, every year on December 26 (the Chairman’s birthday) and September 9 (the death anniversary), a couple will appear in the Chairman’s Memorial Hall. They would stand in line in the crowd early, pay their respects and then leave silently, but never left their names in the signature book.

None of the staff at the memorial hall knew their true identities: Chairman Mao’s niece Mao Yuanzhi, and his niece’s son-in-law Cao Quanfu.

In fact, not only the staff could not recognize them, but many of their neighbors did not know their true identities at all. The children in the family got used to their parents' low profile early on, especially the mother Mao Yuanzhi, who never mentioned the close relationship between her and her uncle Mao Zedong to the children.

Until 1990, Mao Yuanzhi, who was suffering from liver cancer, felt that his time was running out. So, she and her husband Cao Quanfu discussed it and called their second son Cao Hong, who graduated from the Chinese Department of Nankai University, to her side. She asked her son to prepare a voice recorder and spent a few days speaking out everything in her heart.

Son Cao Hong shed tears while remembering, because in his mother’s weak words, there were too many names familiar to the Chinese people: her uncle Mao Zedong, aunt Yang Kaihui, father Mao Zemin, uncles Mao Zetan, Mao Anying ... To others, these people are all great people, but to Mao Yuanzhi, they have the same identity: relatives.

It should be said that Mao Yuanzhi, who has remained anonymous for many years, was actually an important witness to the Mao family during those war years. Why is she so low-key? Why did he speak his true feelings before he died?

Mao Zedong had two younger brothers: Mao Zemin and Mao Zetan.

Mao Yuanzhi was born to his eldest brother Mao Zemin and his wife Wang Shulan, and was also Mao Zedong’s only biological niece. Her childhood in Shaoshan Chong was the happiest day in her life.

She is very naughty and always dresses like a "tomboy". At that time, her father Mao Zemin was away working for the revolution for many years, and she had been living in her hometown with her mother Wang Shulan.

In 1925, Mao Zedong took his wife, eldest son, and second son back to Shaoshan to launch the peasant movement. As soon as Yang Kaihui saw Mao Yuanzhi, she liked her very much and always called her: wild girl.

This period of time is a beautiful memory for everyone in the Mao family:

At that time, young Yang Kaihui was still there, and she would watch her son and Mao Yuanzhi and other Shaoshan children were playing in the fields together;

At that time, Mao Zemin, the second brother of the Mao family, was also young. He was the "big housekeeper" of the Mao family. In the past, such a large family would gather together. Food, clothing, and things for use are all provided by him inside and out.

At that time, the third brother of the Mao family, Mao Zetan, was only 20 years old. After following his eldest brother to Changsha to study early, he gained a sense of stability;

Because he was too young, he had no confidence in these matters. Mao Yuanzhi had almost no impression of the matter. When she grew up, she once asked the elders in the village: "Is my aunt very good-looking?" The villagers told her: "She looks like a lady at first glance, and she is always polite to everyone she meets. of". At that time, Mao Yuanzhi was looking forward to seeing this aunt that everyone praised again.

Unfortunately, the path chosen by the Mao family was destined to be full of thorns.

After the failure of the Great Revolution, Shaoshan was plunged into white terror. At that time, only my mother and Mao Yuanzhi were left guarding the Mao family's old house. My uncle's family, my third uncle, and my father were all engaged in revolution in Guangzhou, Shanghai and other places.

My mother, Wang Shulan, is an amazing woman. While taking care of her children, she also participates in the work of the local women's and farmers' association in Shaoshan. In her opinion, this can be regarded as contributing to the revolution. Unexpectedly, as the Mao brothers became more and more famous outside, Wang Shulan was no longer safe in her hometown. She had no choice but to bring her daughter to Changsha.

In 1929, Wang Shulan, who was unaccompanied in Changsha, was arrested. Mao Yuanzhi, who was only 6 years old, was also imprisoned together with his mother. It was not until the following year, when the Red Army attacked Changsha, that Wang Shulan and her daughter escaped together with their fellow prisoners.

After being released from prison, Wang Shulan found the party organization. After that, she and her daughter traveled to Changsha, Huarong and other places, often dressing up as beggars and sending out a lot of important information. Later, the organization suffered great damage. Wang Shulan had no choice but to work as a child laborer and child bride.

Spent time in prison, worked as a beggar, worked as a child laborer, and worked as a child bride. These hardships formed Mao Yuanzhi’s childhood.

It was not until the end of 1937 that Mao Zemin arrived in Yan'an after completing his mission. Only then did he have time to take care of his daughter back home. He quickly wrote to the person in charge of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army, saying: I still have a daughter in Hunan. She may be working as a maid or a child bride in the landlord's house. Can you help me find her...

Soon, comrades from the Wuhan office found Mao Yuanzhi. At this time, she was already a 15-year-old girl. She is illiterate but does rough work very neatly.

In early 1938, under the arrangement of the underground party, Mao Yuanzhi finally arrived in Yan'an.

In the past few years, Mao Yuanzhi has been looking forward to a lot:

She wants to see her father, after all, her impression of him is still at the age of 5;

She wants to see her aunt who named her "Wild Girl" because she heard adults say that her aunt likes her very much;

She wants to see Mao Anying, and she heard that he is as naughty as herself;

She wanted to meet her third uncle Mao Zetan, who was said to be the most courageous person in the Mao family;

Of course, she also wanted to meet her eldest uncle. Others told her: Your uncle is a man who does great things.

But after arriving in Yan'an, Mao Yuanzhi only saw his uncle:

His father had just been sent to Xinjiang a few months ago;

Aunt Yang Kaihui died in 1930;

Mao Anying was sent to study in the Soviet Union;

Third uncle Mao Zetan died in Ruijin, Jiangxi in 1935.

The big family that left Shaoshan back then is now like this.

In order to welcome Mao Yuanzhi's arrival, Chairman Mao specially prepared two simple dishes. During the dinner, after Chairman Mao asked a lot about his hometown, he took out a piece of paper from the table and neatly wrote five common words on it.

When Mao Yuanzhi took a look, she didn’t recognize any of these five words. Chairman Mao was inevitably sad when he saw this. Thinking of the Mao family's children, every one of them is "material for studying together" in the eyes of old man Shaoshan Chong. Nowadays, no matter what, the second brother’s child cannot be allowed to be illiterate. Therefore, Chairman Mao decided at that time to send his niece to a primary school in Yan'an to study.

Upon hearing this, Mao Yuanzhi readily agreed.

In the following days, every day was new to Mao Yuanzhi. She studied voraciously. It only took her a year and a half to complete five years of primary school. After finishing elementary school, she joined the Second Bureau of the Military Commission as a confidential secretary, and continued to take up cultural classes while working.

It was while working that Mao Yuanzhi met her husband Cao Quanfu.

Cao Quanfu was two years older than Mao Yuanzhi. He came from a scholarly family in Shandong and was the youngest son in the family. After the July 7th Incident in 1937, while studying in a county middle school, he joined the student anti-Japanese and national salvation movement. Later, he and his classmates came to Yan'an and entered the Anti-Japanese University to study.

Because they often study together, Mao Yuanzhi and Cao Quanfu have the opportunity to get along. As time passed, the two young hearts came together tightly.

After falling in love, Mao Yuanzhi thought about it again and again, and still thought that he had to tell his uncle about it. After all, he is his only relative in Yan'an.

So, one day in October 1945, Mao Yuanzhi took Cao Quanfu to Zaoyuan.

This was Cao Quanfu’s first time meeting Chairman Mao, and he was somewhat nervous at first. On that day, Chairman Mao made a rare act of "generosity": he asked the cook to make a large bowl of braised pork.

During the dinner, Chairman Mao himself was reluctant to eat meat, so he put pieces of meat into the bowls of the two children. A comrade named Yu who accompanied him suddenly asked about Mao Zemin's whereabouts: "Where is he now?"

It turns out that since arriving in Yan'an in 1938, Mao Yuanzhi has never been there in these years. Meet the father. She is very sensible and knows that her father is on a mission in Xinjiang, but she does not dare to disturb her uncle with this matter.

When Chairman Mao heard the question, he stopped picking up the food. He had to tell Mao Yuanzhi a cruel fact: "Your father was killed by the reactionaries!"

It turned out that, After Mao Zemin was dispatched to Xinjiang by the central government in February 1938, he changed his name to Zhou Bin and has been doing united front work there. During this period, he completed his tasks excellently time and time again. However, unfortunately, he was secretly killed by the reactionaries on September 27, 1943.

Upon hearing the news, Mao Yuanzhi, who had been happily chatting with his uncle just now, was stunned. After waiting for 7 years, I still never saw my father. She bit her lip, trying not to cry.

Chairman Mao couldn't eat anymore when he saw her like this. He stood up and walked into the cave in the back room where he worked. For Chairman Mao, this younger brother has always been his pride.

When Mao Zedong was young, he went to study in Changsha. Both his father and mother were in poor health, and it was actually his second brother Mao Zemin who took care of the family and outside the house. Every time he returns home from Changsha, he can always have hot meals and dishes.

Later, Mao Zemin left his small family behind and followed his elder brother to join the revolution. He served as the first president of the National Bank of the Soviet Union and established a unified fiscal and monetary system in the Soviet area. During the Long March, the Red Army's fundraising and food preparation all fell on Mao Zemin. It can be said that he is the founder of our party's financial system.

Mao Zemin had nothing to say about Mao Zedong, his eldest brother: after Yang Kaihui's death, the Mao Anying brothers lived with their grandmother, uncle and others, and they might be in danger at any time. After learning of this situation, Mao Zemin quickly rushed to Shanghai risking his own life.

In a hotel arranged by the Shanghai underground party, Mao Anying met her uncle. At that time, Mao Anying, who was only 8 years old, threw herself into his arms and cried: "Uncle, my mother is dead!" Mao Zemin touched the heads of Mao Anying and Mao Anying and couldn't help crying. After that, these children were able to live in Shanghai under the arrangement of their uncle.

Chairman Mao knew all these things. Therefore, from the heart, his feelings for this second brother are extremely deep. Now he couldn't bear to see his niece so sad about his father's death.

After a while, Mao Yuanzhi wiped away his tears and walked into the cave dwelling where Chairman Mao worked. She said to her uncle: "Uncle, don't worry, I can hold on, I will be strong!"

Chairman Mao nodded sadly when he heard what she said.

After returning to his residence, Mao Yuanzhi couldn't sleep. A few days later, she and Cao Quanfu found her uncle again and told him an important decision: We wanted to go to the front line, to the Northeast, to fight the reactionaries. After hearing this, Chairman Mao said on the spot: "You should go far away and go exercise!"

Before leaving, Mao Yuanzhi decided to marry Cao Quanfu first. After Chairman Mao learned about it, he sent his niece two gifts: a fur coat and an old brown horse.

Such a gift is indeed "unprecedented". You know, when his son Mao Anying got married in October 1949, the gift he gave was just an old coat. In 1960, when his son Mao Anqing got married, all he gave him was a very ordinary watch and a radio.

In this way, with his uncle's blessing, Mao Yuanzhi and his wife began to "fly away".

Mao Yuanzhi, who has been cared for by his uncle for many years, has always been very close to his children. Especially towards Mao Anying, Mao Yuanzhi had a special feeling of intimacy.

Mao Anying and Mao Yuanzhi are about the same age. When they were children in Shaoshan, the two often chased and fought. Later, they experienced the same difficult childhood. When Mao Yuanzhi finally went to Yan'an, Mao Anying was sent to Yan'an again.

It was not until the early autumn of 1948 that Mao Yuanzhi met Mao Anying briefly by chance.

That day, Mao Yuanzhi received a message from a fellow villager, saying that her son Cao Zhiwei, who was fostering in a fellow villager's home, suddenly became seriously ill and asked her to go and see him quickly. At that time, in order to carry out the revolution, Mao Yuanzhi and his wife fostered their children in the homes of fellow villagers.

It was more than 100 miles a day from the army to the hometown of a fellow villager. Mao Yuanzhi was anxious, so he got on his horse and left. On the way, when she passed by the Xibaipo Central Station, she had no time to go in and take a look. Mr. Zhu's wife Kang Keqing saw Mao Yuanzhi from a distance and shouted her name.

Coincidentally, Mao Anying was next to Kang Keqing at that time. In this way, Mao Yuanzhi met Mao Anying, but this time they did not have time to reminisce about the past. When Mao Anying heard that her son was sick, she kept urging her: "Hurry up and leave. We still have time to talk later." Before leaving, he also specifically told her: "When you get there, if you need my help with anything, just ask someone to help you." Come to me!"

After hearing this, Mao Yuanzhi quickly mounted his horse and ran forward. When she rushed to the fellow villager's house, she found out that her son Cao Zhiwei had dysentery, which was difficult to treat at the time. Mao Yuanzhi, who was crying with tears in his eyes, suddenly ran out of ideas: The child could not be separated from others, and he wanted to go to the hospital but was worried about meeting reactionaries on the road.

After thinking about it, she thought of Mao Anying, so she quickly asked someone to send a letter. Soon, Mao Anying arrived on horseback. Seeing that the child was dying, 26-year-old Mao Anying did not hesitate, picked up the child and ran to the hospital. In the end, with the care of his mother and uncle Anying, the child's life was saved.

Mao Yuanzhi firmly remembered the kindness of saving his son. Therefore, after the founding of New China, every time Mao Yuanzhi, who was working in other places, came to Beijing, he would talk to Mao Anying to reminisce about the past.

Mao Yuanzhi originally thought that the flesh-and-blood relationship between her father and Mao Anying could be maintained forever. Unexpectedly, on November 25, 1950, Mao Anying died heroically in North Korea.

Mao Yuanzhi’s family was in Nanchang when they learned the bad news. Her husband and children knew about her relationship with Mao Anying, and they didn't know how to comfort her. I saw Mao Yuanzhi taking out a group photo from the cabinet, stroking it gently, and burst into tears.

That photo was sent to her by Chairman Mao in 1946. At that time, Mao Yuanzhi was in the north, and Mao Anying had just returned to Yan'an from the Soviet Union and took a group photo with his father. Afterwards, Chairman Mao specially developed this photo and sent a copy to Mao Yuanzhi.

Seeing her uncle and Mao Anying smiling so happily in the photo, Mao Yuanzhi was very sad. She said many times:

In the following years, Mao Yuanzhi rarely went to see Mao Zedong. Chairman, she has always kept her mother's words in mind: "Your uncle is a person who does big things, try not to trouble him!"

But Chairman Mao did not forget this niece. In September 1959, Li Min and Kong Linghua were discussing marriage. They didn't plan to invite too many people. After reading the guest list, Chairman Mao specifically warned: Don't forget your sister Yuanzhi.

At that wedding, everyone took a photo like this with the bride and groom:

In the photo, the two children next to Chairman Mao are Mao Yuanzhi’s son and daughter. Chairman Mao liked them very much and specially pulled them to take pictures with him.

The last time Mao Yuanzhi saw Chairman Mao was in December 1963, when Chairman Mao celebrated his 70th birthday.

After not seeing his uncle for many years, Mao Yuanzhi discussed with Li Min to go to Zhongnanhai to celebrate his uncle's simple birthday. Chairman Mao learned that she was coming and personally sent a car to pick her up.

As soon as he saw her, Chairman Mao asked: "Why haven't you come here after all these years? Has your headache been cured?" Mao Yuanzhi did not expect that after so many years, his uncle would still remember that she had a headache. thing. Her nose was sore and she couldn't say a word.

After meeting his uncle this time, Mao Yuanzhi returned to work. Her health has never been good, but she has always insisted on giving birth. In order to prevent others from giving her any special care because of her status as Chairman Mao's niece, she became accustomed to hiding her name. When introducing herself to others, she basically calls herself: Ruan Zhi.

It wasn’t until he became seriously ill in 1990 that Mao Yuanzhi felt it was his responsibility to tell every detail of his time with his uncle’s family, so that future generations could better understand his uncle. So, at the beginning of this article, she called her son back to make a recording. These records are all from her heart.

As he lay dying, Mao Yuanzhi kept shouting intermittently: Shaoshan Chong...

The children knew that their mother was homesick. So they buried her on the hillside opposite Chairman Mao's former residence in Shaoshan.

While packing up their mother’s belongings, the children also found a mutilated letter, dated December 27, 1949. The letter reads:

Signed: Anying. Mao Yuanzhi kept this letter for more than 40 years.

During those war years, as a member of the Mao family, Mao Yuanzhi experienced the hardships that almost every member of the family had to go through. In peaceful times, like other descendants of the Mao family, she lived a low-key life. In this choice, we clearly see two words: family tradition.