Remembering Mao Anying, son of Mao Zedong who died fighting US imperialism in Korea

The following article by Xia Yuansheng – president of the Hunan Provincial CPC Historical Figures Research Association – recalls the heroic sacrifice of Mao Anying (eldest son of Mao Zedong), who died on the frontlines of resistance against US imperialism and in solidarity with the Korean people. This episode forms part of a tremendously important history of militant anti-imperialist solidarity and enduring bonds of friendship between China and the DPRK.

The article was published in Chinese in 2010. It is included in the most recent issue of Dongsheng Chinese Voices, to mark the 71st anniversary of Mao Anying’s death (25 November 1950). Chinese Voices provides a valuable weekly newsletter containing a selection of articles by key Chinese thinkers.

On 25 June 1950, the Korean War broke out. On the third day, the United States imperialists announced armed assistance to south Korea and at the same time ordered its Seventh Fleet to sail into the Taiwan Strait, blatantly interfering in China’s internal affairs, and on 15 September the United States landed at Inchon and soon crossed the “38th parallel”, blatantly burning the war to the border of China and North Korea and the Yalu River, directly threatening the security and peace-building of new China. Faced with the most severe test of foreign war, political and military struggle, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, at the request of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the will of the Chinese people, decided to send troops to resist the U.S. and aid the DPRK. on October 18, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, issued the order “Resist the U.S. and aid the DPRK, protect the country”. On October 18, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, issued an order “to defend the interests of the Korean people, the Chinese people and the peoples of the East by transforming the Northeast Frontier Defense Army into the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army and marching to the territory of Korea at once to fight with the Korean comrades against the invaders and to strive for a glorious victory”. On October 25, the first battle was won, opening the prelude to the war against the U.S. and Korea, so the Chinese people have always taken this day as the anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army’s departure for North Korea.

The victory in the war against the United States and North Korea has made the world come to know the new China. The Chinese people are no longer at the mercy of the Powers as they were in the past, and they are no longer the “sick man of East Asia” in the eyes of the West. The Chinese people love peace, but they will not tolerate threats and aggression imposed on them by others. Just one year after the birth of the new China, the United States was forced to sign the armistice agreement after two years and nine months of resistance to the United States and aid the North Korea, pushing the military demarcation line back to the “38th parallel” and shocking the world. This victory shattered the myth of the invincibility of the United States army, greatly enhanced the self-confidence and pride of the Chinese nation, had a profound impact on the situation in the Far East and the world, and won a relatively stable and peaceful environment for a long period of time for China’s economic construction and social reform.

The victory in the war against the United States and North Korea was won by the Chinese People’s Volunteers with great sacrifice. Among the 110,000 victims of the volunteer army was the “first volunteer soldier” to fight against the United States and aid North Korea — Mao Anying, son of Mao Zedong, the founding leader of new China.

In October 1930, at the age of 8, Mao Anying was imprisoned with his mother, Yang Kaihui, and was rescued from prison after her death; in early 1931, he and his younger brothers, Anqing and Shilong, were sent by the Party to the Cosmos Kindergarten in Shanghai. In early 1936, the Party found the two brothers and sent them to the Soviet Union to study. During their stay in the Soviet Union, Mao Anying studied hard and excelled in his studies, and was fluent in Russian, French, English and German. After the German Fascist invasion of the Soviet Union, he joined the Soviet Union’s Patriotic War, serving as an instructor of the tank company of the First Front Army of Belarus. During this period, he joined the Communist Youth League of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and became a member of the Communist Party in 1946.

After returning to Yan’an from the Soviet Union, he worked as a translator for the Central Propaganda Department and went to the countryside for labor training. from March 1947 to April 1948, he participated in the land reform work of the Central Land Reform Working Group. The day after the peaceful liberation of Beiping, he led a platoon of engineers from the North China Military Region and entered Beiping as an advance unit of the central government organs. Thereafter, he worked as a secretary in the central organs and served as a Russian translator in foreign affairs activities. After the founding of New China, he went to work at the Beijing General Machine Factory as deputy secretary of the General Party Branch, and was praised by the workers as “a good cadre of the Party and a caring person of the workers”.

At the beginning of 1950, Mao Anying was dispatched by Mao Zedong back to Hunan to visit the folks in Shaoshan and Pancang, to visit the poor and the needy, to understand the situation, to listen to opinions and to propagate policies. He refused to allow his relatives to seek personal benefits from Mao Zedong through him, and once pointed out in a letter to his relatives: “The reason why New China is different from Old China, why the Communist Party is different from the Kuomintang, why Mao Zedong is different from Chiang Kai-shek, and why Mao’s children’s wives and uncles are different from Chiang Kai-shek’s children’s wives and uncles, apart from other more fundamental reasons, is this: imperial relatives are rich and powerful, and the time has come when the minority rules the majority. Gone are the days when the few ruled the many.”

Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War, Mao Anying accompanied Li Kenong on a mission to the Soviet Union. During that time, Mao Anying met with his old friend who had not seen him for many years at the International Children’s Institute in the Soviet Union, and talked about the Korean War and expressed his desire to go to the front to defeat U.S. imperialism if necessary. After his return to China, Zhou Enlai arranged for him to be transferred to the Beijing General Machine Factory as deputy secretary of the General Party Branch. He wore an old military uniform of rustic cloth and a belt around his waist, and during the day he worked as an apprentice to the master workers, pouring cooling oil on the machines, lifting sand boxes and loading sand for the casters; at night, he taught the workers about the revolution and Russian.

In early October, the United States army crossed the 38th parallel, and Kim Il-sung made a request to China to send troops to help. As the lips were dying, Mao Zedong chaired a meeting of the Central Political Bureau day and night to discuss whether to send troops. It was tentatively agreed that Peng Dehuai would lead the expedition.

When Mao Anying heard the news, he came to the guard’s duty room in Fengze Park and anxiously asked the guard, Li Jiaji, “Uncle Li, is my father asleep? I have something to ask him.” Li Jiaji told Mao Xianying to wait, and when he came to the office and saw Mao Zedong reading documents, he handed over the day’s newspaper and said, “Chairman, Xianying wants to see you, and says he has something to do.” Mao Zedong said without consideration, “Fine, let him come.” Li Jiaji turned around and prepared to go tell Mao Xianying, but found him already at the door. Mao Shanying asked Mao Zedong, “Dad, I want to join the war in North Korea, do you agree?”

Mao was first stunned and slowly asked, “Have you discussed this with Siqi when you think of North Korea?”

“It was discussed ……,” Mao replied to his father.

Mao took a deep puff of his cigarette and said seriously, “Since you yourself have asked for it and Siqi has agreed to it, I support your action.”

At noon on October 7, 1950, Mao Zedong hosted a family banquet for Peng Dehuai, who was about to leave for the Northeast to assume his duties as commander and political commissar of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army. The so-called family banquet was two more dishes than the usual four dishes and one soup, and these dishes were all bacon, preserved fish and chili peppers brought by Mao Anying from his hometown when he visited his relatives, which were authentic Hunan dishes. Mao said, “O old Peng, I have a favor to ask.” He politely brought up the idea of Mao Anying joining the volunteer army. Seeing that Peng Dehuai did not agree, Mao said, “Old Peng, ah, I think you should take him, I’ll ask for a favor for Anying!

When he went to fight in North Korea in crisis, life and death were unpredictable. A leader’s son, who had just been married for a year and had just lived a happy life in the new China, had to stay away from his loved ones and put his life on the line, reflecting the noble character and strong party spirit of Mao Xianying.

As the leader of the Chinese people, Mao Zedong begged to send his son to the battlefield, not that he did not know the danger of going, nor did he not love his own flesh and blood; he sent his son to the front in order to rouse more people to join the ranks of the resistance to the United States, to defend the country, to make the motherland safe, to make the people safe. He loved his son deeply, but loved the people even more, and was able to give up everything he had for the sake of the people. This is the great invisible spiritual power, the power that can be invincible, that can be indestructible, that can be invincible in battle!

On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded.

On October 15, Mao Zedong married Mao Xianying and Liu Siqi, who had been in love with each other for more than two years. After the marriage, Shishiyin worked in the Central Investigation Department while Siqi studied at school.

Mao Shanying applied to join the war in Korea on the same day that Liu Siqi was hospitalized with acute appendicitis.

During the hospitalization. After Liu Siqi was hospitalized and operated on, Mao Anying came to see her in the hospital. For several days afterwards, Liu Siqi did not see Mao Xianying. One day, already very late, Mao Anying suddenly came to the hospital and said to his wife Liu Siqi, “Recently I have to go on a business trip to a very far place. Don’t be anxious if you can’t receive my letter, mainly because of the inconvenience of transportation.” As he was saying goodbye, he added, “This business trip may be too long to take care of Anqing, so I hope your mother will take care of him during the time I am not in Beijing.” He took his wife’s hand again and said, “Now that the whole country is liberated, we will never live an uprooted life again; you must cherish this opportunity to study and work hard to complete your education.” He never told his wife where he was traveling to and how long he was going.

Finally, Mao asked by chance, “The Korean peninsula, do you know it?”

Liu Siqi said, “I know, there is a war going on there.” However, Liu Siqi did not make any connection between her husband’s “business trip” and the Korean War.

He stood up reluctantly and said to his wife, “I am leaving, after you are discharged from the hospital, go to Zhongnanhai every Saturday to visit your father, don’t stop going just because I am not there for you. I hope you will take good care of Anqing, can you promise?” And with that he left. It was after eleven o’clock late at night when he left, and he said he was going to her mother’s place to talk to her mother.

Mao Anying hurriedly knocked on the door of Zhang Wenqiu s room. Zhang Wenqiu woke up from his dream and hurriedly got up and opened the door. When he asked him what was the matter, he said, “Father asked me to go to the Soviet Union. The matter is confidential, and I can’t talk much about it. I’m leaving, and I’m just very uneasy about my brother. I came especially to ask you to please take care of him for me.”

Zhang Wenqiu agreed to Mao Anying’s commission, however, at that time she did not know that Mao Anying was not going to the Soviet Union the next day, but to the front line of the resistance against the United States. She didn’t even think that Mao Anying would never return from then on, and that her promise would take decades or even a lifetime to complete.

Liu Si-Qi later recalled that An-Ying spent the last 34 days of his life on the Korean soil, and I

As his wife, I had no idea where he had gone at that time, and it was not until two years later, in early 1953, that I learned that he had gone to the front line in Korea, and I knew very little about the life and battles before and after Kishiyong went to Korea to fight in the war. Comrades from North Korea once said to me, “The mountains and waters of North Korea are stained with the blood of the martyrs of the volunteer army!”

After arriving in the Korean theater, Mao Anying served as secretary and interpreter for Peng Dehuai, commander of the Volunteer Army, and as secretary of the party branch of the command. He did not have combat duties, but he also often studied the enemy’s situation with his staff officers and expressed his opinions. At that time, when the Volunteer Command met, a tall young man was always seen attending the meetings and participating in the speeches from time to time, but no one knew who he was. Once in an operational meeting, Yang Di, deputy director of the Operations Division, saw a large man sitting next to Peng Dehuai and felt that this interpreter was not very unusual. After the meeting he asked the Director of Operations, Ding Ganru: What is he? Ding Ganru replied, I can’t tell you, it’s discipline. Later, he learned that Mao Anying was one of the first people to follow Peng Dehuai into the war in Korea.

Ren Rong, the organizing minister of the volunteer army, later recalled that before departure, his superiors said to him that a Russian interpreter was riding in your car. As soon as he got into the car, Ren Rong felt that the Russian interpreter looked familiar, but could not recall where he had seen him before. After a long conversation, the interpreter told him that he was newly married and that his father had supported him in coming to North Korea. Ren Rong said that at that time he only had a good feeling for the Russian interpreter who was well informed, and at the same time he thought his father was very progressive in his thinking, but as to who his father was, Ren Rong neither asked nor thought to ask. It was only later that he learned of Mao’s identity.

In the volunteer headquarters, during the day, Mao Anying and everyone worked in the office of General Peng, and at night Peng rested on the office marching bed, Mao Xianying and Yang Fengan slept on the floor bunk built with straw. In less than a week, they were covered with lice and usually ate rice of coarse sorghum rice and no green vegetables. Peng Dehuai was very concerned about Mao Anying and repeatedly offered to let Mao Anying and him eat together, but Mao Anying declined.

The company’s friends, Zhao Nanqi, discovered a little secret about Mao Anying. Mao Anying always had a photo in his jacket pocket, and he often took it out to look at it when he was free, and he was careful to put it next to his pillow before he went to bed at night.

Zhao Nanqi asked, “The girl in the photo, she’s your date, right?” “Not an object, a wife!” Mao Anying replied proudly. Mao Anying said, “The day I left, she was still hospitalized in Beijing, I haven’t written to her since I arrived in North Korea, and I don’t know how she is doing now, I really miss her!” Zhao Nanqi advised him to ask someone from China, but Mao Anying replied, “This is a violation of discipline and specialization, and my father will criticize me if he finds out. Father always said: in times of war, the love of children will miss important things.” Zhao Nanqi recalled that during the days when he worked and lived with Mao Anying, he was often seen with stomach pains. Mao Anying told Zhao Nanqi: “I was in prison as a child, and then wandered after being released from prison, and fell ill with stomach problems. Eating fried noodles, especially sorghum rice, is not very easy to digest.” “You’d better go to a small stove and eat some fine food, don’t spoil your stomach.” Mao Anying said, “It does not matter, slowly will adapt.”

Perhaps influenced by Mao Zedong, Mao Anying also loved to read. He brought books to North Korea and lit wax late at night to read them.On November 7, Kim Il Sung and the Soviet ambassador to North Korea, Razovayev, went to the volunteer headquarters in Dayu-dong to meet with Peng Dehuai, and Mao Xianying acted as interpreter for the first time. Mao Anying, who had spent many years in the Soviet Union, translated in fluent Russian to the Soviet ambassador about General Peng’s first campaign and his plans for launching the second campaign. Both General Peng and the ambassador were satisfied with Mao’s translation. After the talks were over, it was proposed that Kishiyō compile the records and give them to Chairman Mao, and Kishiyō immediately compiled the translated records of the talks under the candle of his office. Unfortunately, he died before the records could be sent.

On November 25, the morning of the launch of the second volunteer campaign, several U.S. bombers passed over the volunteer headquarters stationed on the southern slope of Dayu-dong without dropping bombs. The staff of the Chiji Division, which had made anti-aircraft preparations, breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, the enemy planes suddenly turned around and dropped dozens of napalm bombs on the volunteer headquarters compound, engulfing the war room in a sea of fire and costing the young lives of Mao Shanying and staff officer Gao Ruixin, who were on duty in the wooden house.

Everyone gathered around the remains and wept bitterly; Peng Dehuai’s face was pale, his eyes were filled with hot tears, and he was silent with grief and anger. Thinking of the several calls from Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai urging him, “Your command posts should construct reliable air-raid shelters to safeguard your command.” “Your command posts should quickly build solid air-raid shelters, and build them immediately, never neglecting to do so.” “Please pay full attention to the safety of your organs, and never be careless.” And he was so busy every day only in commanding the war that he did not expect such a great misfortune to

occur, leaving him both shocked and remorseful. He said sorrowfully, “Mao Shanying was the first volunteer soldier of our volunteer army. The Party Central Committee, Chairman Mao, had just appointed me commander of the volunteer army when he approached me to sign up.”

Peng Dehuai reported to the Central Military Commission that day specifically, a short message, but wrote more than an hour.

After receiving the telegram, the Central Machine Room first sent it to Zhou Enlai to read. Zhou Enlai wrote on the telegram, “Liu (Shaoqi) and Zhu (De), as the Chairman is not well these two days, so he has not been shown it.” Knowing full well how great a blow this would be to Mao, Zhou Enlai was unwilling to distract Mao at a tense moment when he was commanding a major battle, and put the telegram on hold.

It was not until after New Year’s Day, 1951, that Zhou Enlai sent the telegram to Mao Zedong to read, with a letter saying, “Comrade Mao Anying’s sacrifice was glorious, and at that time I did not send this telegram to be read because you were all in the flu, but it had been sent to Comrade Shaoqi to read. Before and after this incident, I had even telephoned the Party Committee of the Chi Division and Peng, asking them to pay serious attention to the safety of the commanding body, and those who came back from the front often mentioned this matter. Gao Ruixin was also a very good confidential staff officer. After the victory, more tombstones of martyrs in memory of the Chinese People’s Volunteers should be erected in Dayu-dong and many other battlefields.”

Neither the letter nor the telegram was long, but Mao Zedong read it for a long time. Ye Zilong, who delivered the documents, stood there quietly the whole time. Mao Zedong forced down his grief and said, “Alas! War, there are always casualties, it doesn’t matter, who let him be Mao Zedong’s son. …… Anying is a bitter child, grew up without a mother, and later joined the war, did not live a few good days.” “This matter beforehand do not speak to Si Qi, later, as late as possible …… alas, newly married soon after the loss of her husband, how can she withstand this heavy grief yo!” Mao’s eyes were red again, and he had to bear the pain of this loss of his son alone.

When Peng Dehuai returned to report on his work, he told Mao Zedong in detail about the sacrifice of Mao Anying and reviewed the situation with guilt, saying, “Chairman, after you let Anying accompany me to the Korean front, he worked very actively. But I did not pay attention to your and Enlai’s instructions to urge the Chi Division to pay attention to air defense several times, resulting in the unfortunate sacrifice of Shishiying and Staff Officer Gao, for which I should be held responsible, and for which I and the comrades of the Chi Division are still grieving.”

Mao Zedong listened to this and was silent for a while. A short while later, he looked at Peng Dehuai, who was upset, and said, “People always die in wars! The Chinese People’s Volunteers have already sacrificed the lives of so many soldiers. Anying is an ordinary soldier, don’t take it as a big deal just because he is my son.” And he urged, “Now that the United States is using about a thousand planes of all kinds on the Korean battlefield, you must not be negligent and careless, but take every measure to ensure the safety of the command.”

Mao Anying was sent to fight in North Korea with the headquarters of the volunteer army with the consent of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong poured his infinite fatherly love and high hopes on him, but Mao Zedong did not see Mao Anying as belonging only to himself, but to the Party and to the people, and he should serve his country.

With the consent of Mao Zedong, the martyr Mao Anying, like millions of other martyrs of the volunteer army, rested on the soil of North Korea and became a symbol of friendship between the Chinese and North Korean people.

After Mao Anying died on the battlefield in Korea, Mao Zedong recited an ancient poem: “In the past, the willows were planted in the south of the Han River. Now I see it shaking down, and I feel sorry for the river pool. If the tree is like this, how can people be embarrassed.” When his son’s blood was spilled on the battlefield against the U.S. and Korea, he waved tears of pain and said, “The bones of loyalty are buried everywhere in the green hills, and there is no need to return with the corpse of a horse.” His son’s bones were buried with countless other martyrs of the volunteer army in the green hills and waters of the neighbouring country of Korea.

Mao’s wife, Liu Siqi, always thought it was a dream that her husband had left her forever. When Mao urged her to remarry, she said, “Anying went to North Korea without my knowledge and never returned, and I ended up not even seeing his bones, not even visiting his grave, so how could I possibly consider remarriage?!” Later, the Central Office arranged for a secretary to accompany Liu Siqi and others to North Korea to sweep the graves of Anying and the volunteer martyrs who rested there. Before the trip, Mao Zedong took out his writing fee to buy a new suit for each of them and instructed, “When you go to visit Anying, it is a private matter for our family. Don’t use a penny of public money; don’t alert the North Korean comrades; stay in the embassy; and don’t stay too long.”

Under Mao’s care and repeated persuasion, Liu Siqi finally established a happy family with Yang Maozhi, an instructor at the Air Force Aviation Academy, in 1962. Mao Zedong was relieved of his father’s heartache and said to Liu Siqi, “Don’t be estranged from your father’s love in the future, you are not my daughter-in-law, but still my daughter!” After the marriage, Liu Siqi changed her name to Liu Songlin.

“Ruthlessness is not necessarily a true hero, pity the son how not husband”. In 1990, when the staff organized Mao’s relics, they found that the Chairman had been quietly keeping the relics of his beloved son, Mao Anying.

After his death in Korea, Mao left behind two cotton woven shirts, a pair of socks, a military cap and a towel. Mao Zedong hid these clothes from everyone and kept them neatly folded around him, quietly treasuring them for more than 20 years, during which time he moved several times, but the staff around him never found them.

One can imagine Mao’s innermost thoughts as a father to his son Mao Anying!

Not only do the majority of Party members and cadres and the people love and admire Mao Anying, but the Chinese Party and military leaders, likewise, hold Mao Anying in high regard.

Premier Zhou Enlai said: “Mao Anying died one month and three days after entering the People’s Republic of China. He had suffered, stayed in school, fought in the war, and undergone training in the countryside and factories. Mao Anying’s sacrifice was an irreparable loss to the Party and especially to the President.

Marshal Peng Dehuai said: when the country is in trouble, stand up for it, this is not everyone can do. Some high cadres and even senior cadres themselves did not do it, but Mao Anying did, and Mao Anying was determined to request to go to North Korea to fight against the United States.

Kim Il Sung, the leader of the DPRK, commented that Comrade Mao Zedong was a great example and model of internationalism who sacrificed five of his beloved relatives, including his wife, for the cause of liberation of the Chinese people, and sent his most beloved eldest son, Mao Anying, to the DPRK for the sake of the Korean people’s anti-invasion and the defence of world peace. Anying died, and we will always miss him!

Photo: Martyr Mao Ningying’s monument in North Korea

On March 11, 1991, General Secretary Jiang Zemin visited the former residence of Mao Zedong in Shaoshan and saw a letter written by Mao Anying to his cousin’s uncle Xiang Sanli in October 1949, and immediately asked someone to make a copy of it. He said in a serious tone to those around him: If every Party member and every cadre is like what Comrade Mao Anying said in his letter, being a loyal son or daughter of the people, we will be able to withstand any severe test.

The uncle mentioned in “Mao Anying’s Letter to Cousin Xiang Sanli”, who “hoped to have a position as director in Changsha”, was Mao Anying’s own uncle Yang Kaizhi, the eldest brother of Mao Anying’s biological mother Yang Kaihui. In 1938, Yang Kaizhi sent his daughter Yang Zhan to join the revolution in Yan’an through the Eighth Route Army office in Hunan, and Yang Zhan died in 1941 in the Jinchaji border area. After the establishment of New China, Yang Kaizhi was assigned by the People’s Government to be in charge of professional technology in Hunan Agricultural Experiment Farm, but he wanted to work in Beijing, so he wrote to Mao Zedong to make a request, Mao Zedong wrote back and asked him to “wait in Hunan for the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee to assign you a job that meets your ability, do not have any extravagant expectations, and do not come to Beijing. Do whatever work the Hunan Provincial Committee assigns you, and do everything according to the normal rules, don’t make things difficult for the government”. Yang Kaizhi then wanted to seek a directorship in Hunan and turned to his cousin Xiang Sanli to intercede on his behalf. Xiang Sanli is the nephew of Mao’s grandmother Xiang Zhenxi, and Mao Zedong and Mao’s father and son are very familiar, but also dare not say this favor to Mao Zedong, so they wrote a letter to Mao Anqing, conveying the idea of cousin Yang Kaizhi, and in the letter requested Mao Anqing said, help his uncle this favor, this is the common sense of man. After receiving the letter, Mao Anying felt that the old society’s ideas were still prevalent among his relatives, and that not only could he not violate the organizational principle and do his uncle this favor, but he also had to exhort his relatives, explaining to them that the Communist Party was a political party for the benefit of the people, not a feudal dynasty and the corrupt regime of Chiang Kai-shek; that Mao Zedong was the people’s leader, not an emperor who had been overthrown by the people and who had implemented the Chiang dynasty Chiang Kai-shek. After careful consideration, Mao Anying then wrote this letter to Xiang Sanli for advice and education.

After reading Mao’s letter, Xiang Sanli was deeply educated and passed it on to Yang Kaizhi. Through the guidance of Mao’s father and son, Yang Kaizhi figured it out and was at ease with his job. In his letter to Yang and his wife, Mao praised them, “It is very good that you are working in the provincial government.” He encouraged them to keep on “working hard and showing their achievements”. Later, whenever this letter was mentioned, Xiang Sanli always said with admiration, “An Ying is a good son of Chairman Mao, and an even better son of the Party!”

Mao Anying was worthy of being a good son of Mao Zedong and a good son of the Chinese people. He not only advised his relatives in this way, but also demanded this of himself. a year after writing this letter, he responded to the call of the Party and Comrade Mao Zedong, joined the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army, fought against the United States and supported North Korea, spilled his blood in a foreign country, and practiced his belief in fighting for the interests of the people for life. Sixty years have passed and great changes have taken place in social history, but the ideology, morality and style of the exemplary communists embodied by Mao Zedong and Mao Anying are still remembered and admired by hundreds of millions of people, and remain a valuable spiritual asset for building the core socialist values today.