Among the descendants of Chairman Mao, the ones most similar in appearance to him are not his son and daughter, but his granddaughter Kong Dongmei, who has never met.
In addition to having a similar face, the mole on Kong Dongmei's chin makes her look like her grandfather Chairman Mao.
Among the descendants of Chairman Mao, Kong Dongmei is also the most maverick. On different occasions, she can show a different version of herself.
At the party, she is a fashionable woman wearing a Gucci watch and Prada ; sitting in her own Juxiang bookstore , she is a Sven woman entrepreneur.
Low-key, stylish, similar to her grandfather Chairman Mao, is the most common description for her by reporters who have interviewed her.
When talking about Chairman Mao in every interview, Kong Dongmei would say: "I have no chance to see my grandfather, which is my biggest regret."
Father's love
He Zizhen was born in 1909 In Yongxin County, Jiangxi Province, she has become a member of the Communist Party at the age of 17. Together with her elder brother He Minxue and younger sister He Yi, they are known as "Yongxin Sanhe".
In August 1927, 18-year-old He Zizhen came to Jinggangshan for the first time with the Jiangxi Yongxin riot team. Two months later, 34-year-old Chairman Mao led the Autumn Harvest Uprising. Yu Bu traveled thousands of miles to Jinggang Mountain.
In the mountains of Wanshan, Chairman Mao met He Zizhen, who was called "Yongxin One Flower". Because the two gradually began to intersect at work, a year later,Chairman Mao and He Zizhen got married in Jinggangshan and began a ten-year marriage life.
Speaking of grandma and grandmother, Kong Dongmei said: "These ten years have been the most difficult years of the Chinese revolution, the most difficult period of grandpa's political career, but the most splendid years of grandma's life."
In the arduous war years, Chairman Mao and He Zizhen had 6 children before and after, but on the turbulent Long March Road, in the smoke of war, the only child who survived was Kong Dongmei's Mother, Li Min.
Because when he was in northern Shaanxi, Chairman Mao once took the pseudonym "Li Desheng", and when he named his daughter, he took it from the Analects of Confucius, "a gentleman is shy in words but quick in deeds". The deep father's love is all condensed in in this name.
In 1959, Li Min, who was studying at Peking University , decided to marry Kong Linghua, his childhood sweetheart.
Kong Linghua is the son of Kong Congzhou, deputy commander of the artillery. He and Li Min were classmates in middle school. The two knew each other very well and fell in love.
Compared to Chairman Mao who did not attend the hasty wedding of his youngest daughter Li Ne, Chairman Mao was very satisfied with his eldest daughter's marriage. Chairman Mao repeatedly asked that the wedding could not be held until he was present. The two who were supposed to get married in July just postponed the wedding for more than a month, and the wedding was held in the Yi Nian Hall in Zhongnanhai at the end of August.
After marriage, Li Min and her husband Kong Linghua lived in Zhongnanhai. A year later, the two gave birth to the crystallization of love, Kong Dongmei's brother Kong Jining.
Chairman Mao likes his great grandson very much, and often hugs the child after work. Due to some special reasons, Li Min reconsidered and decided to move out of Zhongnanhai.
Hearing his daughter's plan, Chairman Mao did not stop him, but said with some emotion: "The palms and backs of the hands are full of meat!"
Maverick's granddaughter
In 1964, Li Min and his wife moved in Bingmasi Hutong An ordinary house, began to live a real civilian life.
Kong Dongmei was born at this time, but before she was born, she was almost destroyed by Li Min and his wife.
Because all aspects of China were difficult back then, from Chairman Mao to the common people, it was very difficult. In 1972, Li Min, who found out that she was pregnant again, was very entangled in her heart. She didn't know whether she should give birth to this child.
Li Min hesitated and asked his father for his opinion. After hearing about this, Chairman Mao said firmly: "No matter how difficult life is, this child should be wanted."
Hearing his father's words, Li Min did Determined, at the most difficult time gave birth to his daughter, Chairman Mao's only granddaughter.
When the child was born, because Chairman Mao was too old and could not see his grandfather, Li Min showed Chairman Mao a photo of his daughter, hoping that the father could name the child.
Looking at the photo of the little doll in his hand, Chairman Mao took the word "east" from his name, and then used his favorite plum blossom to name his granddaughter, Kong Dongmei.
Kong Dongmei, as Chairman Mao's only granddaughter, bears this name, but also faces external pressure all the time. For a long time in her formative years, she was bewildered by the identity of Chairman Mao's granddaughter.
Before the age of 6, Kong Dongmei lived in Shanghai with his grandmother He Zizhen.Because of his special status, Kong Dongmei enjoyed a relatively prosperous life as a child.
At that time, she could eat popsicles, watch foreign cartoons, and go to the beach for vacation, "I really wanted to ask them to play at my grandmother's house, but I knew they would not be allowed, and I couldn't play with them outside. ..."
For a young child, none of this is as attractive to her as jumping rubber bands with her peers.
Kong Dongmei doesn't care who her grandfather is, the only thing that makes her feel a little different is that On September 9, 1976, 4-year-old Kong Dongmei felt that everyone around her became very sad. You know, on that day, Chairman Mao, the leader of the Chinese people, passed away.
At the age of 6, Kong Dongmei was taken back to Beijing by her parents. Chairman Mao's family has always been strict, and Li Min and his wife also taught their daughters not to mention their background to others at will, especially not to show off the identity of Chairman Mao's granddaughter.
But Kong Dongmei is not a person who can hide her identity from the face. The mole on her right chin is simply a copy of Chairman Mao. Coupled with the spread of various gossip, she can hear people since she was a child. Behind the scenes: "Do you know who her grandfather is?"
No matter what Kong Dongmei does, if she does well, others will take it for granted, "She is Chairman Mao's granddaughter!" , if she does a good job , she will put a lot of psychological pressure on herself, for fear of embarrassing her grandfather.
She can't wait to grow up, to escape from this environment full of familiar family background, to get rid of the dazzling "halo" on her head.
In Kong Dongmei's childhood memories,When I was a child, the yard where I lived was very big, and there was a rockery. She and her grandmother also planted 4 orange trees in the garden. They could pick oranges every year and eat them. In addition, there were peach trees, wolfberry and so on.
"Whenever I think of that yard, I think of my grandmother sitting on a chair, smoking one cigarette one by one, looking into the distance as if she was thinking about something." Kong Dongmei said with nostalgia.
If the days in Shanghai were relatively prosperous, then the life after returning to Beijing can be said to be extremely poor. During the special period, her father had no salary, and the family of four lived on the salary of her mother, Li Min, 50 to 60 yuan per month.
Every morning, Li Min needs to buy groceries before going to get off work, and go home to cook after work at noon. Kong Dongmei rarely wears new clothes since she was 6 years old. After her brother wears them out, her mother makes them smaller for her. Put on.
Like many children, Kong Dongmei learned to cook at an early age, made simple clothes, and helped the family with housework. In her spare time, influenced by her mother, she has a soft spot for literature and is naturally interested in ink paper.
In addition to inheriting his grandfather's iconic mole, Kong Dongmei also seems to have inherited his literary talent from Chairman Mao. In college, Kong Dongmei was admitted to Beihang University majoring in English and American literature, majoring in English.
At that time, her dream life was to open a bookstore, read Hemingway in the afternoon, have a cup of coffee, and preferably have a cat.
In 1996, Kong Dongmei, a university graduate, joined the newly founded Taikang Life Insurance Company, where she was in charge of administrative work.
In the early days of the company, she has worked in almost all departments,Referring to this career just out of society, Kong Dongmei said with emotion: "As Taikang Life has become a large enterprise with hundreds of thousands of employees, I have also experienced reborn changes."
In 1999, Kong Dongmei His father died suddenly, and his mother was already in poor health. Once stimulated, he became ill. His elder brother, Kong Jining, went overseas because of his work. Overnight, the youngest Kong Dongmei had to become the pillar of the family.
However, her father's funeral cost the family a lot of savings, and her mother's medical expenses were a burden she could not bear.
At the most difficult time, Kong Dongmei, with the idea of going out, wrote a letter of help to the central government for the first time in her life as Chairman Mao's granddaughter.
After the Central Committee received the letter, many old comrades learned about the current situation of the Kong family and expressed emotion: "Chairman Mao's family style is really strict!"
Help from the Central After that, the problems of Li Min's treatment and the Kong family's housing problem that had plagued the family for many years were solved. In just one year, Kong Dongmei has gradually matured.
After the central government resolved Kong Dongmei's worries, with the support of her mother, Kong Dongmei, who had already decided to study abroad, was finally ready.
She dragged 4 large suitcases and came to the United States alone. While working and earning money, she contacted the school and continued to complete her studies. When she went to the United States, in addition to clothes and bedding, she even had various daily necessities such as drying racks in her suitcase, just to save money.
Although she was alone in a foreign country, she was very happy for Kong Dongmei: " No one cares about who you are, who your parents are, who your grandfather is.
Develop your career and recognize yourself
When studying in the United States, Kong Dongmei found that the younger generation in the West has received a good education in patriotism.
In the cinema, patriotic and anti-war films such as " Schindler's List" and " Saving Private Ryan" all had very high attendance, which made Kong Dongmei ponder: "Our red Does the classic culture also need to be changed in some form so that young people can accept and like it from the heart?"
After studying in the United States for a year, Kong Dongmei received the book "My Father Mao Zedong" written by his mother, which records Li Min and He Zizhen's life in the Soviet Union.
After reading the book, Kong Dongmei could not calm down for a long time. Although he grew up listening to these stories when he was a child, some details were seen in the book for the first time, which made Kong Dongmei always It's hard to calm down.
Question after question popped up in my heart:
"Why did my grandmother leave my grandfather and go to another country? Why has she been alone for so many years? Why hasn't she been able to see her grandfather? Why is it that ordinary people can't do simple things in our family?
These questions are actually the reason why Kong Dongmei always wanted to get rid of her identity. After reading the book written by her mother, she finally made up her mind and decided to go back to China to find out her blood and family.
Kong Dongmei, who always wanted to break free from the shackles of her bloodline, never thought that this would become the starting point of her career.
After recognizing the direction, Kong Dongmei seemed to have a sense of mission. The day after the graduation ceremony, she Quickly packed up and headed home.
After a brief interview with his mother and grandmother, as well as going to the places where his grandfather went and fought before his death, Kong Dongmei determined her goal: To make the "red classic" have a personality.
Kong Dongmei does not want to repeat what others have described. She wants to understand her grandfather from her own perspective, and finally presents a humanized Chairman Mao. She also hopes to explain the past history from a new angle.
Kong Dongmei first came to Jinggangshan and Chairman Mao's hometown with her mother Shaoshan , and began to truly understand the magnificent life of her grandfather and grandmother, as well as the difficult growth of her mother Li Min in that special era.
On the way, Kong Dongmei heard her father mention more than once: " Your mother didn't have a good life when she was a child."
Kong Dongmei wrote a book while visiting. In 2001, she incorporated Beijing Dongrun Juxiang Bookstore Co., Ltd., began to promote and spread "red classics".
A series of classic exhibitions curated by Kong Dongmei, one of which was "Leader's Family Style" once caused a sensation in Beijing. More than 200 photos, dozens of cultural relics, photos of Chairman Mao's family, family members and daily necessities, including the plow used by Chairman Mao, the clock used by Yang Kaihui, etc. The most touching thing is that Chairman Mao used I have a towel with 54 patches.
This traveling exhibition was very successful. Tens of thousands of people came to visit every day. Many people saw a different and more humanized Chairman Mao, which brought tears to their eyes.
After that, Kong Dongmei published three books in succession, " Open My Old Photo Album ", "Listen to Grandma Talking About the Past", " The Days That Changed the World ",In writing, she gained a deep understanding of her grandfather, grandmother, mother and entire family.
"The biggest influence my grandfather gave me was a kind of persistent and indomitable spirit - firm in your ideals and your own path in life, and don't give up because of some small setbacks."
at Among the three books, "The Days That Changed the World" was jointly discussed by Kong Dongmei and Chairman Mao's cousin, Queen Hairong. In the 30 years after Chairman Mao's death, Wang Hairong never gave any interviews or posted Articles and Memoirs.
In this in-depth exchange between the two, Wang Hairong finally disclosed many unknown and exclusive secrets, which are of high reading value. Among the three books, she spent the most energy on the book "Listening to Grandma about the Past", which was not only written for her grandmother, but also for herself.
"I can only be released if I write down everything I know." Kong Dongmei said.
After these three books, Kong Dongmei immediately began to invest in a book called "Mao Zedong's Proverbs", which is somewhat similar to "Mao Zedong's Quotations".
Kong Dongmei organized a group, which took 6 years to select 360 quotations from the "Selected Works of Mao" and various collections. These are all classic words that are universally applicable and enlightening to young people, which can be called "the golden light of every word".
In the process of completing her career, Kong Dongmei completely reached a reconciliation with herself, and she also found the meaning of her life.
When Kong Dongmei as "the first relative of Mao Zedong to visit Taiwan" ,In the face of the reporter's question about how you view her identity as Chairman Mao's granddaughter, she just said lightly: "I am myself first."
"Princess" love
Although Kong Dongmei has achieved great success in her career Not a small achievement, she has completely let go of her heart, but outsiders' views on her identity have always been deeply rooted. In an interview, a reporter asked a slightly sensitive question: "Is someone chasing you? The other half in your mind What are the standards?"
Kong Dongmei grinned helplessly when she heard this, and said, "As soon as many people know that I am Mao Zedong's granddaughter, they have nothing to write about."
Kong Dongmei paused and continued. : "So, the man who chases me must be bold. I'm not a traditional woman, and I will be at home with my husband and children, so the three views of both parties must be the same. I like people with ideas, experience, and connotation, and appearance is the second ."
In this way, it was not until the end of 2011 that Kong Dongmei settled the marriage, and she married Chen Dongsheng, the chairman of Taikang Life Insurance.
The two have known each other for many years, and both were attracted by each other's knowledge and connotation, and finally achieved a positive result. On September 30, 2012, Kong Dongmei, her mother and husband came to Jinggangshan, the place where her father lived and fought, to receive education in revolutionary traditions again.
Helping the world
In 2015, Kong Dongmei established Dongrun Public Welfare Foundation.
"Dong" is taken from Mao Zedong's east, and "Run" is taken from Mao Zedong's word "Runzhi". This foundation is not only for Kong Dongmei to remember her grandfather, but also to help more poor people.
In just 4 years, the foundation has provided 15 million yuan of education and poverty alleviation funds for children in poverty-stricken areas. And in 2020, when the new crown pneumonia is sweeping,Kong Dongmei also led the foundation to contribute money.
From the beginning of February to March, in one month, Dongrun Fund provided 12 economic aids to Wuhan without interruption, and the donated funds increased from 5 million yuan to 45 million yuan all the way.
This resolute and daring style of being the first in the world comes from the family style of a great man. Kong Dongmei really deserves to be a descendant of Chairman Mao!
References:
Xu Mei "Retrieving the Days of Ordinary People - Interview with Kong Dongmei"
Liu Chang "Mao Zedong's granddaughter Kong Dongmei __Fashionable Female Boss in 798"
Hot Sun "Kong Dongmei"
Li Ruijuan, "Kong Dongmei: A Different Life of the "New Red Lady"
Liu Chang and Cui Jinyue, "The Centennial Legend of Three Generations of Women in Mao Zedong's Family - The Memoirs of Kong Dongmei, Mao Zedong's Granddaughter"
Xinran, Kong Dongmei "Kong Dongmei: The man who chases me needs to be bold"
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