- Preface
In Li Min's memory, a sentence my father often warned her was, don't say that you are Mao Zedong's daughter.
Li Min keeps this in mind. Because the name Li Min is different from Chairman Mao's surname, and it is intentionally concealed, many people did not know the relationship between Li Min and Chairman Mao for a long time.
In 1981, five years after Chairman Mao’s death, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee sent someone to find Li Min, learn about her life, and talked about Chairman Mao’s legacy. In response to this, Li Min choked and said:
"I don't have any extravagance. If possible, I just want the one my father wants to give me."
So, why did Li Min say that? What did Chairman Mao leave to Li Min?
- Get together with your parents
1936, He Zizhen gave birth to Li Min in a cave in a security guard in Shaanxi.
Living conditions were very difficult at that time, and no one could eat anything good. Even if He Zizhen was pregnant, she did not supplement her with any nutrition, so the child was very thin as soon as she was born. Deng Yingchao wrapped the newborn baby. Seeing the baby's thin appearance, her heart hurt so much that she couldn't help but sigh: The baby is a beautiful girl.
When Mao Zedong, who had just entered the house, heard the word "Jiaojiao", he thought of the sentence "Wenjun is beautiful, his eyebrows are as beautiful as a distant mountain, and his face is as clean as a lotus" in " Xijing Miscellaneous Notes ", so the baby got the nickname Jiaojiao.
Even though Jiaojiao later became famous - Li Min, Mao Zedong still prefers to call her Jiaojiao.
At that time, Mao Zedong and He Zizhen devoted themselves to the revolution. Like many other revolutionary couples, the couple kept their children in the homes of fellow villagers in northern Shaanxi. In this way, Xiao Jiaojiao, who is only 4 months old, was forced to separate from her parents.
During the revolutionary period, many children were like Jiaojiao. If they were lucky, they could be brought back by their parents. If they were unfortunate, they might never see their biological parents in their lifetime, and they would not even know who their biological parents were.
In September 1937, He Zizhen was going to the Soviet Union for treatment. The journey was long and it was very inconvenient to take care of her children, so she left Jiaojiao to Mao Zedong for care and boarded the train to the Soviet Union alone.
. Mao Zedong was busy with the revolution at that time and it was difficult to take care of Jiaojiao very carefully, so Xiao Jiaojiao was temporarily placed in a nursery.
Nursing Home has many children. Every Sunday and holiday, Jiaojiao always holds the nursery aunt's hand and watches other children happily follow their parents home. Jiaojiao, who is young, doesn’t know what home is, and her father has never picked her up in her memory. What she didn't know was that her father lived in Yangjialing , not far from the nursery.
Later, when Li Min recalled the life of the nursery, she said something that made anyone feel sad and distressed when she heard it:
"At that time, I was an orphan who was not an orphan!"
In the days when He Zizhen had just gone to the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong knew that He Zizhen's life was very difficult, especially when he learned that his youngest son Liao Wa, who had just been born, died of illness in the Soviet Union's nursery, was in a heavy mood. He thought He Zizhen would be in great pain at this time, and he wanted to comfort and help her, but it was beyond the reach.
In January 1941, in order to allow He Zizhen, who was far away in a foreign country, to have his family accompany him, Mao Zedong sent Jiaojiao over, hoping to have a daughter by his side. He Zizhen's life has hope. In this way, Jiaojiao came to her mother He Zizhen.
With a daughter accompanying him, He Zizhen's spirit has improved a lot.
But just five months later, this peaceful and happy time was broken by the war.
In June 1941, the Soviet-German War broke out, and the International Children's Hospital moved to Ivanov City, and He Zizhen also took her daughter Jiaojiao there. The thin Jiaojiao was unable to adapt to the cold weather of minus 30 to 40 degrees below the Soviet Union. In addition, she was not full and could not wear warm clothes, so she soon suffered from pneumonia. Even the doctor said that Jiaojiao could not be saved.
Poor He Zizhen just lost Liao Wa, and she could not bear the pain of losing her daughter Jiaojiao again. If the doctor doesn't help her, she will take care of her.So He Zizhen worked hard to make money after work, bought medicine and food for Jiaojiao, and took good care of Jiaojiao.
Perhaps God is pitying the mother and daughter, Jiaojiao actually got better slowly.
Due to the situation at that time, Jiaojiao needed to be sent to a nursery, but He Zizhen said she was unwilling to send Jiaojiao to her. Seeing that He Zizhen was so accused of having mental problems, the people in the nursery school were so stupid that He Zizhen was forcibly imprisoned in a madhouse.
has been in 6 years.
Jiaojiao, who had just recovered from a serious illness, once again lost her mother's company. She was sent to the International Children's Hospital and lived an orphan-like life again. It was not until 1947 that He Zizhen came out of the madhouse with the help of Wang Jiaxiang that the mother and daughter finally reunited.
- "It turns out there is a father"
In the auditorium of the International Children's Court, Jiaojiao saw many photos of people hanging on the wall, and the teacher told the children one by one in the classroom. Under the teacher's story, Jiaojiao listened to the great deeds of many people such as Lenin, Stalin, , and Mao Zedong. But Jiaojiao, who was still young, didn't know what the great man Mao Zedong had to do with him.
Until one time, my brother Mao Anying told her that the great man in the photo Mao Zedong was their father, and Jiaojiao also said that her brother lied to others. But Mao Anying's tone was very firm and his appearance was very serious. Jiaojiao, who longed for her father's love, believed in her brother a little.
As soon as she got home, she asked her mother, and He Zizhen did not hide it from Jiaojiao anymore and told the truth.
Jiaojiao is very happy. It turns out that she also has a father. But she was too far away from her father. Jiaojiao looked at the photos hanging high on the auditorium wall, so out of reach. However, this does not prevent Jiaojiao from missing her father.
In the winter of 1947, Jiaojiao and her mother He Zizhen finally returned to their motherland.
After returning to China, Jiaojiao was unable to reunite with her father immediately for some reasons. Jiaojiao missed her father very much. Until her mother reminded her that she could write a letter to her father, Jiaojiao, who had not turned her mind for a while, happily wrote a letter to her father in Russian .
Although she already knows that Mao Zedong is her biological father, she still wants to confirm with her father again, hoping that her father can write a letter to admit that she is his daughter.
Mao Zedong was very happy when he received a letter from his daughter Jiaojiao. He quickly wrote a reply to his daughter. Then he felt that the letter was too slow, so he simply sent a telegram. Chairman Mao first expressed his excitement from receiving his daughter's letter in the telegram, and then told Jiaojiao that he was her biological father, and also expressed his hope that Jiaojiao could return to him as soon as possible.
Jiaojiao finally got what she wanted. In May 1949, Jiaojiao and Mao Anying followed Soviet professor Eugene to Shuangqing Villa in Xiangshan, Peking. Here, the father and daughter, who had been away for eight years, finally reunited.
Jiaojiao threw herself into Mao Zedong's arms and called out "Dad".
Mao Zedong also picked up Jiaojiao excitedly, kissed her again and again, and kept muttering Jiaojiao's name.
The life of Li Min at Xiangshan Shuangqing Villa is the happiest and happiest time in his life.
When Jiaojiao was about to study at the Women's Middle School affiliated to Beijing Normal University, Chairman Mao planned to give Jiaojiao a scientific name.
Chairman Mao had already thought of his name in his mind, but he still called Jiaojiao to his side, opened the "Analects of Confucius", turned to the " Liren ", pointed to the word "sensible" in "A gentleman wants to be slow in his words but quick in his actions", and patiently explained to Jiaojiao.
The word "正" contains meanings such as cleverness and hard work, which expresses Mao Zedong's deep expectations and blessings for his daughter Jiaojiao. Then, Mao Zedong took the word "Li" from his favorite name Li Desheng and told Jiaojiao that her big name was Li Min.
, just like that, Jiaojiao officially got the scientific name "Li Min".
In fact, what Mao Zedong did not tell Jiaojiao was that in addition to his expectations for Jiaojiao, the name "Li Min" also contains his good intentions in hope that Li Min can live in harmony with his half-sister Li Na.
Fortunately, Li Min did not disappoint her father's good intentions and was very close to her sister Li Na.
- Strict education full of love
Li Min was only 12 years old when she came to Shuangqing Villa to live, and her half-sister Li Na was only 9 years old. Two children will inevitably have friction in their daily lives. At this time, Chairman Mao would always stretch out his hand and flip it back and forth to show them, telling them that the palms and backs of hands are flesh, and the two sisters should love each other and help each other. After the two sisters worked, Chairman Mao often asked them to visit each other.
Under Chairman Mao’s education, the two sisters get along very harmoniously and have a good relationship.
In addition, Chairman Mao always asks children not to find ways and seek personal gain in their lives, study, and work in their name. In Chairman Mao's opinion, his children are no different from those from ordinary families.
Therefore, during his school days, Li Min and Li Na never said that their father was Mao Zedong. The two of them lived in school very low-key, and no one expected that they and Chairman Mao’s daughter were classmates.
When Li Min and Li Ne went to to study at , Beijing Normal University Affiliated High School, Wang Hebin took the two sisters to report that when filling out the student registration form, Wang Hebin was in trouble in the parent name column. So, Wang Hebin asked Chairman Mao for instructions with the statement, and Chairman Mao directly stated who brought the child to write whose name.
During school, the two sisters were also strictly ordered by their father to live in the school and eat in the cafeteria and not be allowed to go home to eat small kitchens. But in fact, the meals at Chairman Mao’s house are also very simple. Chairman Mao even held a special family meeting and said seriously:
"The food standard is as much as you set, and you can't exceed it at any time. It's wrong to exceed it casually."
When going out for a visit, Chairman Mao would strictly order Li Min not to turn around and around around him, and could only follow the staff behind him.
Once, Li Min accidentally walked a little faster and accidentally occupied a staff member's position. When she found that her father looked at her with a very strict look, she suddenly realized and quietly retreated behind the staff member.
In addition to warning the children not to seek convenience under his name, Chairman Mao also pays great attention to the health of the children and will take them to exercise whenever they have time.
When Li Min and Li Ne were in elementary school, the two sisters wanted to learn skating, and Chairman Mao was very supportive. Because of the first time skating, Li Min and Li Na fell again and again, squatting on their butts, legs facing the sky, and lying down. All kinds of fall methods were tried one by one. Chairman Mao stood beside the ice rink and watched quietly, just laughing at them, just not saying letting them rest. They didn't dare to rest either. After falling countless times, the sisters slid two steps as if they were decent.
On the way home, Li Min said that skating was too difficult, and Li Na said that it hurts too much when she fell.
Mao Zedong laughed and said,
"It's just that we have to go forward when we meet the difficulties. We can't be successful without falling or fighting. We can grow fast when falling and fighting.
Everyone knows that Chairman Mao likes swimming very much. Once, Chairman Mao took his daughter Li Na to the sea to swim, and did not give him a swimming ring, so that Li Na himself could swim from dawn to almost noon. With the encouragement of his father, Li Na insisted on it from beginning to end. Of course, Chairman Mao also had good intentions to do this, and he hoped that his daughter could To exercise willpower through swimming.
Li Min and Li Na, who were still young at that time, did not understand their father's painstaking efforts. They only thought that their father wanted them to relax and enrich their extracurricular life. It was not until they grew up that Li Min slowly understood their father's good intentions.
The body is the capital of the revolution. Without a healthy body, how can they go deep into the masses to serve the people? How to participate in socialist construction ? At the same time, persistent physical exercise is still honing their perseverance and will.
- "I just want the one that my father gave me"
- conclusion
After Li Min moved out of Zhongnanhai , the chances of seeing his father are getting fewer and fewer.
At the end of August 1976, Li Min finally met his father.
Meet again, and my father lay on the bed with a pale face. When he saw her, he kept muttering her nickname Jiaojiao intermittently. Li Min held back her tears and couldn't say a word, but just held her father's big hand tightly.
Unexpectedly, when she came to Zhongnanhai again, Chairman Mao had already passed away suddenly and could no longer open his eyes and look at her. Li Min was extremely sad. She called "Dad", but the people lying there could no longer hug her, and she called her "baby".
Li Min's body was trembling, and her heart was trembling. Although the autumn in Beijing is not cold, Li Min still feels the bone-broken coldness.
At that time, Li Min did not take anything from her father. Until five years later, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent someone to find Li Min and told her that Chairman Mao still had the legacy. Li Min just said lightly that she only wants the one that her father left for her.
Later in an interview, Li Min repeatedly emphasized that she would not chase after her father’s inheritance, but she would not refuse what her father left to her. Li Min has kept the 8,000 yuan left to her. She said to her cousin Han Jinxing:
"I think the royalties paid by my father are permanent souvenirs and should be kept in her home forever: Mom's 3,000 yuan is the comfort of the party organization to an old Communist Party that has been through life and death and has been fighting for the cause of liberation for the people for decades. It should not be used at any time."
Chairman Mao worked for the revolutionary cause and devoted his life to the people. The most common thing I say to my own children is not to tell others that they are Mao Zedong's children, and he never treats them with any special treatment.
Li Min once said that she was proud of being Mao Zedong's daughter.
Li Na also said that the spiritual wealth left by his father Mao Zedong to them is the most valuable....
