- He Zizhen
He Zizhen (Chinese:贺子珍 ;
Pinyin : Hè Zǐzhēn; September1909 -April 19 1984 ) was the third wife ofMao Zedong from May 1930 to 1937.Biography
She was born in
Yunshan (云山),Jiangxi and joined theCommunist Youth League in 1925. She graduated from the Yongxin Girls' School (永新女子学校) and joined theCommunist Party of China in 1926. He Zizhen was introduced toMao Zedong atJinggangshan byYuan Wencai , a classmate of her elder brother, in the spring of 1928. An expert inguerrilla warfare and a capable fighter, He Zizhen was also an excellent shooter who was able to use both of her hands to fire guns on horseback, and she saved Mao from certain death several times in battles.In 1937 she travelled to the
Soviet Union to treat a wound sustained earlier in battle, later attending the Moscow East University (?). According to many sources, she witnessed Mao having several affairs and was soon after sent to Moscow where she was hospitalized for "mental illness".When He Zizhen came back to China in 1947, Mao had already married to Jiang Qing, so He could not return to Beijing. She later became the chair of Zhejiang Province Women's Union. In 1984, He Zizhen died alone in Shanghai. [http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-9-12/45882.html]
He Zizhen had three daughters and three sons with
Mao Zedong , but except for their daughter Li Min, all of them died young or were separated from the family. Their eldest daughter, who was left to a local family inFujian , was found and recoginized by He Zizhen's brother in 1973. [zh [http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/school/2005-12/05/content_3879846.htm Mao seek his daughter] .Xinhuanet . ] But that woman never got a chance to meet either Mao or He. Two English researchers who retraced the entire Long March in 2002-2003 located a woman who they believe might be a missing child abandoned by Mao and He to peasants in 1935. [http://english.qianlong.com/7778/2003-4-16/208@792743.htm . ]Ed Jocelyn andAndrew McEwen [http://www.newlongmarchers.com ] hope a member of the Mao family will respond to requests for a DNA test.In 2007, a memorial hall was open in Yongxin for He Zizhen with her daughter, Li Min, present as a guest.
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