- Zhang Hanzhi
Zhang Hanzhi (Chinese: 章含之;
1935 -26 January 2008 ) was a Chinesediplomat who wasMao Zedong 's English tutor and U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon 's interpreter during his historic 1972 trip toChina .Born in
Shanghai in 1935, Zhang was the illegitimate daughter of a shop assistant and the son of a prominent family. She was adopted byZhang Shizhao . Her family moved toBeijing in 1949 and four years later, Zhang entered theBeijing Foreign Studies University , where she taught after graduating with a master's degree.She met Mao in 1950 and then started to translate English for him. The lessons abruptly stopped in 1964 as the
Cultural Revolution began taking shape. Zhang and her family and friends were persecuted although she said Mao provided protection at various times. In 1971, Zhang was transferred to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she began her diplomatic career and attended a series of landmark meetings, including the ones with Nixon, when the countries began restoring diplomatic relations.She scandalized officials when she divorced her husband and married
Qiao Guanhua in 1973, the head of the U.N. delegation, who was 22 years older than her. He died 10 years later.On the 26 January, 2008, she was reported dead. The cause of death was released as a lung-related illness. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/world/asia/29zhang.html?ref=world Zhang Hanzhi, Mao’s English Tutor, Dies at 72 "New York Times] ]
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