Shao Hua (30 October 1938 – 24 June 2008), formerly known as Zhang Shaohua (Chinese: 张少华), was a Chinese photographer and a major general in the People's Liberation Army.[1] She was the wife of Mao Anqing, the second son of Mao Zedong.[1]

Shao Hua
Born
Chen Anyun

(1938-10-30)30 October 1938
Died24 June 2008(2008-06-24) (aged 69)
Alma materPeking University
Political partyChinese Communist Party
SpouseMao Anqing
ChildrenMao Xinyu
Parent(s)Chen Zhenhua
Zhang Wenqiu [zh]
RelativesMao Zedong (father-in-law)

Biography

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She was born as Chen Anyun (Chinese: 陈安云) in October 1938 in Yan'an, Shaanxi, the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party following the Long March.[2] Her father was Chen Zhenhua, who was from Shimin, Hunan. Her mother was Zhang Wenqiu, who was from Jingshan County, Hubei.[citation needed]

Shao began working as a photographer in the 1950s using a camera which had been brought to her from the Soviet Union by Mao Zedong's eldest son, Mao Anying.[1][2] She traveled extensively throughout China following the Chinese Civil War.[1] The subjects of her photographs were often related to the government of the Communist movement, including factories and other factors of production, army units, schools, and poor rural Chinese villages.[1] She became the head of the China Photographers Association (CPA) in 2002 and served in that position until her death in 2008.[1]

Shao was a major general in the People's Liberation Army.[1] She served as the director of the military encyclopedia department of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences.[2] Shao was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from 1988 to 2002, when she began displaying her photographs publicly.[2]

Shao married Mao Anqing, Mao Zedong's second son and a Russian linguist,[2] in September 1960.[3] The couple had one son, Mao Xinyu was born in 1970 at People's Liberation Army Hospital. Her husband had no active role in the Chinese government.[1] Mao Anqing died on 23 March 2007, at the age of 84.[1] Her son Mao Xinyu and his wife, Liu Bin, have one son Mao Dongdong who was born in 2003 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the only great-grandson of Mao Zedong.[citation needed]

Shao Hua died in Beijing due to breast cancer on 24 June 2008, at the age of 69.[1][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Chairman Mao's daughter-in-law, a photographer and PLA officer, dies in Beijing at age 69". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 25 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Daughter-in-law of Chairman Mao Zedong dies in Beijing". Xinhua News Agency. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Chairman Mao's daughter-in-law dies". Danwei. 25 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  4. ^ "В Пекине скончалась невестка Мао Цзэдуна Шао Хуа". russian.people.com.cn. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2021.