'Fun' Facts on Chairman Mao

Hello everyone! I thought, since the Year 11s are working hard revising for their Mock Exams at the moment, it would be a nice break to find out some facts on Chairman Mao you may not have known before, in a light preparation for your exam. J

 

FACT 1: Mao committed the largest mass killing of people in human history. Although somewhat indirect, the deaths caused by the Great Chinese Famine led to the deaths of 40 to 70 million people. This death toll ranges from 6% to 12% more than those killed in the Holocaust, and still outnumbers those directly killed in World War Two.

 

FACT 2: While Mao was married to actress, Jiang Qing, he had a sexual relationship with Chen Luwen, who was 14 at the time, and he was 68. This relationship lasted almost a decade, through the years of 1962 to 1971.

 

FACT 3: According to Mao's personal doctor, he was infertile. Despite this, Mao had four wives who, in total, gave birth to 10 children, and was also grandfather to 12 grandchildren… To make matters worse, he was also a carrier of a parasitic STD, and refused treatment for this infection, so likely spread it to his multiple female partners.

 

FACT 4: Mao did not brush his teeth, and instead rinsed his mouth with tea, and then chewed the leaves. This resulted in green, rotting teeth and gums that oozed puss. This was probably not helped by the fact that Mao's favourite food was a dish called 'hong shao rou', which is braised cubes of pork belly glazed with caramelised sugar and Shaoxing rice wine. As well as this lack of dental hygiene, Mao also thought bathing was a 'waste of time', and instead, he would swim and receive rubdowns with hot towels.

 

FACT 5: Even though Chairman Mao claimed to be a feminist, he offered to send 10 million women to the United Stated three years before his death, as he believed his country was too poor to sustain and contained an excessive number of women.

 

FACT 6:  At the age of 73, he jumped into the Yangtze River and swam 9.3 miles in a little over an hour, according to the Chinese Central Government. This would mean he swam a mile in under 8 minutes, when at the time, the record was one mile in 20 minutes… Mao also ordered a meeting between him and Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader following Stalin, to be held in an outdoor swimming pool, to embarrass him, as Khrushchev did not know how to swim. The fact that he also swam instead of taking a bath gives the impression that Mao seemed to be infatuated with swimming.

 

FACT 7: Adding to Chairman Mao's appalling hygiene, he was also a well-known chain smoker and promised his military followers' cigarettes. In reply to his doctor, he also described smoking as a "deep-breathing exercise". Possibly as a result of all of his bad health choices, Mao also suffered from severe constipation throughout his life, and his wife had to relieve it by using her fingers to empty his bowels manually.

 

Good luck with your exams everyone!