Mao Yichang
Chinese farmer merchant, father of Mao Zedong / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mao Yichang or Mao Rensheng[lower-alpha 1] (15 October 1870 – 23 January 1920) was a Chinese farmer and grain merchant who achieved notability as the father of Mao Zedong. The nineteenth generation of the Mao clan, he was born and lived his life in the rural village of Shaoshanchong in Shaoshan, Hunan Province.
Mao Yichang 毛贻昌 | |
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Born | 15 October 1870 |
Died | 23 January 1920(1920-01-23) (aged 49) |
Occupation(s) | Farmer, grain merchant |
Spouse | Wen Qimei |
Children | Mao Zedong Mao Zemin Mao Zetan Mao Zejian (adopted) |
The son of Mao Enpu, he was raised in a poverty-stricken family of peasants. Marrying Wen Qimei when he was ten, he subsequently served for two years in the Xiang Army. Returning to agriculture, he became a moneylender and grain merchant, buying up local grain and selling it in the city for a higher price, becoming one of the wealthiest farmers in Shaoshan, with 20 acres of land. He and Wen had four surviving children, Zedong, Zemin, Zetan, and Zejian, the latter of whom was adopted.