http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/world/asia/25mao.html?ref=world
Mao's Grandson Rises in Chinese Military By ANDREW JACOBS Published: September 24, 2009 BEIJING - He enjoys generous helpings of red braised pork, collects Chinese fans and keeps an unapologetically patriotic blog. Now Mao Xinyu, the 39-year-old grandson and only surviving male heir of Mao, appears to have become the youngest major general in the People's Liberation Army, according to the state media. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Agence France-Presse - Getty Images Mao Xinyu, second from right, the grandson of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, left a conference in Beijing in March 2008. Although his elevation has not been officially announced by the military and some Web sites have dismissed it as a rumor, the news was reported Thursday by the Changjiang Daily, a state-run newspaper, and has been among the top news items on Chinese Web portals as the nation prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the revolution that brought Mao and the Communists to power. A historian trained at the Central Party School and a steadfast guardian of Mao's political thought, the younger Mao is one of the Great Helmsman's four grandchildren. Although the official media afford him considerable respect, he is the object of some derision among other Chinese, who lampoon what they call his mediocre performance as a student, his unkempt ways and his prodigious girth; in recent years, his weight has exceeded 220 pounds. Reaction to the news, posted anonymously on Chinese Web sites, was rife with sarcasm. "An excellent role model of our army, an unparalleled military leader and theorist of very high quality," one comment read. Many took note that General Mao has a son and a daughter in a society where most families today have only one child, a result of population control policies put in place after his grandfather's death. China's ruling party, unlike the one in neighboring North Korea, disavows hereditary rule. Even so, General Mao has had a low profile compared with that of other descendants of some major Communist Party leaders. He is not viewed as a "princeling," an appellation given those who have mined family connections for lucrative business opportunities or, in a few cases, political power. Chinese analysts at one time speculated that General Mao might harbor ambitions of becoming a big-city mayor. But he seems to have settled for what has turned out to be a rewarding career in the military. He has also had some success writing books and articles on his grandfather. He is not one to dwell on the repercussions of Mao's missteps, including the tens of millions who starved as a result of his failed policies, or the brutality of the Cultural Revolution, which destroyed so many lives. During interviews, General Mao provides reliable paeans to his grandfather, whom he describes as "the spine of the Chinese people," or simply the Chairman. "Without the guidance of Mao Zedong thought and Marxist theory, our industrialization and modernization could not have been accomplished," he said in an interview published last month by Southern People Weekly. "China will not produce anyone as great as Mao Zedong within the next one thousand years." General Mao says he has no recollection of his grandfather, who died in 1976. His father, Mao Anqing, was dogged by mental illness, and he was reared by his mother, a photographer and army general. In an interview published last year by News Express, a newspaper, General Mao complained about the pressures of being born into modern China's most famous family. "As a descendant of the Leader, I do have a lot of stress," he said. "I feel that people are always watching my behavior, so I must do good." Li Bibo contributed research. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
