Li Na (daughter of Mao Zedong)


Li Na, is the daughter of Mao Zedong and his fourth wife Jiang Qing, and their only child together. Her surname is Li rather than Mao, because her father used the pseudonym "Li Desheng" for a period of time during the Chinese Civil War.
The names of Li Na and her sister Li Min come from Book 4 of the Analects of Confucius: "ne yu yan er min yu xing".

Biography

Li Na was born at Central Hospital in Yan'an in August 1940. In her childhood, she was fascinated by Russian as well as Classical Chinese literature. In 1949, Li moved to Beijing with her parents, and started third grade at Yuying Primary School. Four years later, in 1953, she was admitted to the Beijing Normal University Girls' High School.
Excelling in her studies, she majored in History at Peking University, graduating in 1966. Post-graduation, she was assigned to People's Liberation Army Daily as a writer, under the nom de plume Xiao Li. Subsequently, at the age of 27, she became its chief editor.
In 1970, she was sent to work at the May 7th School in Jinxian County, Jiangxi, and during her time there, fell in love with Xiao Xu. Xiao was the waiter at the Beidaihe Guesthouse. To the consternation to her mother, but the approval of Mao, Li married Xiao and gave birth to a son, Xu Xiaoning. Mao even gave them a set of Selected Works of Marxism. However, a rift subsequently developed in their marriage, and it ended in divorce.
She was a member of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1973, and the Party Chief of CPC Pinggu County Committee and Deputy Secretary of CPC Beijing Committee from 1975 to 1994.
Since 2003, Li Na has been a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.