| Mao Xinyu | |
| Honorific Prefix: | Major General |
| Birth Date: | 17 January 1970 |
| Birth Place: | People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China |
| Parents: | Mao Anqing Shao Hua |
| Party: | Chinese Communist Party |
| Alma Mater: | Renmin University of China Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | 2 |
| Profession: | Historian |
| Rank: | Major General (Shaojiang, 少将) |
| Native Name: | 毛新宇 |
| C: | 毛新宇 |
| P: | Máo Xīnyǔ |
Mao Xinyu (born 17 January 1970)[1] is a grandson of Mao Zedong and a major general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China.
Mao was born on 17 January 1970 at People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing. He is the only child of Mao Anqing and Shao Hua and one of Mao Zedong's twelve grandchildren.[2] He spent the first 11 years of his life away from his parents, who were based in Russia.[3] He graduated from the History Department of Renmin University of China in 1992. He is a researcher at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences, where he completed his doctorate.[3]
Mao has written several books, including Grandfather Mao Zedong (Yeye Mao Zedong), published by the National Defence University Press in October 2003.[4]
In June 2009, Mao was controversially promoted to major general. According to the Changjiang Daily, he was the PLA's youngest general.[5] Some critics attributed the promotion to nepotism. "To have such an unqualified person become a general in China's military, it's an insult to the People's Liberation Army," said Pu Zhiqiang, a lawyer and human rights activist.[6] By contrast, Bao Goujin, a spokesman for the Academy of Military Sciences, said "he is a natural elevation. Mao's many achievements earned him the right to be promoted."[7] According to Mao, "family factors" contributed to his promotion.[8]
Mao is also a member of the Chinese National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory group to the central government.[9]
In September 2011, Mao began teaching Mao Zedong Thought at Guangzhou University Sontan College.[10]
Mao was born to Mao Anqing, the son of Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui,[11] and Shao Hua (Chinese: 邵华).
Mao's married Hao Mingli (郝明莉), a waitress, on 7 December 1997.[12] Hao was imprisoned at Qincheng Prison, known for housing political prisoners, in 2002 and died there in 2003. His second wife is Liu Bin (Chinese: 刘滨), an air hostess, whom he met in 2000; they have a son, Mao Dongdong (毛东东, born 2003), and a daughter, Mao Tianyi (毛甜懿, born 2008).[3]
In 2013, discussing his grandfather, he said that Mao Zedong had been "put on an altar" but "only by transforming them back into real people can they be understood and accepted by the public, who will then want to learn from them."[13]