Customer Reviews

Private Life of Chairman Mao

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This book opens with one of the most hilarious opening chapters of a book that I have read. Mao has just died and in what had become a tradition for Communist regimes his body had to be preserved to be kept on display. The problem was that on one knew how to preserve bodies. Calls were made to Lenin's Tomb and to the display in which Ho chi Min was kept all to no avail. It appeared that Lenin's mummification had not worked well as his nose had fallen off. A substitute nose had to be put in place. The feedback was to ring America as they were good at that sort of thing. A call to America suggested filling the blood stream with formaldehyde. There was a debate about how much to put in and it was decided to put in double the advised amount to make sure there were no mistakes. Mao after all was important and heads would roll (literally) if his body started to decompose. Huge amounts of formaldehyde were pumped into the body. Unfortunately it started to look like the Michelen Man. The assembled doctors realised that they had to do something so that they decided to massage the body to pump out the excess. The only problem was that during the massage process part of Mao's face broke of. This had to be hurriedly repaired using wax. A General came in to look at the body and looking at the face wanted to start a murder investigation.

The other chapters can't keep pace with this frantic opening but it is a batman's biography of one of China's most important leaders. The author was his doctor for most of his later years and gives an account not just of the politics of Mao but of every aspect of his life.

The author's role was to keep Mao alive and to fend of disease. This was not easy. Mao for instance refused to clean his teeth. As a result his teeth were covered in a sort of green coating. Although Mao liked to swim and (his residences) he never liked to wash. Mao was sexually predatory and large numbers of young women went through his bed. He picked up a number of sexual diseases and refused to be treated for them and thus spread them to his companions.

The book however is more interesting than a list of scandals. It describes he mechanics of power and the court that Mao ran. The author was there constantly. He was used by Mao as a source of gossip and as such perhaps learned more of his subject than most physicians. The book describes the way that Mao's favourites would circle around him drifting in and out of favour and how they would be used by Mao so that he could remain at the centre of power.

The book is not only important as a close source about one of histories (perhaps regrettably) towering figures but is fascinating to read. It has the grim fascination that a work of fiction can never have as you know that the events unfolded just a short time ago.

The book is highly readable, and is crammed with enough facts to make it believable. I understand that some people have challenged Dr. Li's claim to have been as close to Mao as he indicates in the book. One must either read the book and accept his claim, or deny it entirely. There is no middle ground.

The book presents a picture of Chairman Mao Zedung and of China very different than one would remember from living through the era. Perhaps most interesting (did our government intelligence services have any idea of this?) is the degree to which Mao seemed to admire the United States, while all the time doing everything he could to antagonize it. But this was typical of the man Dr. Li paints, a man full of contradictions.

One episode in the book (I won't spoil it) that is absolutely fascinating is Mao's reaction to three requests Krushchev made of Mao in 1958. Mao's reaction to Krushchev (defiance and rudeness) even so early on was not something I think we knew much about, and is interesting, indeed.

The book really tantalized me with one big unanswered question. Li portrays Mao as a virtual recluse, lolling around his various bedrooms, never having an office or any kind of work schedule. He seems to have successfully avoided any responsibility for government activity, and in fact spent most of his time in power back stabbing those he put into positions of government.

But Dr. Li leaves half the story untold: how did Mao manage to stay in power while being so reclusive? Dr. Li does not speculate about what Mao did when he wasn't with him, so he does not even address this question.

Somehow, and it would be interesting to read how, Mao managed to retain the ability to "hire and fire" prime ministers, ministers, generals, governors, and everyone else from behind the scenes. The Cultural Revolution could have easily gotten out of hand, yet it didn't. Any of the prime ministers who he purged, recalled and purged again (like Deng Xiaoping) could have, and one thinks would have, rebelled against Mao, arrested him, and sent him off to hard labor or worse. But, it didn't happen, even when Mao was very sick and almost totally incapacitated.

The picture of Mao is of a cruel, totally inwardly focused, selfish, controlling person who could charm anyone straight into an inferno. What Mao really believed is opened to question in the book, although much of his thinking comes through in Dr. Li's reporting of his discussions. On one hand Mao was a simple peasant; on the other he seemed to have an incredibly complex grasp of Chinese history and of human nature. His lack of grasp of economics resulted in the starvation of tens of millions of Chinese people, about which Dr. Li indicates Mao didn't care a whit.

When I finished the book I had this feeling that I was leaving a friend (Dr. Li) with whom I had developed a close relationship. His style of writing, his presentation of himself and his thoughts is thoroughly engaging.

I prefer to accept Dr. Li at his word and have enjoyed my friendship with him.

Dr. Li Zhisui was an American educated doctor who became Chairman Mao's personal physician for over twenty years. The book he has written does not purport to be Mao's biography, but a simple and honest account of the years Dr. Li spent at the "court" of the "last Chinese Emperor." I totally agree with a previous reviewer who after finishing the book felt he had left a friend. Dr. Li comes across as a gentleman, a competent preofessional, an unrepented intellectual who learned to integrate his knowledge of medicine with the Byzantine politics of Mao's court. The poor doctor had to put up with a lot of distress and suffering. He was not able to spend time with his family; he was not allowed to quit his job in Group One (the President's entourage); he had to fend off Jiang Qing relentless attacks; he had to care for Mao, who did not believe in medicine and was most uncooperative when it came to being treated. In the early years he admired Mao, but following the purge of Marshal Peng Dehuai and the Chairman's numerous sexual indisgressions, he "felt onlt revulsion for the man I had once revered." (p.331)
The book offers interesting information about the many purges launched by Mao against the rightists, the intellectuals, the capitalist roaders; the relationship betwen Mao and his cronies (Chou Enlai, Lin Biao and the most evil and messed up woman in human history: his wife Jiang Qing). After reading about all the "palace wars" that took place in Communist China (complete with imprisonment, demotion, hard labor and even death) many readers will feel overwhelmed and disgusted with the evil ideology of Communism and with the morally bankrupt Mr. and Mrs. Mao tze Tung. By the way, I have read an online English version of the essay "On Practice" which Mao regarded as one of his masterpieces (Dr. Li believes that he fell in Mao's good graces after telling him he had read it and enjoyed it) and I am not ashamed to say that I found it absolutely common sensical, simplistic and un-imaginative.

As far as historical testimony goes, the confessions and remembrances of Mao's physician, Dr. Li, add immeasurably to our estimation of who precisely "The Great Helmsman" was. The saying, "no man is a hero to his valet," does not begin to describe the disdain with which an old school gentleman like Dr. Li felt in regards to the harem mastering Mao; a man who made use of whatever and whoever was put before him. The doctor's realistic view of Mao was in striking contrast to the one held by the masses. Unfortunately, the narrative starts after the revolution is finished so Li is not able to inform us as to the way in which power actually corrupted the Chairman. How much the negative attributes of his personality were on display before he became the supreme leader is not evident. The difficulty of Mao's personality and his sadism cannot be questioned, however. Life, and daily interaction with people, was simply a way in which Mao could fulfill his need to play with the fate of others. Dr. Li's portrait of Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, resonates strongly...and horrifically. She truly was a white boned demon. I cannot imagine how one could deal with so vile a person on a regular basis. The suffering which she put China through causes one to shudder. It's a wonder why Mao tolerated her behavior and actions. As for Dr. Li, he truly led a terrible existence which was consumed by fright, anxiety, and having to deal with minds so irrational it is astonishing he was able to survive as long as he did. He was nothing but an indentured servant to Mao. The narrator could not do what he wanted, think what he wanted, or even spend much time with his family. His decision to return to China from Australia was personally disastrous, but this tome is a wonderful gift to man on the whole. We remain forever indebted to Dr. Li for his sacrifice and taking the time to record the nightmare which he experienced.

A facinating memoir of Mao's personal physician- Dr. Li Zhisui. I just finished reading this book for the second time and liked it even more than I did the first time.

This is a truly amazing story of power, corruption and how intrigues, infighting and byzantine court politics affected the lives of hundreds of millions of people during the 'Great Leap Forward' and 'The Cultural Revolution'.

Anyone interested in understanding how one man gained so much influence and power and held such sway with his cult of personality should read this fine book. It was particularly tragic to read how the Chinese people became the pawns in Mao's personal political struggles. Scarier yet is how his wife, Jiang Qing (a obviously neurotic and paranoid woman), would gain so much power for herself.

This is a must read for any student of twentieth century politics or modern Chinese history.

Dr. Li Zhisui was Mao Zedong's personal physician for the last twenty-two years of the Chairman's life. The subject of his recollection is not the vigorous, charismatic visionary of The Long March, but an unappetizing codger who refuses to bathe, except in the vaginal fluids of females. Mao apparently subscribed to a Daoist belief that having sex with a succession of young women would increase his longevity. And he did, nightly, in apartments blocked from public view by the walls of the Forbidden City. His conquests gave him a sense of immortality; he, in turn, gave them venereal disease. The Great Helmsman, Dr. Li concludes, "lived an appalling private life."

Mao, Li asserts, did not have the intellectual equipment to lead China into the modern world. While cunning, he possessed the mind of a peasant rooted in the Nineteenth Century. When his naïve economic theories caused mass starvation, his response was periodic depression during which he would take to bed, rethink his position and come back refreshed -- though not necessarily with better ideas. Mao seems to have ruled with a Yoda-like vagueness. Like FDR, whom he admired, he never worried about contradicting himself. While publicly reviling capitalist roaders, he was nonetheless charmed by President Richard Nixon whose right-wing bluntness he preferred to Leftist waffling.

Li saves some of his most scathing criticism for Madame Mao, Jiang Qing, whose behavior he describes as "nearly psychotic." A woman of ravenous ambition with no constructive outlet, she exerted her will through hypochondria and hysteria, alternatively manipulating and terrorizing Mao's domestic staff. (She demanded her husband's bodyguards iron her silk underwear.) Li's name was linked with hers romantically for a time, but he managed to persuade the Chairman that the rumor was baseless. During her destructive political ascent, Li attests, Jiang made arrangements to extend her own longevity with transfusions of blood from healthy young males. She tried, without success, to have the doctor purged; he finally succeeded, plotting with others, to have her arrested.

On balance, Li presents himself as a patriot disillusioned by the Communist revolution and bitter since catering to Mao ultimately thwarted his dreams of practicing neurosurgery. (He expatriated to the U.S. in 1988.) The reader has to accept this at face value since, it seems, all traces of Li's name and service have been wiped out of the official record in Beijing. (He restores it in part with photos of his own taken with Mao and his inner circle.) I also found myself wondering about the passages of dialogue that would seem impossible to recreate without benefit of a tape recorder. Dr. Li kept detailed notes, forty volumes of them, which he burned in 1966 for fear of discovery. Ten years later, he proceeded to reconstruct them. But is anyone's memory that reliable? And what of medical confidentiality? Is that a concept unknown in China, or are all bets off if your patient was a head of state? The fact is, we all love tell-alls and in this instance, the teller sheds light on this convulsive chapter in Chinese history. The cast of characters is so large that only a Sinologist could fully appreciate their significance, but for the rest of us, The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a lively and engrossing read.

Written by his personal physician, this biography is brutually frank and unromanticized. A few things you might not have known:

1) Mao had a very poor understanding of physiology. He had no faith in medicine or doctors. He would not let anyone in his staff get an operation without his permission.

2) Overall, he was not hygenic. He did not bathe, but only had towel massages. He did not brush his teeth. Instead he rinsed his mouth with tea.

3) He was a complex, and contradictory person. He enjoyed being unpredictable and constantly played people off one another. He was unemotional and was largely unfazed by the fact that 25-30 million died from his Great Leap Forward fiasco.

4) Mao was an incessant womanizer. He was constantly holding dances and card playing parties to find new young women.

5) Maoist China was completely a cult of personality. Everyone was a sychophant. To give Mao the impression that his skewd policies were doing well, his staff would summon people to plant rice near the train tracks before he passed by so he could see peasants (actors) wear brightly colored clothes and generally looking happy.

The last two sentences: (pg 638)
"I want it (the book) to serve as a reminder of the terrible human consequences of Mao's dictatorship and of how good and talented people living under his regime were forced to violate their consciences and sacrifice their ideals to survive."

Dr. Li was the man responsible for Mao's health from 1954 until Mao's death in 1976. He saw a lot. He's honest, eminently readable, and eye-opening. The translation is excellent. A cover blurb by Professor Andrew J. Nathan, Columbia University, calls it, "The most revealing book ever published on Mao, perhaps on any dictator in history." I agree with that. Even though it's almost 700 pages, I enjoyed every word. Long-time subscribers know I prefer to read a book in one sitting instead of two. Dr. Li had me for three, despite my notoriously short attention span. If I could recommend only one China book...

As I've mentioned elsewhere, this book makes me feel like I've been "behind the scenes" during Mao's regime. I almost want to go back and reread all my "China books" and enjoy my new perspective.

Mao Tse Tung was worshiped by millions. He was a Marxist and proclaimed the rise of the proletariat. However, according to Dr. Li Zhisui, his personal physician, his life was full of corruption, hypocrisy, and decadence. In 1954, Dr. Li Zhisui entered into Maoist China with his wife, Lillian, after practicing medicine for a brief stint in Australia. He entered into China brimming with great hope for and faith in the new Communist government. Because of his unique Western medical experience, Dr. Li is forced to become Mao's personal twentyfour hour physician. Because of his family's bourgeois background, he is forced to take this position against his will in order for his family to be avoid being sent to government concentration work camps. Dr. Li continually requests to be relieved of his duties, but is constantly brought forth closer and closer within Mao's inner circle. From 1954 to 1976, Dr. Li becomes Mao's confidant and physician. However, Mao had no idea that Dr. Li was also writing his detailed memoirs during this turbulent part of China's history. Dr. Li's writing style is very simple, personal, and ingenuous. He brings to life the historical figure, Chairman Mao. The reader soon learns that Mao lived a lavish lifestyle along with corrupt morals. His insightful first-hand accounts need no aid to discredit his former boss. They are just too real to ignore. During the Cultural Revolution and The Great Leap Forward, when millions of his people are being purged or starving, he describes Mao's frightening lack of concern for his people. He had an entourage of young female companions with whom he would have sex often. Sometimes, he had two or three women a night. He would also hold lavish dancing parties along with folk dancers, Chinese operas, and plays. Lavish dinner parties were also a huge favorite. He would hold these often for his "inner sanctum." They would eat fatty oily pork (oil was extremely rare in China at the time) and also other rare exquisite Chinese delicatessen like seafood. This is hardly a lifestyle of a man who is concerned for his people and one who preaches daily the advantages of living like a peasant. Dr. Li also details how inept and unintelligent Chairman Mao really was. Li blames Mao solely for the mass starvation and deaths in China. For instance, during the "Great Leap Forward", Li describes how Mao was envious of Western steel production. Therefore, he urges his comrades all over China to abandon their work and construct backyard steel furnaces. He urges them to frenzily melt down all their amorphous steel products around like ingots, tools, and doorknobs. However, when harvest time came around, there were no men in the field because they were all working in Mao's backyard steel furnaces. The rice harvested was down in famine levels. Starvation soon set in and the death toll exponentially rose. Dr. Li's book is by the best biography of Mao I have ever read. Doing research online about this book, I learned of the huge controversy surrounding this book. Many claim that Dr. Li's account is false, revisionist, or deconstructionist. However, maybe his critics are true, but I still find Dr. Li's message tragic, yet classic. His message is that one must compromise his conscience in order to partake in Communism. He concludes: "I devoted my professional life to Mao and China, but now I am stateless and homeless, unwelcome in my own country. I write this book in great sorrow for Lillian and for everyone who cherishes freedom. I want it serve as a reminder of the terrible human consequences of Mao's dictatorship and of how good and talented people under his regime were forced to violate their consciences and sacrifice their ideals in order to survive."

When Dr. Li's account of Chairman Mao and his private life came out, about a decade ago, it was an eye-opening shock to most in the west,especially a certain segment of the intelligencia that actually believed that the Great Helmsman's reforms out weighed his atrocities.

This biography of Mao, by his personal physician, gives a an accurate insider's account of what a filthy person Mao was,in every sense: a rotten-toothed, unbathed, mass-murdering, VD infectee who deflowered maidens and indulged his fantasies at every turn. A cruel and capricious man surrounded by sycophants and neurotics.

The picture painted in this very readable history is disgusting--but accurate.

I lived for many years in Communist China and found this book a refreshing bit of honesty and a splendid reproach to the still-adhered to party line that Mao was "70% right."

A splendid counterpoint to the hagiographies and, surprisingly, better-written and with less grudge than Jung Chang's newer opus.

A must-read for any China hand, sinophile, or historian!