Li Zhisui

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Dr. Li Zhisui (李志绥, b. 1919, Beijing, China d. February 13, 1995, Carol Stream, Illinois) was Mao Zedong's personal physician and confidante. After immigrating to the United States, he wrote a biography of his experiences with Mao entitled The Private Life of Chairman Mao .

Weeks after he announced on a TV interview that he was going to write another memoir[citation needed], Dr. Li died of a heart attack in the bathroom of his son's house. He had lived with his son after immigrating to the United States.

Following the publication of Dr. Li's book, two members of Mao Zedong's staff who still reside in China (including one of Mao's personal secretaries and his nurse - Wu Xujun - who worked for Dr. Li) wrote a book in Chinese in an attempt to refute many of Dr. Li's claims.

As a physician, Dr. Li was interested in Psychiatry. In Octorber, 1986, Dr. Li wrote the Preface for the first Chinese textbook on psychopharmacology, "Psychopharmacological Treatment for Psychiatric Disorders." [Editors: Drs. Neng Cai (Tsai)(蔡能), Hong-zhang Shi (史鸿璋), etc., Shanghai Scientific Technology Publisher, May 1987]