The Private Life of Chairman Mao

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The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a memoir published in 1994 by Dr. Li Zhisui, one of the personal physicians of Mao Zedong, who emigrated to the United States in the years after Mao's death. The book was controversial and was banned in the People's Republic of China.

According to the book, Dr. Li witnessed Mao's private life on a day-to-day basis, mostly dealing with Mao at the height of his powers. Li alleged that Mao appeared anxious of the public but was indifferent to the problems of the Chinese people. It also shows Mao's signs of illness, paranoia, as well as neglecting dental hygiene (Mao's teeth were coated with a green-colored film, and when Dr. Li touched Mao's gums, pus oozed out).

The book details Mao's alleged personal depravity and sexual politics. It is also an account of the political intrigue within Communist Party leadership, excessive use of propaganda (like putting rice fields near railroad tracks), as well as Mao's excitement after President Nixon's visit to China, around the time his health started to deteriorate.

Dr. Li also writes about his personal experiences, the effects of the Cultural Revolution on his family, and his life as a doctor for 22 years in Mao's life, although he lost all his diaries and other corresponding evidence of his claims, and relied on his memory.

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 Xu Jun - who worked for Dr. Li) wrote a book in Chinese in an attempt to refute many of Dr. Li's claims.