1. Tian Jiaying was Mao Zedong's personal secretary for 18 years.
14 Facts About Tian Jiaying
1. 2.
Tian Jiaying committed suicide at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
3.
Tian Jiaying lost his father at age 3, and his mother at age 9, and dropped out of school due to poverty.
4.
When he was 11, Tian Jiaying became an apprentice in his brother's pharmacy in Chengdu.
5.
In 1935,13-year-old Tian Jiaying became a local "prodigy" for his work in poetry and writing and began to publish his poetry and newspaper articles in Sichuan.
6.
Tian Jiaying participated in the anti-Japanese national salvation group "Haiyan Society" led by CCP members and was expelled from the school.
7.
In 1941, Tian Jiaying was selected into the Political Research Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and then transferred to the Propaganda Department of the CCP Central Committee, responsible for compiling textbooks for primary schools.
8.
In 1946, Tian Jiaying was favored by Mao Zedong and was hired as tutor of his son Mao Anying.
9.
In 1948, Tian Jiaying became the secretary of Mao Zedong on the recommendation of Hu Qiaomu.
10.
Tian Jiaying participated in the editing of the first to fourth volumes of Selected Works of Mao Zedong, and was mainly responsible for writing the annotations.
11.
Tian Jiaying participated in the writing of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Mao's poems, and drafted the opening speech of Mao at the 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
12.
Tian Jiaying's report questioned the efficacy and logic behind the Great Leap Forward.
13.
In May 1966, Tian Jiaying was purged from the CCP; on 23 May he committed suicide.
14.
In 1980, the CCP Central Committee politically rehabilitated Tian Jiaying, and held memorial service in his honor.