Li Zhisui () (1919 – 13 February 1995) was

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

's personal doctor and confidant.Derek Davies
OBITUARY: Li Zhisui
The Independent, 17 February 1995 He was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1919. After emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, he wrote a biography of Mao entitled ''

The Private Life of Chairman Mao ''The Private Life of Chairman Mao: The Memoirs of Mao's Personal Physician'' is a memoir by Li Zhisui, one of the physicians to Mao Zedong, former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, which was first published in 1994. Li had emigrated to the ...

''. The biography was based on his recollection of journals he had kept, and later found expedient to destroy, while a doctor to Mao. In the summer of 1968 and during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, Mao's wife,

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman o ...

, placed Li's life in danger by, accusing him of trying to poison her. Li managed to hide, living incognito with the workers of the

Beijing Textile Factory } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. These workers were among the 30,000 Mao dispatched to

Qinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

to quell the warfare there between two factions of the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

. On 13 February 1995, Li died following a heart attack at his son's house in

Carol Stream, Illinois Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Carol Stream was incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after its founder's daughter. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,854. History In ...

, where he had been living since emigrating. Li was interested in psychiatry. In October 1986, Li wrote the Preface for the first Chinese textbook on psychopharmacology, "''Psychopharmacological Treatment for Psychiatric Disorders''." Tsai (Cai) Neng (蔡能), Shi Hong-zhang (史鸿璋), etc., Shanghai Scientific Technology Publisher, May 1987">St. John's University, Shanghai#Citations">Tsai (Cai) Neng (蔡能), Shi Hong-zhang (史鸿璋), etc., Shanghai Scientific Technology Publisher, May 1987

Work

''The private life of Chairman Mao: the memoirs of Mao's private physician'', Publ. Random House, New York (1994),

References

''Li Zhisui'' on Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009
1919 births 1995 deaths Physicians from Beijing Writers from Beijing Chinese biographers {{china-med-bio-stub