Mao Zedong changed the course of history when he stood in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. That moment ended decades of civil war and reshaped both China’s future and global politics.
Few leaders of the 20th century remain as influential or as controversial as Mao. Celebrated for unifying China and turning it into a world power, he also lived a private life filled with unusual and shocking habits, revealed by his physician Dr Li Zhisui in The Private Life of Chairman Mao.
Who Was Mao Zedong
Born in 1893 in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, Mao became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party and ruled until his death in 1976. Internationally, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
In China, millions still revere him for unifying the nation and laying the groundwork for its rise as a global power. Yet his eccentric habits and failed policies continue to spark debate.
Dr Li’s memoir paints a picture of a man both revolutionary and deeply unconventional. Mao Zedong remains a paradoxical figure hailed as the father of modern China but remembered also for his shocking lifestyle and tragic mistakes.
Strange Habits and Hygiene
One of the most striking revelations concerns Mao’s teeth. He never brushed them. Instead, he rinsed his mouth with tea leaves every morning. When doctors advised him to brush, Mao reportedly said: “A lion never washes its mouth, yet its teeth remain sharp.” The results were grim. His teeth turned green, his gums rotted, and pus developed. Still, Mao ignored repeated warnings.
Mao also disliked bathing, though he loved swimming. In 1966, just before his 70th birthday, he led the “Cross-Yangtze Swimming Competition” with more than 5,000 participants. State media claimed Mao swam 15 kilometers in 65 minutes—faster than professional athletes. No video evidence confirmed this, but newspapers hailed him as “superhuman.”
He also had a strange attachment to his personal bed, carrying it on overseas trips. Mao preferred working late at night and sleeping during the day. Raised in rural China, he disliked modern sanitation and often relieved himself outdoors—even when bodyguards stood nearby. During a visit to Moscow in 1949, he grew angry when meals were sent to his hotel room, exclaiming that he had not come to Russia “just to eat and use the toilet.”
Relationships and Lifestyle
Mao’s private life also drew attention. He kept a troupe of young women, called the “Cultural Work Troupe.” They performed for him, and he often chose companions from among them.
As he aged, his liaisons increased. He even contracted sexually transmitted diseases but refused to stop, telling Dr Li that intimacy with young women restored his vitality. Few women resisted, as many feared him or saw closeness to Mao as a rare honor.
Policies With Dangerous Results
Mao’s eccentric thinking also shaped his policies. In 1958, he launched the “Four Pests Campaign” to wipe out mosquitoes, flies, rats, and sparrows. Yet sparrows were vital for controlling crop-eating insects.
With sparrows nearly eliminated, insect populations exploded. Fields were ravaged. Agriculture collapsed. The result was a famine that killed an estimated 15 million people one of the darkest chapters of Mao’s rule.
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