Mao Anqing was born at Central South University Xiangya Hospital in
Changsha, in
Hunan province. His mother was executed by the local warlord,
He Jian, in 1930. Mao Anqing, his elder brother
Mao Anying and his younger brother
Mao Anlong escaped to
Shanghai. Their father was in
Jiangxi province at the time, and they were looked after by local communist activists. They spent some time living on the streets, and Mao Anqing was badly beaten by a policeman in 1930. Some blame this beating for his later mental illness. His younger brother Mao Anlong died in
Shanghai. Mao and his surviving elder brother were sent to
Paris in 1936, and then moved to
Moscow, where they remained until 1947. Mao Anqing and his brother participated in
World War II for the
Soviet Union against
Nazi Germany. == Later life ==