Chu Shuanglin Xue Feng / Article 

　      Mao Zedong, who was a thinker, politician, military man, calligrapher and poet, was a learned and diligent thinker with a wide knowledge of things, and his secretary had to be of a high caliber, and thus several of Mao's main secretaries were discovered and selected by himself.

Mao Zedong believes that: "with learning, like standing on a mountain, can see a lot of things far away; without learning, such as walking in a dark ditch, can not feel, it will be bitter death." Therefore, Mao Zedong choose secretary an important criterion must be "learned". Mao Zedong was accustomed to recognizing talents by their literature, and to recognize people by their talents. All three of his secretaries attracted Mao Zedong's attention and appointment because of their respective literary talents, and they became Mao Zedong's right-hand men in their later work.

       From articles published in magazines, Huchoji was found

　　The selection of Hu Qiaomu began when Mao Zedong read an article published in the magazine China Youth commemorating the 20th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, and realized that "Qiaomu is a talented man", so he named Hu Qiaomu as his secretary. After arriving at Mao's side, Hu read a great deal of theoretical works and literature under Mao's influence.

Hu's hard work and deep theoretical knowledge enabled him to play an important role in correctly mastering Mao Zedong Thought and drafting the Central Committee's documents. In the summer of 1971, during his southern tour, Mao replied to Ding Sheng's question "What kind of person is Hu Qiaomu?Hu Qiaomu had drafted many important documents for the Central Committee," he said. The Resolution on a Number of Historical Issues was written by him after others had worked on it for months without getting a clue. The Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat Again was also written by him, and it was well written." Because of Hu's excellent writing ability, he gradually became "a pen of the CPC Central Committee" and "a masterpiece".

       Chen Boda discovered from cadres' speeches

　　Chen Boda was able to become Mao's secretary because of Chen's more characteristic speech at a symposium in Yan'an. At the time, there was a debate about Sun Yat-sen's ideas, and Chen Boda's speech elaborated on Sun's ideas. No sooner had Chen Boda finished his speech than Mao Zedong stood up and said happily, "Comrade Chen Boda's speech just now was very good, and it appropriately analyzed the issue of the class attributes of Sun Yat-sen's thought. ......"

　　After the meeting was adjourned, Mao kept Chen Boda. In the evening, when Mao invited his American guests to dinner, he invited Chen Boda again. During the meal, Mao and Chen Boda talked about ancient philosophy, which gave them a common topic of conversation. This day became a turning point in Chen Boda's life. From then on, he became "a pen" under Mao Zedong.

       Discovering Tian Jiaying from a miscellaneous article

       Tian Jiaying first attracted Mao's attention because of his article "From Hou Fangwei" published in 1942 in the Yan'an Liberation Daily. Mao Zedong read it and appreciated it. Although it was only a miscellaneous article of more than a thousand words, Mao saw in it the author's deep knowledge of Chinese and his keen mind. Shortly thereafter, Mao Zedong transferred Tian Jiaying to be Mao Anying's language and history teacher, and only after several special "interviews" did Mao Zedong formally select Tian Jiaying as his secretary.

        Mao's gentlemanly friendship with his secretary

        Mao Zedong liked to recite poems, write with ink, and read books, and he also hoped that people around him would often exchange ideas with him. His secretaries were inspired by him and developed a wide range of hobbies. In the 1960s, Hu Qiaomu left Mao Zedong's side for many years due to illness, and during his recuperation, he began to learn to write ancient poems, and submitted his work to Mao Zedong for review, Mao Zedong's keen interest in poetry, so he was busy, and Hu Qiaomu each time he sent poems, "all day long to play with the scrutiny to help him to modify the sentence by sentence," and so on. Letters were exchanged constantly. As Hu Qiaomu said: "Sixteen Words" were written under the encouragement and support of Comrade Mao Zedong, and published after his careful revision. It is difficult to express my gratitude to Comrade Mao Zedong." This incident also aroused Jiang Qing's displeasure, "Your poems have taken too much effort on the part of the Chairman, and they are simply the Chairman's re-creations. In the future, don't send any more poems to the Chairman and interfere with his work!"

　　A common interest between Chen Boda and Mao Zedong was their interest in ancient Chinese philosophy. Chen Boda had taught a class on the pre-Qin philosophers and specialized in the study of ancient Chinese philosophy, which was the hot topic of Mao Zedong's contemplation at that time. In the 1930s, Chen Boda, under Mao Zedong's guidance, wrote philosophical articles such as The Philosophical Thought of Mozi, The Philosophical Thought of Confucius, and The Philosophical Thought of Laozi, which aroused Mao Zedong's great interest. He said to Chen Boda, "Read The Philosophical Thought of Mozi, it is a great credit to you to find out Heraclitus in China." With the help of exploring ancient Chinese philosophy and submitting articles to Mao Zedong for advice, Chen Boda's relationship with Mao Zedong grew closer. Tian Jiaying was twenty-nine years younger than Mao, just like his son, but because of his love of literature and history, he and Mao hit it off immediately. As soon as Mao read a good book, he would recommend it to Tian Jiaying, and their common interests bridged the age gap between them.

       Under Mao's influence, Tian Jiaying also gradually became interested in calligraphy and bought thousands of Qing Dynasty paintings and calligraphy. In his spare time, commenting on the calligraphy of the ancients often became a common topic of conversation between Mao and him. Mao loved poetry, and so did Tian Jiaying. Tian often checked and corrected ancient poems for Mao, and successively edited and published Nineteen Poems of Mao Zedong, Poems of Mao Zedong, and Quotations of Chairman Mao, which played an important role in publicizing Mao Zedong's thought.

　　Mao Zedong has been dead for many years, and his secretaries have long since passed away, and the story of Mao's discovery and selection of his secretaries has become an unforgettable historical tale.