Yang Kaihui was only twenty-nine when she was martyred.
Tips
history
Daughter of Peking University ethics professor Yang Changji, she married Mao in 1920 and had three sons including Mao Anying. Arrested in 1930 and executed by Hunan warlord He Jian after refusing to publicly denounce Mao, she became the template for CCP 'female martyr' hagiography.
culture
Mao's 1957 poem 《蝶恋花·答李淑一》 opens with '我失骄杨君失柳' — '骄杨' ('proud poplar') is a pun on her surname 杨 and a rare public expression of grief for her by Mao after her death.
