A new book on the great leader by his grandson sheds light on members of his family and their sacrifices. Mei Jia reports.

A new book on chairman Mao Zedong and his two younger brothers by Mao's grandson Mao Xinyu, was released on Dec 26, the 123rd birthday of the late leader.

To mark the event, Mao Xinyu says he, his wife, and his two children visited the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall early that day.

"My mission is to carry on and promote Mao's military thinking," he says.

The book, Mao Zedong and His Brothers, published by People's Literature Publishing House, is inspired by a TV series of the same name, for which Mao Xinyu was the general consultant.

The series was aired in the summer of 2016.

Referring to his family, Mao Xinyu says: "Six close relatives and family members, including my grandmother Yang Kaihui and my grandfather's siblings, sacrificed their lives for the Chinese revolution. The Mao family still have strong feelings for the country."

Tracing the history of the family, the book, which he took three years to complete, recounts the time in 1921 when Mao Zedong returned to his hometown Shaoshan, in Hunan, for a brief reunion with younger brothers Mao Zemin and Mao Zetan. He then persuaded them to leave Shaoshan and move to Changsha to get involved in the revolutionary cause.

The book also talks about how Mao Zemin first improved the canteen of the school that his older brother was managing in Changsha, and how he later began to do publishing work for the Party in Shanghai, and also helped with the financial operations at the Red Revolutionary Base in Jiangxi, and then worked in Xinjiang, where he was murdered in 1943 at the age of 47.

As for Mao Zetan, the book tells how he joined the army and was killed in Jiangxi in 1935, at the age of 29.

The book also dwells on how the three Mao brothers interacted at different stages of their lives, their marriages and their children, besides dealing with Mao Zedong's decisions when he was leading the Chinese to liberation.

Explaining how he went about doing research for his book, he says: "Besides the archives, I also learned about the family's history from relatives and my grandfather's peers."

Some of Mao's extended family were present at the book launch.

Cao Liya, Mao Zemin's granddaughter, says the book offered an opportunity for people to learn about her grandfather's deeds, because he passed away very early.

"My mother Mao Yuanzhi would always tell about her difficult childhood in prison, and how she had to beg for food. She also used to show us the scars on her legs."

Cao says she met Chairman Mao several times, and remembers his instructions clearly: "He said we should not focus on whom we were born to, but must work for the Party and the country."

Mao Xinyu, who was born in 1970, works at the PLA's Academy of Military Sciences, where he studies history and military thought. He has also published biographies on his grandfather, uncle Mao Anying and his mother Shao Hua.

Guan Shiguang, head of the publishing house, says the new book looks at Red culture and its contemporary significance through true and touching stories.

The book contains more than 200 historic photos, some being made public for the first time, including one of Chairman Mao's two sons photographed together in the former Soviet Union, and of a young Mao Xinyu posing with General Xu Shiyou's weapon.

Mao Dongdong, Mao Xinyu's son, has produced a calligraphic work on the "Chinese Dream" for the book.

Contact the writer at @chinadaily.com.cn