The Mao family lived in a clay-brick farmhouse constructed in 1878, although Yichang expanded it during Zedong's boyhood.
They occupied the eastern wing of their house, with the neighboring Zou family living in the western half.
The building was large enough for Zedong to be allocated his own room, a rarity at the time.
In front of the house was a pond and a rice paddy, while pine and bamboo groves grew behind the building.

The household included his paternal grandfather, Mao Enpu, who died when Mao was ten.
His paternal grandmother, Liu, had died in 1884, nine years before Mao's birth.
When Zedong was two years old, his mother gave birth to another son, her fourth child, Mao Zemin, and still another son, Mao Zetan, was born when Zedong was eleven.
She also gave birth to two daughters, both of whom died in infancy, although soon after Zetan's birth the couple adopted a baby girl, Zejian, the daughter of one of Mao's paternal uncles.

As was common at the time, Mao began to help on the farm at age five or six, watching over the cattle and tending ducks.
Mao's habits were formed by his farm background; biographer Stuart Schram suggested that this took the form of a "lack of social graces and of a concern either for comfort or appearances."
In later life, Mao would never become accustomed to the use of a toothbrush, instead retaining the habit of washing his mouth out with tea.
Similarly, he continued to prefer cleaning himself with a steaming towel than with soap and water, again reflecting his upbringing.
Further, the Hunanese cuisine of his youth gave him his lifelong love of spicy food.

Qimei was a practising Buddhist, and encouraged her sons to follow Buddhist teachings; embracing this faith, Zedong often accompanied her on visits to the local Buddhist temple, influencing her hopes that he would become a monk.
Conversely, Yichang was largely irreligious, although after surviving an encounter with a tiger, gave offerings to the gods in thanks.
According to Mao's account, Yichang was a staunch disciplinarian, and would beat his children as punishment for disobedience and a perceived lack of filial piety, with Mao describing the beating he received on one occasion when he humiliated his father in public.
He added that his mother would often try to protect her children from these beatings.

During the 1930s, Mao would claim that he resented his father, viewing him as stingy and unaffectionate.
He contrasted this with the affection he received from his mother, thus adopting a Marxist dialectical perspective by dividing the family into two camps: his mother and himself on one side, his father on another.
Biographers have interpreted this filial relationship in different ways; while Jung Chang and Jon Halliday stated that "Mao hated his father", conversely, Schram pointed out that even in Mao's accounts of Yichang, his description is nuanced, and "not simply one of unremitting hatred".
Ross Terrill suggested that "Behind Zedong's expressed hatred of his father was an unacknowledged identification; he was driven to become an authoritarian like his father, and on a far grander scale."
Feigon has questioned the veracity of Mao's account of this issue, suggesting that the alleged bad relationship between the two was "probably overstated"; highlighting that Yichang clearly went to great efforts to financially support his son, Feigon also noted that the anti-father trope was "wildly popular among young Chinese intellectuals" during the 1930s, and that Mao's account hence may well be a reflection of this rather than reality.
The Mao family lived in a clay-brick farmhouse constructed in 1878, although Yichang expanded it during Zedong's boyhood. They occupied the eastern wing of their house, with the neighboring Zou family living in the western half. The building was large enough for Zedong to be allocated his own room, a rarity at the time. In front of the house was a pond and a rice paddy, while pine and bamboo groves grew behind the building.
The household included his paternal grandfather, Mao Enpu, who died when Mao was ten. His paternal grandmother, Liu, had died in 1884, nine years before Mao's birth. When Zedong was two years old, his mother gave birth to another son, her fourth child, Mao Zemin, and still another son, Mao Zetan, was born when Zedong was eleven. She also gave birth to two daughters, both of whom died in infancy, although soon after Zetan's birth the couple adopted a baby girl, Zejian, the daughter of one of Mao's paternal uncles.
As was common at the time, Mao began to help on the farm at age five or six, watching over the cattle and tending ducks. Mao's habits were formed by his farm background; biographer Stuart Schram suggested that this took the form of a "lack of social graces and of a concern either for comfort or appearances." In later life, Mao would never become accustomed to the use of a toothbrush, instead retaining the habit of washing his mouth out with tea. Similarly, he continued to prefer cleaning himself with a steaming towel than with soap and water, again reflecting his upbringing. Further, the Hunanese cuisine of his youth gave him his lifelong love of spicy food.
Qimei was a practising Buddhist, and encouraged her sons to follow Buddhist teachings; embracing this faith, Zedong often accompanied her on visits to the local Buddhist temple, influencing her hopes that he would become a monk. Conversely, Yichang was largely irreligious, although after surviving an encounter with a tiger, gave offerings to the gods in thanks. According to Mao's account, Yichang was a staunch disciplinarian, and would beat his children as punishment for disobedience and a perceived lack of filial piety, with Mao describing the beating he received on one occasion when he humiliated his father in public. He added that his mother would often try to protect her children from these beatings.
During the 1930s, Mao would claim that he resented his father, viewing him as stingy and unaffectionate. He contrasted this with the affection he received from his mother, thus adopting a Marxist dialectical perspective by dividing the family into two camps: his mother and himself on one side, his father on another. Biographers have interpreted this filial relationship in different ways; while Jung Chang and Jon Halliday stated that "Mao hated his father", conversely, Schram pointed out that even in Mao's accounts of Yichang, his description is nuanced, and "not simply one of unremitting hatred". Ross Terrill suggested that "Behind Zedong's expressed hatred of his father was an unacknowledged identification; he was driven to become an authoritarian like his father, and on a far grander scale." Feigon has questioned the veracity of Mao's account of this issue, suggesting that the alleged bad relationship between the two was "probably overstated"; highlighting that Yichang clearly went to great efforts to financially support his son, Feigon also noted that the anti-father trope was "wildly popular among young Chinese intellectuals" during the 1930s, and that Mao's account hence may well be a reflection of this rather than reality.
Early life of Mao Zedong