Mao Anqing was born at Central South University Xiangya Hospital in Changsha, in Hunan province.

They spent some time living on the streets, and Mao Anqing was badly beaten by a policeman in 1930.

Mao Anqing and his brother participated in World War II for the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany.

Mao returned to China with his brother in 1947 and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Shao Hua died on 24 June 2008, at the age of 69, at the People's Liberation Army Hospital in Beijing.