Lens Snap Shut: Mao's Personal Photographer Dies at 93

The woman who captured the private and public life of China’s top leader.

By Ding Yining

Out of the approximately 700 photos of Mao Zedong published before his death in 1976, more than half of them were taken by Hou Bo, his personal photographer for 12 years. Hou’s pictures gave the public an inside look at the chairman’s life in Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the country’s central government. She passed away on Nov. 26 in Beijing, at the age of 93.

Born in Shanxi province in 1924, Hou joined the Communists-led underground guerrilla army during the Second Sino-Japanese war 1933-1945 when she was 14. She completed middle school and college during her time in Yan’an, the Communist stronghold from the mid-1930s to 1949. After graduation, Hou worked as a nurse for the Central Red Army Hospital and a teacher to local farmers. It was around this time that she met her future husband Xu Xiaobing, a famous war photographer who mentored Hou at the start of her career, offering suggestions and encouragements.

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=l0514j6zian&width=500&height=375&auto=0Mao Zedong’s personal photographer Hou Bo, who took over 400 pictures of the chairman, passed away at age 93. By Shi Yangkun/Sixth Tone

Hou became the chief of photography at Northeast film studio in 1946. In her memoir “Photographer With Wings,” Hou said the appointment was unexpected: “I had only a limited understanding of photography, but the management trusted me because I was a reliable senior party member. Political beliefs overweighed skills in this case.” Three years later, Hou was promoted to chief of photography of the Central Security Bureau of the Communist Party of China. She moved with her family into Zhongnanhai and lived next door to some of the powerful political leaders at the time. For more than a decade afterwards, Hou was constantly on-call to take photos of her new neighbors.

Through Hou’s lens, the chairman seemed more approachable: swimming across the Yangtze River in Wuhan; talking with a child while in a bathrobe after a dip in the Xiang River; reading newspaper pensively at Ming Tombs with shoes off; and smiling happily in a crowd of young people. However, because some Communist party members think these candid photos may tarnish Mao’s image as a strong leader, only a few of Hou’s works were published before Mao’s death.

Over the span of her career, Hou said nothing can compare to standing on the Tiananmen Tower on Oct. 1, 1949. At just 25 years old, Hou captured the historical moment when Mao proclaimed the establishment of People’s Republic of China .

“As photographers for government officials, it is their duty to record all the formal events. But making the leaders look relaxed and more affable at official gatherings requires real talent,” said Chang Chao-Tang, a photographer from Taiwan, in a 2001 biography of Hou Bo and Xu Xiaobing. “Hou Bo is diligent and hardworking, and has created many masterpieces,” Chang said.

Editor: Doris Wang.

(Header image: A visitor takes photo of Hou Bo’s work ‘The Founding of the PRC’ in 1949 during an exhibition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, June 22, 2011. Long Wei/IC)

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