Dr. Xiao is a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan Province, and a fellow villager in a neighboring county. He has a younger brother named Xiao San, and Xiao San's name is Zhang Zi. He is a primary school classmate in Mao Zedong. Before going to Changsha for middle school, Mao Zedong had studied in Dongshan School in Xiangxiang for two years. In the chapter of his autobiography "Childhood", Shi Mao recalled the life of Dongshan School, saying that most of the students there were landlords' children, wearing very luxurious clothes ... My clothes were more shabby than others, and I only had a decent one.

Many rich children look down on me because the clothes I usually wear are always in rags. But I also have rich classmates as friends, and two companions are special confidants. One of them is a writer and lives in the Soviet Union. "

Here, the "writer" who "lives in the Soviet Union" is small.

1893, Dr. Xiao Yu was the same age as Mao Zedong. They are students from different classes in Changsha First Normal University. The late Peking University professor Yang Changji recorded in his diary that the three best male students he taught in Changsha were Xiao, Cai Hesen and. In fact, these three people were also friends who learned the most from each other at that time.

Mao Zedong became a Marxist mainly influenced by Cai Hesen. This is almost the unanimous view of all studies on the history of the Party. But the understanding between Mao and Cai is due to Xiao Yu's affection.

Xinmin Society is the earliest political capital, and Xiao is one of the two earliest and most important initiators and organizers of Xinmin Society. Another founder is Mao Zedong.

19 18' s trip to Beiping was a turning point in Mao Zedong's life development. But assuming that there was no encouragement and assistance from Xiao Yu at that time, Shi Mao would not or could not go north.