Rationality mixed with practicality has influenced how Chinese citizens view their historic leader Chairman Mao, who is no longer perceived as a mythical character, according to Oriental Outlook's latest issue.
Chairman Mao Zedong died 30 years ago on September 9. And now although his legacy is surely changing along with dramatic changes in the country itself China's most influential leader can still be found everywhere. However, when people recall Mao Zedong now, it's not in blind admiration but accompanied by rational explanations that give him credit where it's due.
Thanks to her father, Hu Qiaomu, being one of his assistants Hu Muying has been able to get a real glimpse of what Chairman Mao was like in his daily life. "He was very kind and tolerant to kids while his wife Jiang Qing was the opposite,” she says. She explains that Chairman Mao would always say, "Forget about it, they're just kids."
In addition to being a nice man, in the eyes of Hu Muying, Mao was also a great leader. She values the ideology he proposed like seeking to serve others with your whole heart, striving to fight against corruption and living in a prudent way. And she's not the only one who holds onto the Chairman's legacy.
Around 20,000 people visit the Memorial Hall for Chairman Mao everyday. Looking at the thousand-meter-long line of people waiting to see Chairman Mao in front of the Memorial Hall on September 6th you can tell every visitor has a story.
Da Wage looks different from the other visitors. He's from Tibet. He says his parents envy him for being able to come to Beijing to visit Mao's Memorial Hall and Tian'anmen Square. Chairman Mao is a legend for him, while he says, people back home consider him a god bringing safety and a bright future.
But this is just one of the many stories to be found here. On average about 20,000 people of all ages visit Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall every day. More space is always needed in front of his body for the fresh flowers they bring.
An old man surnamed Jiang said, "My father and grandfather are both farmers. Without Mao we wouldn't have been able to change our situation. Now my son has come to Beijing for college and he will work in Beijing too." The affect Mao's rule had on many people was very personal and continues to have deep meaning for many of the visitors.
Many foreigners can be seen among the crowds as well. Xiao Cui, 23, said, "Many foreigners visit here because they think Mao is the symbol of China." But Mao as a symbol has changed and is now very complex.
Books on Mao continue to fly off the shelves.
"His influence on people is multidimensional from traditional media like newspapers, to books, the internet, from Beijing to rural parts, his influence is everywhere," said Hu Weixiong, an expert researcher on Chairman Mao.
"You can see drivers using Mao's image to keep away bad luck, restaurants from Hunan using Mao's image to attract customers and people in Tibet that consider him the living Buddha," said Hu.
"Type Mao Zedong into a search engine website like Baidu.com, and over 14,700,000 items can be found," Hu explained. "And what's more on the website for his Memorial Hall seven to eight pages of messages are left each day by visitors with 30 to 40 messages on each page."
Alive and well in Chinese debate various seminars on Chairman Mao's ideologies are being held this year.
The Chairman has also hit the bookstores with four shelves filled with Mao biographies on the first floor of the Xidan bookstore alone. And books relating to the influential Chinese leader go further with more than 500 types ranging from the biographies, to poems and works written by Mao himself.
Finally, there's an extremely popular book entitled "Mao Zedong Teaches Us Management."
Along with his overwhelming presence, Xiao Yanzhong, the deputy director of Renmin University's Political Department concludes that Mao's entry into works on management proves that the image of Chairman Mao is no longer mythic but rational and practical according to the needs of modern Chinese citizens. Now complex, but still positive, the image of Chairman Mao thus continues in China 30 years after his death.
(CRI, Oriental Outlook September 14, 2006)
