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China-Japan-Koreas
Mao still worshipped as emperor, god, in modern China
2004-11-29
Just to recap, when I met up with Fred and Emily in DC, I remarked to Fred that North Korea was the first communist theocracy that I had ever heard of. He said that wasn't true, pointing to China under Mao. At the time, I wasn't too sure what he was referring to - boy do I now.
In Mao Zedong's hometown of Shaoshan, 'long live Chairman Mao' booms from speakers as people tumble out of buses onto a small square, donning caps emblazoned with their tourist group affiliation. They chatter excitedly as they approach the 19.8 ft. tall bronze statue of the dictator outfitted in thick shoes and double-breasted military coat, before stopping to pose and snap photos in front of the revered revolutionary leader.

Twenty-eight years after his death and despite wide recognition in China that he committed grave errors which caused the deaths of tens of millions of people, Mao is still regarded by many as the country's greatest modern leader.

"I worship him. Most of the people coming here worship him," said Wang Ming, 35, a resident of eastern Nanjing who travelled more than 900 miles to Shaoshan in central Hunan province. "He had a rebellious spirit and he led such a small and tiny army to fight against Kuomintang (the political party driven to Taiwan by the Communists in 1949), and he saved the country and the people."
Posted by:Dan Darling

#11  Love it Edward!
Posted by: Shipman   2004-11-29 8:22:59 PM  

#10  Listening to this and Chinese popular religion in Anthropology 1001, with Anonymoose's line, made me think this ...

"The primary habit of Chinese is hedging our bets. You think the kitchen god gets honey just to make HIM happy? It's so he doesn't snitch! :P"
Posted by: Edward Yee   2004-11-29 8:11:19 PM  

#9  gromky: In my (limited) experience, the cult of Chairman Mao is regarded as some sort of 70s monstrosity. Nobody takes it seriously. As a matter of fact, my Chairman Mao poster-collecting hobby is regarded as some sort of weirdo foreigner thing.

My experience has not extended to seeing actual worship of Mao as a deity. But the Chinese treat the Great Helmsman with great reverence, and take great personal offense at remarks denigrating him.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-11-29 6:26:44 PM  

#8  In my (limited) experience, the cult of Chairman Mao is regarded as some sort of 70s monstrosity. Nobody takes it seriously. As a matter of fact, my Chairman Mao poster-collecting hobby is regarded as some sort of weirdo foreigner thing.
Posted by: gromky   2004-11-29 5:10:01 PM  

#7  Anonymoose: He could spout all the dialectic he wanted to, but to hundreds of millions of Chinese, he was expected to act like a water emperor.

Not exactly. The Chinese do have some standards. What many don't know about Mao is that he was a philanderer - a grave sin in Chinese eyes, and that he was responsible for China's great famines under Communist rule. They also don't know the conditions in China prior to Communist rule were superior to conditions after Communist rule was imposed. The relentless propaganda spewed forth by China's Communist Party has affected even Western coverage. In China, where Mao is lionized in every book, textbook and newspaper article, it is small wonder that he remains a demi-god in spite of his incompetence and murderous instincts.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-11-29 2:25:46 PM  

#6  "China reconstructs"

I remember a sentence of it "In China there is complete religious freedom: every one is free to preach and practice atheism"
Posted by: JFM   2004-11-29 2:19:11 PM  

#5  "...he committed grave errors..." Actually, by Chinese standards, I beg to differ. He did exactly what was demanded of him. Chinese emperors ruled, were raised to, a four-phase cycle which dictated their actions. Had Mao been an emperor, he would have been expected to be violent, destructive and murderous, as a "water" emperor. A "water" emperor was supposed to be, expected to be, a force that would destroy 'old' China, so that a 'new' China could be rebuilt on its ashes. He could spout all the dialectic he wanted to, but to hundreds of millions of Chinese, he was expected to act like a water emperor. He really had no choice in the matter. Any order he gave was interpreted, expected, to result in destruction. That was his job.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2004-11-29 1:42:49 PM  

#4  SO8442: Source, Yi-de? :P

Personal acquaintances, all from China.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-11-29 11:59:22 AM  

#3  I remember that the radical left in Berkeley in the 60s used to think that Mao's little red book was like----the gospels. We used to buy China Reconstructs newspaper for the juche and spittle content. For 25 cents, it was a total entertainment package. The KCNA rants are but a shadow of the standard Chairman Mao's propaganda dept. put out. Mao's self-sufficiency campaign and the Great Leap Forward were unmitigated disasters. Thousands of backyard blast furnaces to make iron was a memorable example.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2004-11-29 11:10:52 AM  

#2  Source, Yi-de? :P
Posted by: Snolulet Omusing8442   2004-11-29 10:58:04 AM  

#1  In the Chinese vernacular, Mao is referred to as gramps. Chinese students take grave offense when Moose Dung is criticized.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-11-29 10:36:41 AM  

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