Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader (84 page)

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Authors: Geremie Barme

Tags: #History, #Asia, #China, #Literary Criticism, #Asian, #Chinese, #Political Science, #Political Ideologies, #Communism; Post-Communism & Socialism, #World, #General, #test

BOOK: Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader
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My dear Leader
walked oh-so-naturally into the land of my dreams
and chatted with me
His laughter was relaxed,
so calming
He said something
very clearly
not obscure in any way
But, sadly,
at that instant I awoke . . .

 

Page 256
I have left behind the age of many dreams
and thank the heavens for granting my wish
to dream of Chairman Mao on his centenary
I am so delighted
for although I am just a common person
we are both children of the Yellow Emperor
descendants of the Han and Tang Dynasties
The leader gave his all to overthrow the Old World
and I will do my utmost to serve New China
5
Notes
1.
Zhongliu
zazhishe and Sanxing qiye jituan gongsi, "Jinian Mao Zedong tongzhi danchen 100 zhounian `Sanxingbei' shige zhenggao pingxuan huodong qishi," p. 30.
2. See "Sanxingbei" shige zhenggao pingxuan huodong zuzhi weiyuanhui pingxuan weiyuanhui, "Jinian Mao Zedong tongzhi danchen 100 zhounian `Sanxingbei' shige zhenggao pingxuan huodong banjiang tongbao," pp. 13-14. For the zealous speeches made at a seminar on the poems entered in this competition, see ''Yu shidai tongbu he renmin tongxin`Sanxingbei' shige zhenggao pingxuan huodong banjiang zuotan jiyao," pp. 18-33.
3. From Mao's poem "Qilü: dao Shaoshan," June 1959.
4. This is a quote from Mao's poem "Snow."
5. The good doctor was by no means the first person to dream of the Chairman. Lei Feng, the red samaritan canonized by Mao, dreamt of the Chairman as a kindly father who offered encouragement during a nocturnal visitation. See
Lei Feng riji,
1968, p. 8, quoted in Yang,
Gifts, Favors, and Banquets,
p. 259. Dream visitations (
tuomeng
) are common in traditional Chinese literature and, in particular, works like Pu Songling's
Liaozhai zhiyi.
See also Liu Wenying,
Mengde mixin yu mengde tansuo.

 

Page 257
Sparing Mao a Thought:
People's Daily
The
People's Daily
editorial published on 26 December 1993, the centenary of Mao's birth, concentrated not on Mao the man, but Mao Zedong Thought. The first half of the front-page editorial was devoted to Mao Thought, the second to the innovative contributions that Deng Xiaoping, the "Grand Architect," has made to the ruling ideology of China. It concludes with a nod in the direction of Jiang Zemin, the new Party General Secretary, and head of the "third leadership collective" that was supposed to rule China into the twenty-first century following Deng's demise.
Comrade Mao Zedong's most important contribution has been the creation of Mao Zedong Thought, that is, the uniting of the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism with the practical realities of the Chinese revolution. This is something he achieved in collaboration with his comrades-in-arms over a long period of revolutionary struggle. Comrade Mao Zedong creatively formulated a series of guiding principles for the Chinese revolution on the basis of the nature of China's status as a semifeudal, semicolonial oriental nation. The might of Mao Zedong Thought is self-evident. Time and again it has been proven that Mao Thought is a source of endless ideological strength in the work of both revolution and construction. The basic principles of Mao Thought still shine brilliant rays of light. . . .
Comrade Deng Xiaoping has pointed out: "In many respects we must still make reference to Comrade Mao Zedong. We must finish work that he started, correct his mistakes, and improve on his work."
Comrade Deng Xiaoping has applied the fundamental truths of Marxism-Leninism to China's present situation and has formulated answers to such urgent basic problems as how a country like China, which is rela-

 

Page 258
tively backward both economically and culturally, can build and consolidate socialism. In doing so he has developed the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics. . . . The last fifteen years of the Reform and Open Door policies, coupled with socialist modernization, are proof that Comrade Deng's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics is a powerful weapon that can guide us to create a prosperous and powerful nation. This theory is contemporary Chinese Marxism.
Comrade Deng Xiaoping has set a shining example for us in how to sustain and develop Mao Zedong Thought.

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