Lei Feng

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Lei Feng, Chinese propaganda poster

Lei Feng (traditional Chinese: 雷鋒; simplified Chinese: 雷锋; pinyin: Léi Fēng) (December 18, 1940 – August 15, 1962) was a soldier of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. He was characterised as a selfless and modest person who was devoted to Chairman Mao Zedong and the people of China. In the posthumous "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng" (向雷鋒同志學習)^[1] campaign, begun by Mao in 1963, the youth of the country were indoctrinated to follow his example.

[edit] Biography

[edit] "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng"

The campaign was started in March 1962, at a time when the Chinese economy was recovering from the failures of the Great Leap Forward campaign. During 1964 the Lei Feng campaign shifted gradually from doing "boy scoutish good deeds to the cult of Mao" Feng's diary exhorted the youth to "submit... unquestioningly to the control of the Great Leader" – namely Mao. This created the mindset that would be further exploited with the Cultural Revolution^[2]. It was emphasized that the good deeds were not to be extended to help the "class enemies".

[edit] Lei Feng as an icon

When Lei Feng died in the line of duty, he was only 22, but his short life gives concentrated expression to the noble ideals of a new people, nurtured with the communist spirit, and also to the noble moral integrity and values of the Chinese people in the new period. These are firm faith in communist ideals, political warmheartedness for the party and the socialist cause, the revolutionary will to work arduously for self-improvement, the moral quality and self-cultivation of showing fraternal unity and taking pleasure in assisting others, the heroic spirit of being ready to take up cudgels for a just cause without caring for one's safety, the attitude of seeking advancement and studying hard, and the genuine spirit of matching words with deeds and enthusiastically carrying out one's duties.

– Editorial, People's Daily 5 March 1993^[3]'

Communist China's leaders have praised Lei Feng as the personification of altruism, a truly selfless figure. His cultural importance is ingrained within everyday life in China. The importance of moral character was emphasized during Mao's era, but Deng-era reforms have seen a moral erosion where competitiveness in social networks has paved its path. Lei Feng's prominence in school textbooks has declined since the 1970s, although he remains part of the national curriculum. The term huó Léi Fēng (活雷鋒, literally living Lei Feng) has become a noun (or adjective) for anyone that is seen as selfless, or anyone that goes out of their way to help others.

[edit] Cultural importance

Lei Feng's Tomb

Inside the Lei Feng Museum

Lei Feng is an icon who continues to resonate in mainland China and elsewhere:

• 5 March has become the official "Learn from Lei Feng Day". This day involves various community and school events where people go to clean up parks, schools, and other community locations. Local news on that day usually has footage from these events.^{[citation needed]}

• A popular song by Jilin singer Xue Cun is called All Northeasterners are living Lei Fengs (东北人都是活雷鋒).(pinyin, dōng běi rén dōu shì huó Léi Fēng) ^[4] A 1995 release^{[citation needed]}, originally notable only for its use of Northeastern Mandarin, it shot to nationwide fame when it was combined with kitsch animations on the Internet in 2001.^[5]

• The Lei Feng Jinianguan (Lei Feng Memorial) and Lei Feng statue are located in Changsha. The local hospital carries his name.

• There is also a Lei Feng Memorial, with museum, in Fushun, Liaoning Province. Lei Feng's military unit was based in Fushun, and it was here where he met his untimely end. His tomb is located on the Memorial grounds.

• In March 2006, a Chinese organization released a game titled Learn From Lei Feng Online in which the player has to do good deeds, fight spies, and collect parts of Mao Zedong's collection. If the player wins, he or she gets to meet Chairman Mao in the game.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Alexey Stakhanov
• Pavlik Morozov
• Herbert Norkus
• Zhang Side
• List of campaigns of the Communist Party of China

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

• Lei Feng T-Shirt Design
• Lei Feng Museum Website in Fushun, Liaoning (Chinese)
• Lei Feng on Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages