Can you imagine a souvenir industry centered around Hitler? Unfathomable. Or Stalin? No way. So how has Mao turned into such a cult, both in China and in the West? After all, his programs led to the deaths of 70 to 100 million of his own people (30 million alone during the Great Leap Forward). Based on these numbers, Mao is clearly one of the most brutal rulers in modern history, if not all time.
So what’s up with the cult surrounding the Great Helmsman?
Andy Warhol first silkscreened Mao’s portrait around the time of Nixon’s secret trip to meet the Chairman. Back then no one in the US really understood the real implications of the Cultural Revolution (which was eerily still in full swing at the time of Nixon’s visit).
When I lived in Hong Kong a couple decades later, I’d peruse the Hollywood Road junk shops, in search of Mandarin speakers (so I could actually hear the language outside the classroom). And that’s when I came across Mao memorabilia like the portrait in the photo below. (On the other end of the spectrum, when the upscale Chinoiserie boutique Shanghai Tang first opened, it sold Mao watches and clocks.)
And then there are those lucky Mao charms people in China hang on their rearview car mirrors to ward off accidents.
The first time I met my former in-laws in central China, my eyes darted to a corner of their scantily-stocked bookshelves. Up top stood this small bust of Mao. But my ex-father-in-law was a Party member, so he didn’t display it as an object de kitsch. More like a show of patriotism.
Easy for me to say. But in fact, I’m just as guilty of buying into the cult of Mao. Here I’m standing with my dad in Tiananmen Square back in 1991. It’s highly unlikely we’d have posed in this spot had it not been for the Chairman’s larger-than-life portrait looming in the background. It’s kind of like my dad and I took a photo with Mao.
I bought this poster several years back and spent a peasant’s salary to frame it. It doesn’t feature Mao, but rather a model peasant during the Cultural Revolution. Same concept, if you ask me.
A couple years ago, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic, The New York Times published an article about the huge (capitalist) industry benefitting from the kitschy cult of Chairman Mao. And Shaohan, his hometown in Hunan province, is a sort of Mecca for all things Mao.
I wonder how people will view Mao after the last few generations who lived through the Cultural Revolution are no longer with us. Will Mao, too, fade away, or will he he continue to elicit this cult status?
hahaha – growing up in hk in the 70s, we went through a phase of wearing mao caps (both green and blue versions) with or without the badges which could be bought at china products for as little as 10 cents (yes) for the little ones. it was great because parents, the school etc hated this (rebels in the making) !! we would team them up with army surplus bought down shanghai street – shirts, bags, belts. how cool was that?
I love it, Vanessa! I would have done the same thing! It took me many years to stop apologizing for Mao, but I can’t get around the tens of millions (some have said up to 100 million) who died from 1949-1976. But it seems like it’s still kosher to promote Mao in many cultures!
I think it’s easy enough to go a little deeper (but of course, that’s what my writing tries to be about)… it’s not so curious when you consider how history is always a matter of selective attention. So, in China at least, people will focus – or be focused – on the good sides. Mao as the founder of the new/modern China.
Admittedly, I’m not unhappy to have acquaintances who are not so indoctrinated as to overlook bad sides. A relative was a teacher before the Cultural Revolution, suffered during those years, and taught the kids that “Mao was a bad man.” Not anything to say too loudly in China, so far… It’s only too easy to blame others for having brought the great leader’s good plans to a destructive bent – and we want heroes.
It’s equally as strange – or as understandable, given our apparent need for idols and selective attention to history – to consider the popularity of Che Guevara-T-Shirts. Cutting closer to home for me: Sissi (the Austrian empress) didn’t do anything special, didn’t have a particularly good life, and still is revered by many. Don’t even get me started on religion…
Thank you for your great comment! I can definitely see how people would look at the positives when they remember Mao. From my experience, the people from the coastal cities in China hold negative feelings toward Mao. Those who live inland not so much. I suppose you find the latter in Hunan much more than the former, especially with Hunan being Mao’s home province.
He better fade away. Much as I love Warhol’s work, his Mao’s have always been a put-off.
Thanks for your comment! Yes, I love Warhol, too (my dad knew him once upon a time). After everything came out about Mao, I wonder what Warhol would have thought, had he lived. Because as far as I know, we still didn’t have the full picture in 1987.