Lei Feng remembered?
I’ve come across the name Lei Feng before. Was it a name uttered in admiration by past students? Or is he a famous character recalled from one of many dips into the enthralling, and often calamitous, cyber-pool of modern Chinese history? Either way, the lamented and celebrated Lei Feng has re-entered my conscious thought following today’s post by Jeremiah at the Granite Studio :
On this date in 1963, Mao Zedong launched the ”Learn from Lei Feng” campaign. The most important thing I’ve learned from Lei Feng is to look out for falling telephone poles, but maybe I’m not the target audience. Anyway, in case you missed it, Lei Feng was a young soldier in the PLA whose selfless devotion to his brother troops, to the people, and especially to Mao Zedong and his country made him a role model for young Chinese.
I thoroughly recommend the rest of this article and a visit to Jeremiah’s site, which is testament to the fact that you don’t have to be Chinese to be an authority on Chinese history. In addition, I suspect that readers will get a more balanced view of events and personalities than those presented in the Chinese classroom.
It’s a sobering thought to realise that the propaganda posters (like the one above) are as old as I am. You can see more by following the link to the original article, or by going here.
Frankly, I think I’ve stood the test of time better than the posters, although I have to accept that they’ll still be around long after I’ve shuffled off my mortal coil. Unless, that is, Hu Jintao decides to launch a “Learn from Stu” campaign. Suggested poster designs welcome.
I’m going to ask some students this afternoon for their thoughts on this important anniversary. Will they remember?
March 5th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Stuart,
Thanks for the kind words, though I have a long way to qualify as an “authority.”
I’m going to wager that many of your students will remember, March 5th has been a kind of “Learn from Lei Feng Day” in PRC schools for a long time.
That many of the stories about Lei Feng are fictional, well…it’s like telling the kids there’s no Santa Claus. Expect resistance.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:12 am
@ Jeremiah,
I recall being asked to finish a lesson early at my old university in Luoyang because the class were ‘required’ to discuss the life of a model student. I guess that’s part of the reason the name rings a bell.
I’ll probably get a lecture from my students for forgetting!
March 9th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
So you were not disappointed about me, right? Of course I won’t forget the day even the whole month. When I was pupil, we were organized to watch some movie about Leifeng.In middle school every class spring up competetions of good deed. Here in Jimei, many associations will hold activity of “voluntary tutor “for primary and middle school students. So Stuart… can I get a reward of chocolate?
March 9th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Jeremiah was quite correct about my students remembering Lei Feng. As Fiona points out, many activities are organised at this time in the spirit of giving and volunteering.