Abstract
While the Chinese Communist party tries to limit Mao’s aura and intellectuals use him to push their reform agendas, the ordinary people of China also have space in their hearts — and in their temples — for Chairman Mao. Geremie Barmé, the doyen of China pop and unofficial politics, opens the window to the devotional uses of Mao, as well as the irreverent, with two examples from his book Shades of Mao. The first selection, by Xin Yuan, is an assessment from the Hong Kong press of Mao’s role as a virtual deity in China’s enduring popular religious traditions. The second selection is a punning rhyme that reflects Mao’s meaning to today’s working poor in China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Reference
Xin Yuan, “A Place in the Pantheon: Mao and Folk Religion,” and “Musical Chairman,” both from Geremie R. Barmé, Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1996), 195–200, 283–84.
Copyright information
© 2002 Bedford/St. Martin’s
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Barmé, G. (2002). Shades of Mao 1990s. In: Mao Zedong and China’s Revolutions. The Bedford Series in History and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-08687-7_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-08687-7_19
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-63485-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-08687-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)