Sunday, October 26, 2008

Chairman Mao's Big Coming Back


Chairman Mao is coming back. A 37 meters stainless steel statue of Chairman Mao was erected in Chongqing Medical University. The status will be the largest in Chongqing.

In the era of the Great Cultural Revolution, there is a Chairman Mao's statue on every campus in Chinese colleges and universities. The statues were usually built and installed by students of local campus, and there had been silent competitions on which college build the larger statue with better pose. For example, a statue of Mao waving is considered more challenging in build technique then one with his hands on his back. A hat in the struck out hand deserves extra bonus points. Most of these statues had been retired from college campuses across the nation in the era of Reform after 1978. Some statues were removed quietly to make room for other fashionable projects; while some were bombed to piece in symbolic moves.



Yet another Mao's statue was erected in Xiangtan University in Hunan Province last month. The banner on the flatbed truck read 'Warm Welcome Chairman Mao's Statue Coming to Xiangtan University!'.

No comments: