Lei Feng
Lei Feng (18 December 1940 – 15 August 1962) was a soldier in the People's Liberation Army who was the object of several major propaganda campaigns in China. The most well-known of these campaigns in 1963 promoted the slogan, "Follow the examples of Comrade Lei Feng." Lei was portrayed as a model citizen, and the masses were encouraged to emulate his selflessness, modesty, and devotion to Mao Zedong. After Mao's death, state media continued to promote Lei Feng as a model of earnestness and service, and his image still appears in popular forms such as on T-shirts and memorabilia.
Lei Feng | |||||||||||
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| 雷锋 | |||||||||||
| Born | 18 December 1940 | ||||||||||
| Died | 15 August 1962 (aged 21) Fushun, Liaoning, China | ||||||||||
| Cause of death | Work accident | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Soldier | ||||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 雷锋 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 雷鋒 | ||||||||||
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The biographic details of Lei Feng's life, and especially his diary, supposedly discovered after his death, are generally believed to be propaganda creations; even the historicity of Lei Feng himself is sometimes questioned. The continuing use of Lei in government propaganda has become a source of cynicism and even derision amongst segments of the Chinese population. Nevertheless, Lei's function as a propaganda icon has survived decades of political change in China.