生日快乐毛泽东!

Today he would have been 114 years old. A lot of candles for a cake that perhaps he may have shunned as being decadent, but still, I don't doubt that today, December 26th, that there may have been a few candles lit around China on behalf of Mao Zedong.

Of course, most of us are well aware of Mao's history as the leader of the CCP, his rise to power, his foundation of Communist China, his suspect economic policies, the great purges that left thousands displaced around the country, his fights with the Soviets over the direction of Communism around the world, his eventual normalization of relations with the United States and eventually, his death on September 9th, 1976 at the age of 82. But the question is today, on the 114th anniversary of his birth in Shaoshan, in southern China's Hunan Province, is what legacy of him remains here in China?

Of course, Mao Zedong's image is still plastered all over this country. You need look no further than the giant portrait of him on Tian'anmen and the dozens of people hocking copies of his 'little red book' around that giant picture to realize that. But how much of Mao still remains part of contemporary China? It's a question the academics, general public and even government officials continue to debate. I don't think anyone will try to contend that Mao's vision for China is what we see today. Mao would be aghast at the reforms brought in by Deng Xiaoping that have now turned this country into a market economy. And the decentralization of power would have raked at the very fiber of his ultra-political being. As such, when I first moved here to China, I was fully under the impression that the days of Mao's influence in China were well over. But today, as I write this, part of me is questioning this.

As Cam noted in a previous blog about The Economist's take on Mao's influence on modern business, there still seems to be some flicker of Mao that still burns in the heart of a number of Chinese. Now, you might argue that it is mainly the older generation that still looks upon Mao as the savior of the country and the 'guiding light.' And that point would be valid. But in my recent experience, I've come to believe that the 'idea' of Mao is strong, even with the generation born after the Chairman shuffled off the mortal coil. Recently I took part in a lengthy KTV session with a group of 20-something Chinese. (This is a whole other story!) As they lumbered through the numerous Chinese pop songs, the selections eventually began to filter out a bit, and some Chinese 'folk songs' began being belted out. It was then that I realized that each and every one of the young people taking part in this warbling KTV session knew all the songs venerating Mao. (And trust me, there are no lack of those kinds of songs!)

I've also engaged in discussions with some of my younger colleagues about Mao and his role here in China during both the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. And even if they know about Mao's 'shady' past, they still bristle at the suggestion that he was mainly to blame for the problems his political direction took this country. I feel it stirs up a sense of nationalism in them...almost like I'm offending by knowing the same truth they do.

So today, I am forced to wonder how dead the memory of Mao Zedong is in contemporary Chinese society. His candle may have been extinguished over 30 years ago, but I still believe there remains a flicker of his light in the souls of even the youth of today in China.