Deification of Mao Zedong’s Image and an Iconoclastic Attempt at Its Deconstruction

Abstract

This text is an attempt to reflect on the image of Mao Zedong in People’s Republic of China and the politics of shaping his image� Mao Zedong, his politics, literary work, life, and other aspects of his long biography have been fairly well described by numerous researchers over the past few decades� However, far too little space has been devoted to the image of Mao Zedong in the consciousness of the Chinese� Considering that Mao has been included into the set of deities and surrounded by a halo of divinity, the critical attitude to his figure verges on sacrilege� It is a surprising encounter of politics and religion, which Mao Zedong would not expect in his lifetime� In fact, only popular and avant-garde art, as well as individual oppositionists have made iconoclastic attempts to deconstruct the figure of Mao�