Lei Feng
The model soldier whose diary and image became a lasting propaganda icon in China.
The campaigns promoted him as a model citizen, encouraging emulation of his selflessness, modesty, and devotion to Mao Zedong.[1] His image continues to appear in popular forms such as on T-shirts and memorabilia.[2]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 18 December 1940
- Died
- 15 August 1962
- Birthplace
- Wangcheng, Hunan, Republic of China
- Place of death
- Fushun, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China
- Cause of death
- Work accident
- Occupation
- Soldier
- Political party
- Chinese Communist Party
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Lei Feng was born on 18 December 1940 in Wangcheng, near the town of Leifeng, Changsha, Hunan.[3][4] His mother died by suicide after being "dishonored by a landlord."[5] Lei Feng died in 1962 at age 21 when a telephone pole, struck by an army truck, hit him as he was directing the truck.[6] State media reports that all of Lei's close relatives died prior to the founding of the People's Republic, resulting in him becoming an orphan.[4]
When Lei was five years old, invading Japanese forces killed his father; one year after that, his older brother, who worked as a child laborer, also died.[4] During the autumn of 1958, the Anshan Iron and Steel Group recruited laborers in Changsha; Lei Feng was subsequently hired as a bulldozer operator at the Gongchangling Iron Mine, which was part of the Angang Mining Company.[7] At age twenty, Lei Feng joined a transportation unit of the People's Liberation Army and had previously become a member of the Communist youth corps.[6] Following Lei's death, Lin Biao introduced his diary to the public during the inaugural "Learn from Lei Feng" campaign in 1963.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: In Chinese, . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "孩子如何"學雷鋒"？大人犯難", Dalian Evening News, 2008-03-03; "早逝雷鋒 大陸一整代模範", United Daily News, 2009-04-05; Shi Yonggang and Liu Qiongxiong, "雷鋒 1940–1962", SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2006-03-01; David, the Blogmaster, "【中國評論】兩岸大不同。誰是雷鋒？", Taiwan People's Shanghai Fantasia, 2016-12-29; "雷鋒精神（大陸地區）", National Academy for Educational Research; Yan Yunxiang: The Individual and the Transformation of Bridewealth in Rural North China, Department of Anthropology, University of California. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leutner, "Chinesische Literatur: zum siebzigsten Geburtstag von Eva Müller", LIT Verlag Münster, 2005, p. 98 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chi-Yue Chiu and Ying-Yi Hong, Social Psychology of Culture, Psychology Press (2006), , p. 236 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Legacy of Lei Feng: Part I CCTV News – CNTV English", 9 March 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Chinese Treasure Spirit of Lei Feng", En.invest.china.cn (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chen, "Lei Feng, Chairman Mao's Good Fighter", Foreign Language Press, 1968, p. 26 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lei Feng" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tanner, Harold Miles. China: A History. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company. 2009. . p.522. Retrieved 13 December 2011. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lei Feng (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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