Leifeng (1940--1962)

Author: Shi Yonggang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-27
Features: Lei Feng posing for a photo on a motorcycle in front of Tiananmen. His posture is leaning forward, as if the motorcycle is speeding down Chang'an Avenue. Lei Feng has a radiant smile, and posing for a motorcycle photo was also a trendy thing to do. This short, five-foot-tall Hunan native belongs more to the spirit of the Chinese people before the 1960s. Everyone was searching for their own Lei Feng. The nation was also searching for its own Lei Feng. Lei Feng possessed unparalleled conduct that left later generations ashamed, transcending the boundaries of race and system, and was even respected by foreigners who knew about him. In reevaluating the significance of ethical heroes, Lei Feng is also a pivotal figure. Lei Feng's impression on people is that he always had a youthful, childlike face and a joyful, innocent smile, as well as his constant desire to serve the people and do good deeds. Lei Feng, who emerged from the passionate era of the new China, is like a "firstborn son of the republic" type of character. He represented the "selfless dedication" red generation, enthusiastic about building socialism and striving toward communism. Everything that happened to him seemed mysterious and distant to contemporary young Chinese. This widely renowned Lei Feng was not a relic of the past. In fact, Lei Feng had always been a trendsetter in the 1950s and 1960s of the republic. He wore a red scarf, voluntarily returned to the countryside to be a farmer, worked as a government official, learned to drive tractors, loved taking photos, published articles, became a steelworker, wore a leather jacket and a wristwatch, joined the People's Liberation Army, and studied Selected Works of Mao Zedong. Without a doubt, Lei Feng's life was the mainstream life of that era; and revolution was also an important part of the fashionable life of that time.