Chengdon't

March is a month notable for its numerous days marking various different landmarks, which as time goes on seem to get more numerous and more bizarre.  On March the 10^th netizens celebrate ‘International Awesome Day’ (the date corresponds with the birthday of legendary kung fu high-kicker Chuck Norris).  On the 11^th you can breathe a little easier on ‘no smoking day’, the 14^th sees mathematicians reach for that extra decimal point when ‘international pi’ day is celebrated, and March 15^th is a day of particular resonance here as it heralds ‘fight for consumer rights’ day.

One date that most Chinese will have indelibly burnt in their psyche from their school days is March the 5^th; otherwise know as ‘Learn from Lei Feng’ day.  This seems to have passed most Westerners by, but to the majority of China’s citizens the name is as familiar as Robin Hood in England or Jesse James in the states – but Lei Feng was no outlaw…

Born in 1940 and sharing his home province of Hunan with Chairman Mao, Lei Feng was orphaned at an early age and was taken into the care of the Communist Party.  He soon joined the People’s Liberation Army, partly as a way of thanking the state for taking care of him during his infancy.  According to reports it was while in the army that he first studied the works of the Chairman and decided to dedicate himself to serving the people.

He sent his savings to the parents of a fellow soldier affected by a flood; served tea and food to the new recruits; washed his friends’ feet after a long march and mended their clothes; he went all-out to show his devotion to the cause. In short, it is reported he lived the life of a saintly boy scout, his one desire to be a ‘revolutionary screw that never rusts’.

There are various conflicting stories about Lei Feng’s early death in 1962; some say he was hit by a falling telegraph pole, others report he was run over and a few conclude he simply worked himself to death.  He remained in obscurity until his diary – which chronicled his daily life of philanthropy in extreme detail – was found in 1963.  It was then decided by the Party to elevate him as an example to others of how to behave and treat your fellow man, and the first ‘learn from Lei Feng’ campaign was launched, complete with pictures, songs and poems extolling the virtues of living a selfless life.

“Uncle Lei Feng tells revolutionary stories” (1965)

To this day Chinese school children are still taught about Lei Feng’s deeds, and on March the 5^th school children are encouraged to go out into the community and perform random altruistic acts like cleaning up parks and schools, and local news will often run stories about these activities.

It has been debated whether teaching Lei Feng’s model of altruism and self-sacrifice in schools has any relevance to today’s modern Chinese world, and even his very existence is a bone of contention for some commentators.  However, his legend persists, and both Chinese and foreign Chinese language students continue to learn from Lei Feng’s good example in ways the man himself would scarcely have been able to believe; he has had numerous films made about his life, and now has his own web log and video game, the object of which is to meet Chairman Mao and get his autograph!  His story has now spread worldwide, with one particular Chinese-speaking foreigner being especially interested in him…

Until next week blogwatchers, good luck and good tasty – zaijian!