I think there is a love-hate relationship between the people of China and Mao. On the one hand, they think he did a great job of forming and uniting the nation and bringing egalitarianism to most of it but failed miserably in his politically myopic methods for furthering the nation - e.g., the Great Leap Forward which resulted in over 30 million people dying of famine and, of course, the Cultural Revolution which, in effect, denied a whole generation of education and retarded the country's growth for over ten years.
For many people today, he is more of a good-luck icon which they hang from the rear-view mirrors of their cars! I suppose it's true that time heals all wounds but there are many today who regard that era as a terrible time.
I haven't seen many of these statues in my travels throughout China.
jack
05-Nov-2004 11:42
nice pic ,I think ,it is a symblism of the invation of chiness!:)
