MCLC: gold Mao statue

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: gold Mao statue
***********************************************************

Source: Sinosphere blog, NYT (12/13/13):
http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/maos-birth-commemorated-in-g
old-and-gem-encrusted-statue/

Mao’s Birth Commemorated in Gold and Gem-Encrusted Statue
By CHRIS BUCKLEY 

Mao Zedong, the Communist revolutionary who rhapsodized the Chinese people
as “poor and blank” has received the birthday present he probably never
dreamed of. He has been commemorated in a manner befitting the excesses of
modern-day capitalist China: a statue covered in gold and inlaid with gems
that is said to be worth about 100 million renminbi, or $16.5 million.

The 120th anniversary of Mao’s birth takes place on Dec. 26, and the
present leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, has said the
commemorations should be “solemn, austere and practical.” Mao himself
famously said: “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay,
or painting a picture, or doing embroidery.”

But apparently China’s foremost revolutionary can be a spectacle of bling.
The statue of a seated Mao went on display on Friday in Shenzhen, a
commercial city in southern China better known for its raucous nightlife
than its spartan revolutionary spirit.

China National Radio said
<http://gb.cri.cn/42071/2013/11/07/5931s4314037.htm> on its website that
the figure of Mao — appearing unnervingly slim — was covered in gold, jade
and other gemstones, and was the work of more than 20 master craftsmen
over eight months. The whole ensemble, including the 110-pound statue of
the man and a white marble base, cost about 100 million renminbi to make,
according to the craftsmen. The report did not say who sponsored or paid
for the work.

“When the gold flashes, it captures the intense interest of the public,”
noted the report. No doubt.

The statue went on display at an art and handicrafts show in Shenzhen, but
will find a permanent home in Mao’s birthplace, Shaoshan, in Hunan
Province.