Mao, despite faults, still honoured by Chinese

Press, 24 December 1986, Page 16

Mao, despite faults, still honoured by Chinese

By

TERRIL JONES,

of the Associated Press in Peking

Although chairman Mao Tsetung is less revered than in his lifetime, about 30,000 people a day are drawn to his tomb 10 years after his death. They shuffle along quickly in a line for a brief glimpse of his embalmed body under a red flag in a crystal sarcophagus. The mausoleum of the great helmsman who brought a Communist Government to power in 1949 is the No. 1 tourist attraction in Peking and the majority who come are from outside the capital. For many the visit is not so much to honor Mao as to make a pilgrimage to the city’s most popular tourist spot, which is in Tiananmen Square, a major attraction in itself. Li Wei, aged 21,. who grows wheat in Shandong province, was there one recent day. “It was moving ... I guess,” he said, reflecting mixed feelings about the visit. “It’s hard to say. I don’t know.” He added that it was his first visit to Peking, and aside from Mao’s tomb, he went to see the pandas at the zoo.

“When people come to Peking, they have to see this,” said Wu Guoping, a printer from Shanghai and another first-time visitor to Peking. “He’s the Chairman, right?” “Chairman Mao built China, and the Chinese people will never forget him.” Mao died on September 9, 1976, at age 82. His mausoleum was completed six months later. He is remembered as a leader who rescued millions of Chinese from poverty. But he is also blamed for catastrophes such as the Great Leap Forward of 1958 which tried to rush China into modern industry, and the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution which closed schools, denounced intellectuals, and reviled religion and Western arts. “There were successes and there were failures, but there were more successes,” said Tong Huaxing, aged 32, who said he made measuring tools in Shaanxi province. “The Cultural Revolution had a bad effect on schooling,” he added. “We went to school, but

didn’t study anything. Of course, I regret it, and when I see Chairman Mao I feel somewhat it’s his fault, but considering his successes, we should forgive him.” With the tenth anniversary of Mao’s death in September, the number of visitors increased. “This summer we started opening on Sundays because there were so many people,” said a guide. “Every day some people pass by shedding tears.” About 10 million people visit in a year; 50,000 is the most for one day. The visitors form a line two abreast which snakes around the side of the squat granite structure. No parcels, cameras or tape recorders are allowed, and people don’t need to be told to keep silent as they file quickly past. Mao lies in the transparent coffin surrounded by orchids; beyond him stands a four-man honour guard and a wall with the inscription: “Long live the memory of our great leader and teacher Chairman Mao Tsetung."