Traute Meyer

I had wanted to see Mao’s Mausoleum since my first visit to Beijing, because of his significance for Chinese and World history. Chris, our student guide, disapproved, he believes he should be laid to rest. I agree there is something cruel about keeping a dead body on public display for decades. But the “real” body has greater power on our imagination than a mere statue. Our whole group went to see The Chairman, and we stood in the baking heat for 2.5 hours, together with thousands of Chinese adults, young and very old, children and babies. The picture stands for the magnetism of the dead Mao.