Who is the greatest Chinese?

I recently saw this issue on Zhihu. In fact, it was asked two years ago, but the question was closed, and you can only browse it if you can't answer it. At the time of writing this article, there have been more than 5,000 answers to this question, and the top-ranked answers are all from the same person - Mao Zedong .

For the same question two years ago, someone made statistics at that time:

1. As of 11:00 on August 4, 2017, there were a total of 843 answers, of which 209 answers were and only Chairman Mao, accounting for 24.8% (exact number), ranking first;

2. There are still many answers that include multiple figures including Chairman Mao. In addition to this part, Chairman Mao accounts for 30%-40% (estimated), ranking first;

3. The number of likes obtained by each answer varies. The most liked answer is mainly concentrated on Chairman Mao. Considering this part, the actual number of people who voted for Chairman Mao under this question is easily more than half or even up to 60-70% (estimated), Number one.

To borrow an answer under this question: "Who is the greatest Chinese? The people will answer Mao Zedong, and Mao Zedong will answer the people."

The first time I saw the answer to this question, I was a little surprised by everyone's thoughts, because from the perspective of the people around me, there were very few people who boldly expressed their appreciation for Mao. More than two years have passed, and the answer to thinking that Mao Zedong is the greatest Chinese has increased by so much. This had to surprise me again.

I thought about it for a while, and there may be a few reasons:

(1) After Xi Jinping came to power, the ban on Mao's speech began to be lifted.

Although Mao has always had a high status among the people, almost every household in the countryside has a portrait of Mao. Every year, a large number of people visit Mao's former residence in Shaoshan, Hunan. But since Deng Xiaoping proposed that "Chairman Mao's merits and demerits are seven or three points", for a long time, the people were not allowed to discuss Mao extensively. Even in our textbooks, there is something to be said for Mao. This is also one of the main reasons why I used to say " I used to dislike Mao " (but after reading Mao's selection and reading more, I switched from black to fan). This is because the legitimacy of Deng's ruling comes from his criticism of Mao. If you want to go to the right (ie, the market economy line), you must deny the left line (ie, Mao's line). But after Xi came to power, all that changed. In short, the left prevailed over the right in the first 30 years of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. After Deng took over, the right prevailed over the left. In recent years, the left has rebounded.

(2) The changes in the international situation have made people re-understand many of Mao's thoughts.

In recent years, the main line of the international situation has been Sino-US frictions, such as the trade war and the current epidemic of scolding and rumors. In the face of the US's pressing step by step, both the people and the government need to find new beliefs to stabilize the domestic environment, so many of Mao's remarks have been rediscovered. For example, "Unity will survive if you seek unity through struggle, and unity will perish if you seek unity through concessions", "If you beat you, I will beat me. If you stay with you to the end, you will have to open up another battlefield. Not only for positional warfare, but also for mobile warfare. Fight guerrilla warfare, go behind the enemy's back" and so on. These remarks were given new epochal significance and attracted more people to know Mao and even read Mao's anthologies.

(3) Ordinary people are living under greater pressure and have growing resentment towards capital and bureaucracy.

In the past two years, public opinion has also changed a lot. First of all, economic growth has slowed down, housing prices have risen further, and the grievances of young and middle-aged people have become more and more serious. Secondly, events such as the 996 Fortune News, the Forbidden City Daben, China Literature Group, etc., have made society full of anger towards capitalists and corrupt bureaucrats. Most of the recent criticism of Houlang is also criticism of capitalists and consumerism. Therefore, domestic public opinion is already very dissatisfied with the social status quo, and social revolution is possible. But to the disappointment of overseas rebels, these angry people chose not to subvert or overthrow the party and government, but to move out of Mao Zedong. There are also some criticisms and ridicules of "Rice Lun (referring to Deng Xiaoping)" on Weibo, as well as a new understanding of the Cultural Revolution, such as "Ziguangge" and "Ideological Focus" and other official accounts. This is just like what Mao Zedong said: Cheering for Sun Dasheng today, it is only because the demon fog is coming back.

In short, the current domestic online public opinion has a left-leaning trend, and people are irritable. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I can't predict, but domestic public opinion will have a great influence on the decision-making of the party and the government. Now Xi's slogan is the eradication of poverty, and I support it very much. The old saying, "Let some people get rich first, and then help them get rich first, so as to achieve common prosperity", has now been half realized. But as to whether the first rich are willing or not, and whether they can help the later rich, I have some concerns and doubts. After all, the capitalists are becoming more and more rampant, and the class is gradually solidified. But China is still a socialist country after all, will this red flag change color? I don't know, let's see.

Note: This article only describes the phenomenon that exists in China, and there is no meaning of praise or criticism. But the title uses "The Greatest Chinese". Friends from Hong Kong and Taiwan with a "Greater China" complex may not agree with Mao Zedong's answer, because everyone's environment and experience are different. I also understand and look forward to you. what is the answer.