Who was Lei Feng and why is he such an icon and revolutionary hero?

He was China's answer to Clark Kent, a revolutionary soldier who couldn't stop doing Superman-style good deeds, whether it was helping old women to cross streets, reciting Mao Zedong's works by heart or washing and darning his fellow soldiers' sweaty socks.

The latter should not spark any sniggers. Lei Feng was famously adept with needle and thread, an individual who counted sock-washing and darning as two of the many acts in his humanitarian portfolio.

Needless to say, Lei was part of the Communist Party's propaganda machine, portrayed as a tireless comrade devoted to the revolution and who lived his life according to Mao's homilies. The official line is that Lei, born in 1940 in Wangcheng, Hunan province, was orphaned when his father was killed by the Japanese and his mother committed suicide after harassment from the son of her landlord. Sticking with the dream-ticket script, young Lei was brought up by devoted party members and joined the People's Liberation Army. His lifetime ambition was to be 'a revolutionary screw that never rusts' and he penned in his diary: 'I will devote the limited life to the boundless work of serving the people.'

Complete rubbish or honest truth? The character bears all the hallmarks of socialist spin doctors at work, except for one niggling detail. Instead of dying in a hail of bullets while single-handedly attacking a nest of Nationalist spies, Lei met a more mundane death: knocked down by a telegraph pole felled by a reversing truck. He was just 22. Like James Dean and Che Guevara, he became more famous in death than in life; the legend grew, helped by lavish amounts of party propaganda.

Many middle-aged Chinese are reluctant to accept Lei was a greatly embellished character, particularly since his deeds were regularly lionised by Mao.

During the 1970s, mainland children were constantly told to learn from Lei, a message that is still being delivered, via a more contemporary medium. According to the Shanghai Daily, an online Lei Feng computer game is being produced, although the sock-darning aspect might have to be amended for modern youths, who simply replace holey hosiery. The goal of the game is to meet Mao and get his autograph. To do this, you, as Lei, must carry out charitable acts. The late soldier has a museum, too, showcased at leifeng.org.cn.