Souvenir plates bearing the images of Mao Zedong (left) and Xi Jinping at a shop in Beijing. Before Xi, the term lingxiu was bestowed only on “great leader” Mao and his short-lived successor, “wise leader” Hua Guofeng. Photo: Reuters
Souvenir plates bearing the images of Mao Zedong (left) and Xi Jinping at a shop in Beijing. Before Xi, the term lingxiu was bestowed only on “great leader” Mao and his short-lived successor, “wise leader” Hua Guofeng. Photo: Reuters
China /  Politics

Why China is reviving Mao’s grandiose title for Xi Jinping

Analyst says the honorific ‘lingxiu’ is unlikely to resonate with the public in the way it did half a century ago

Nectar Gan
Nectar Gan

Updated: 2:55pm, 20 Jul, 2018

Why you can trust SCMP
Souvenir plates bearing the images of Mao Zedong (left) and Xi Jinping at a shop in Beijing. Before Xi, the term lingxiu was bestowed only on “great leader” Mao and his short-lived successor, “wise leader” Hua Guofeng. Photo: Reuters
Souvenir plates bearing the images of Mao Zedong (left) and Xi Jinping at a shop in Beijing. Before Xi, the term lingxiu was bestowed only on “great leader” Mao and his short-lived successor, “wise leader” Hua Guofeng. Photo: Reuters
READ FULL ARTICLE