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
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
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