Cult of personality

==== Mao Zedong ====
{{Main|Mao Zedong's cult of personality}}
[[File:Zhenxing, Dandong, Liaoning, China - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Mao Zedong]] in China]]
Mao Zedong's cult of personality was a prominent part of [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|Chairman]] [[Mao Zedong]]'s [[History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)|rule]] over the [[China|People's Republic of China]] from [[Proclamation of the People's Republic of China|his rise]] in 1949 until [[Death of Chairman Mao|his death]] in 1976. [[Media of China|Mass media]], [[Propaganda in the People's Republic of China|propaganda]] and a series of other techniques were used by the state to elevate Mao Zedong's status to that of an infallible heroic leader, who could stand up against [[Western Bloc|The West]], and guide China to become a beacon of [[Communism]]. Mao himself, however, publicly criticized the personality cult which was formed around him.<ref>[[#Lin95|Lin, Xu and Wu 1995]]. p. 48.</ref>

During the period of [[Cultural Revolution]], Mao's personality cult soared to an unprecedented height. Mao's face was firmly established on the front page of ''[[People's Daily]]'', where a column of his quotes was also printed every day. Mao's Selected Works were later printed in even greater circulation; the number of his portraits (1.2 billion) was more than the inhabitants in China. And soon [[Chairman Mao badge]]s began to appear; in total, about 4.8 billion were manufactured.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barmé, Geremie.|title=Shades of Mao : the posthumous cult of the great leader|date=1996|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=0585269017|location=Armonk, NY|oclc=45729144}}</ref> Every Chinese citizen was presented with the ''[[Little Red Book]]'' – a selection of quotes from Mao. It was prescribed to be carried everywhere and displayed at all public events, and citizens were expected to quote the contents of the book daily.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chang, Jung |title=Mao : the unknown story|date=2007|publisher=Vintage|others=Halliday, Jon|isbn=978-0099507376|location=London|oclc=71346736}}</ref> Mao himself believed that the situation had gone out of hand, and in a conversation with [[Edgar Snow]] in 1970, he denounced the titles of "Great Leader, Great Supreme Commander, Great Helmsman" and insisted on only being called "teacher".<ref name="阎长贵">{{cite journal |author=阎长贵 |title="四个伟大"是谁提出来的 |journal=党史博览 |year=2006 |issue=8 |page=49 |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/68742/69118/69662/4718717.html |accessdate=2014-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304214827/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/68742/69118/69662/4718717.html |archive-date=2015-03-04 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the Cultural Revolution, [[Deng Xiaoping]] and others launched the "[[Boluan Fanzheng]]" program which invalidated the Cultural Revolution and abandoned (and forbade) the use of a personality cult.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Teon|first=Aris|date=March 1, 2018|title=Deng Xiaoping On Personality Cult And One-Man Rule – 1980 Interview|url=https://china-journal.org/2018/03/01/deng-xiaoping-on-personality-cult-and-one-man-rule-1980-interview/|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=The Greater China Journal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Huang|first=Zheping|title=Xi Jinping could now rule China for life – just what Deng Xiaoping tried to prevent|url=https://qz.com/1215697/xi-jinping-could-now-rule-china-for-life-just-what-deng-xiaoping-tried-to-prevent/|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=Quartz|date=February 26, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=第八章: 十一届三中全会开辟社会主义事业发展新时期|url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64184/64190/65724/4444936.html|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=cpc.people.com.cn|archive-date=March 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080301175128/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64184/64190/65724/4444936.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, since [[Xi Jinping]] succeeded as the [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] in 2012, the [[Xi Jinping's cult of personality|cult of personality]] has been promoted again in China.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Luqiu|first=Luwei Rose|date=December 1, 2016|title=The Reappearance of the Cult of Personality in China|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=33|issue=4|pages=289–307|doi=10.1007/s12140-016-9262-x|s2cid=152260841|issn=1874-6284}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=August 7, 2018|title=Xi personality cult brings back memories of 1960s China|url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2158612/why-xi-jinping-personality-cult-china-brings-back-memories-mao|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref>