Lei Feng

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Lei Feng (雷锋; Léi Fēng) (December 18, 1940 - August 15, 1962) was a soldier of the People's Liberation Army of the PRC. He was characterized by propaganda as a selfless and modest figure after his death and consequently was an idol to many. Today Lei continues to serve as the idol to elementary school students who commemorate and "learn from" him in everyday life, and has become a resilient cultural icon, with many t-shirts printed with his picture on the front.

Born in Wangcheng, Hunan (near the Town of Leifeng, Changsha, Hunan, named in his honour), Lei joined the Communist youth corps when he was very young. Lei died in 1962 at the age of 22, when a telephone pole, struck by an army truck, killed him, when he was directing the truck in backing up. After Lei's death, Mao Zedong began what was to be known as the *"Learn from Comrade Lei Feng" (向雷锋同志学习) Campaign, designed to use Lei as a good example to the Chinese people to be cheerfully selfless and noble in thought.

the Chinese word 学习, when translated literally, can be "to learn, or learn" however, given this context, it means something like "to follow", therefore, the slogan/phrase 向雷锋同志学习 means more of something like "follow the examples of comrade Lei-Feng."

Since, March 5th has become the official "Learn from Lei Feng Day". This day involves various community and school events where people go clean up parks, schools, and other community locations. Local news on that day usually has footage from these events.

Lei's most recognizable image in popular culture is in t-shirt, he's in the same category as other revolutionary symbols including Mao Zedong and Che Guevera at street vendors. Some Lei Feng t-shirts have made their way into the United States as well. Hayden Christensen's character in the movie Life as a House is wearing a Lei Feng t-shirt.

In March 2006, China released a game titled, "Learn From Lei Feng Online," where the player has to do good deeds, fight spies, and collect parts of Mao Zedong's collection. If the player wins, they get to meet Chairman Mao in the game.