cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

has been developing around

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

since he became

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the ruling

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) and Chinese

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...

in 2012.

Background

After

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

started the

Chinese economic reform Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist marke ...

s and introduced the concept of

collective leadership In communist and socialist theory, collective leadership is a shared distribution of power within an organizational structure, sometimes publicly described or designed as Primus inter pares, ''primus inter pares'' (''first among equals''). Commun ...

in the late 1970s, there was no longer a cult of personality around Chinese leaders. Deng and others wanted to prevent another leader from rising above the party as

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

had done. However, when Xi came to power in 2012, he started centralizing power and paved the way for a cult of personality. The

(CCP) has denied that there was any cult of personality. The CCP's rules explicitly forbid personality cults. Xie Chuntao, director of the government-funded Central Party School's academic department, claimed the “respect and love” ordinary Chinese felt for Xi was “natural” and “heartfelt” and bore no similarities to a cult of personality. He added that memories of the excesses of Mao's cult were strong enough that the CCP would not allow another leader to form a cult around himself.

Characteristics

Since Xi assumed power in 2012, books, cartoons, pop songs and dance routines have honoured his rule. In 2017, the local government of

Jiangxi province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

told

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

to replace their pictures of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

with Xi Jinping. Writing in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', Philip Wen notes that “perhaps the most stunning characteristic shared with Mao has been a growing personality cult around Xi fanned by the central propaganda department, which has produced some jarring results: newspaper front-pages dominated by Xi's every move, saccharine music videos professing love and loyalty to the leader.” In May 2016, just prior to the 50th anniversary celebration of Mao's

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, a “Mao-themed revival show” at the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building situated to the west of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China. The People's Great Hall functions as ...

featuring revolutionary “red songs” was designed to generate nostalgia for the Mao era, with “giant images of Mao and Xi projected on stage.” In March 2017, Xi claimed that he carried bags of 110 kilograms of wheat over 3 miles of mountain road without changing shoulder, a feat deemed extraordinary and broadcast by

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...

during what was described as an image-crafting campaign. When he was re-elected in 2017, Xi dominated the front page of the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...

'' compared to previous editions, which emphasized a “collective leadership” model. The political ideology bearing his name,

Xi Jinping Thought Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, commonly abbreviated outside China as Xi Jinping Thought, is a political doctrine created during General Secretary Xi Jinping's leadership of the Chinese Communist ...

, was enshrined into the CCP's constitution in the 19th National Congress in October 2017 and into the state constitution in 2018.

(CCTV) also showed members of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

"crying in happiness" because of Xi Jinping's re-election as president in 2018. Since October 2017, many universities across China have placed Xi Jinping Thought at the core of their curricula, the first time since Mao Zedong that a Chinese leader has been accorded similar academic stature.

Fudan University Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...

revised their charter to remove "academic independence and freedom of thought" and include a "pledge to follow the Communist party's leadership", leading to protests among the students. It also said that Fudan University had to “equip its teachers and employees” with Xi Jinping Thought, leading to concerns about the diminishing academic freedom of Fudan. Former inmates in the

Xinjiang internment camps The Xinjiang internment camps, officially called vocational education and training centers by the government of the People's Republic of China, are internment camps operated by the government of Xinjiang and the Chinese Communist Party P ...

claimed that they were forced to give thanks to the leader by chanting " Long live Xi Jinping." In October 2018, Hunan TV started airing a game show about Xi Jinping and his ideology. In January 2019, Alibaba released a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

for studying Xi Jinping Thought named ''

Xuexi Qiangguo ''Xuexi Qiangguo'' () is a Chinese mobile app primarily designed to teach Xi Jinping Thought. It is designed by Alibaba Group. Supervised by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, it serves as a theoretical learning platform fo ...

''. (The name of the app is a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on Xi Jinping's name. ''Xuéxí'' can mean "learning" or "learn from Xi.") As of October 2019, it had more than 100 million active users, and is now claimed to be the most downloaded item on Apple's domestic App Store, surpassing social media apps such as

WeChat WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

(also known as Douyin in Mandarin). Apps such as Toutiao, Tencent, and Sina have been forced to use what has been described as "a super algorithm", where the story at the top "has to be about Xi". In October 2017, the

CCP Politburo The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the executive committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Currently, the bureau is ...

named Xi Jinping '' lingxiu'' (), a reverent term for "leader" and a title previously only given to Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and his immediate successor,

Hua Guofeng Hua Guofeng (born Su Zhu (); 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008) was a Chinese politician who served as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the 2nd premier of China. The designated successor of Mao Zedong, Hua held the top offices of t ...

. He is also sometimes called the " Great Helmsman" (), and in July 2018,

Li Zhanshu Li Zhanshu (born 30 August 1951) is a Chinese retired politician, who was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2018 to 2023. He was the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Ch ...

, the

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), which is the permanent body of the National People's Cong ...

, referred to Xi as the " eternal core" of the party. On 25 December 2019, the politburo officially named Xi as "People's Leader" (), a title only Mao held previously. In 2022, the 20th National Congress of the CCP added the " Two Upholds" into the Party's constitution, which established Xi as the "core" of the Central Committee and the CCP, and cemented his policies as guiding rules for the future of China.

Notes

References

{{Xi Jinping Cults of personality Politics of the People's Republic of China

Culture of the People's Republic of China

Background

Characteristics

See also

Notes

References