(June 21) – It's got to be "wow!" when it comes to Mao.
He may be gone, but in China he's far from forgotten, and reminders of the Great One in the form of second-rate statues just won't do.
Upset by tourists' complaints that street peddlers are offering inferior souvenirs of Mao Zedong, Hunan province has acted to make sure the products meet the highest standards.
And when China says no, most manufacturers better say yes.
Some statues being offered to tourists who flock to Mao's hometown of Shaoshan were physically disproportional, the Xinhua state news agency reported today. Others were made with low-quality material, and according to one Shaoshan resident, some of them even made him look "weird."
New technical standards to ensure that the leader of the Long March looks like the revered person he was to many of China's people have been officially promulgated by Hunan's Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.
"The move is expected to curtail the production and sale of low-quality Mao statues that harm the tourism market and people's feelings for the great man," the bureau's chief, Jiang Tao, was reported as saying.
Starting July 1, all mass-produced Mao statues will have to pass rigid examination by five experts.
The five have been given strict instructions to ensure that Mao's expression, hairstyle, facial and body features accurately reflect his real appearance. And if they're made of plastic, gesso or composition brass, they'll be confiscated and sent to the garbage dump. Only copper alloys, silver and unsaturated polyester resin will be given the OK.
"The establishment of the standards reflects people's respect and love for my grandfather," said 40-year-old Mao Xinyu, describing them as "unique extraordinary and significant." He added, "It will have significant bearing on the promotion of China's revolutionary traditions and patriotism."
According to the local tourism bureau, the Shaoshan souvenir market brought in $18.2 million in 2009, with 70 percent from the sale of Mao statues, Xinhua reported.
Mao, who died in 1976, is recognized for establishing a new China under a communist government that has progressed to the point where it seems to have learned the inner workings of capitalism better than most.
Detractors, however, point to the tragedies of the 10-year Cultural Revolution that started in 1966, left untold numbers of people dead and almost brought China to the verge of collapse.
But if a man is revered, it's better he look good, definitely not weird.