Representing Chairman Mao: a social-semiotic analysis of two statues on a Red Tour

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of two entirely different statues of Chairman Mao: the first, a full figure statue completed in 1993, and the other, an immense bust completed in 2009. Both statues were sites included on a ‘Red Tour’ in which one of the authors participated in March 2011. It is assumed that the tour organizers consider both of the statues worthy of visiting, and of fulfilling the aims of a Red Tour. These aims, according to the accompanying tour book, are broadly: to educate people about the history of the communist party, to remind citizens of the foundations of the current China, to instil national pride, and to provide a spiritual and enlightening experience (Guolong Lvxingshe, 2011, our translation). The analysis in this article primarily utilizes O’Toole’s framework in The Language of Displayed Art (1994, 2011) for analyzing sculpture, and provides insights into how each statue represents Chairman Mao by first analyzing its features, and then interpreting these features against the socio-political context of the Red Tour, and in doing so, enhancing our understanding of the social semiotic nature of public memorials. In the interpretation of the features of the statues, comparisons and contrasts are made between the meanings construed by each representation.