View source for Lei Feng

{{Short description|Chinese soldier (1940–1962)}}
{{distinguish|Lei Fang|Fang Lei|Fan Lei (disambiguation){{!}}Fan Lei}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Lei Feng
| native_name        = {{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|雷锋}}}}
| image              = Lei Feng 13.jpg
| caption            = Lei {{circa}} 1960s
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1940|12|18}}
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|1962|8|15|1940|12|18}}
| birth_place        = [[Wangcheng, Changsha|Wangcheng]], Hunan, China
| death_place        = [[Fushun]], Liaoning, China
| death_cause        = Work accident
| occupation         = Soldier
| party              = [[Chinese Communist Party]]
| module             = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
| s = {{linktext|雷锋}}
| t = {{linktext|雷鋒}}
| p = Léi Fēng
| w = Lei<sup>2</sup> Feng<sup>1</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|l|ei|2|-|f|eng|1}}
| order = st
}}
}}

'''Lei Feng'''{{family name footnote|lang=Chinese|[[Lei (surname)|Lei (雷)]]|reftype=efn-lr}} (18 December 1940{{spnd}}15 August 1962), born '''Lei Zhengxing''', was a Chinese soldier in the [[People's Liberation Army]] who was the object of several major [[Propaganda in China|propaganda campaigns in China]]. The most well-known of these campaigns in 1963 promoted the slogan "Follow the examples of [[Comrade]] Lei Feng."<ref>In Chinese, {{lang|zh-hans|向雷锋同志学习}}.</ref> Lei was portrayed as a model citizen, and the masses were encouraged to emulate his selflessness, modesty, and devotion to [[Mao Zedong]]. In the following years, Lei Feng was portrayed as a symbol and model of party revolution by both the [[Chinese Communist Party]] and [[Government of China]]. For decades, he promoted the "Learn from Lei Feng as a Model" in the media.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2008-03/03/content_7709099.htm
| title = 孩子如何"學雷鋒"？大人犯難
| trans-title = How Should Children "Learn from Lei Feng"? Adults Are Troubled
| work = Dalian Evening News
| publisher = Xinhua News Agency
| date = 2008-03-03
| access-date = 2012-03-05
| archive-date = 2011-03-09
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110309003414/http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2008-03/03/content_7709099.htm
| language = zh
}}</ref> Political ideology closely follows the Chinese Communist Party, actively helping others in work and daily life, practicing frugality and thrift, and upholding the socialist spirit of "[[Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno]]" which is known as the Lei Feng spirit.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://udn.com/NEWS/MAINLAND/MAI2/4829852.shtml
| title = 早逝雷鋒 大陸一整代模範
| trans-title = The Early Death of Lei Feng: A Role Model for a Generation in Mainland China
| work = United Daily News
| publisher = United Daily News
| date = 2009-04-05
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090408073848/http://udn.com/NEWS/MAINLAND/MAI2/4829852.shtml
| archive-date = 2009-04-08
| access-date = 2016-12-29
| language = zh
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| title = 雷鋒 1940–1962
| trans-title = Lei Feng 1940–1962
| author = Shi Yonggang and Liu Qiongxiong
| publisher = SDX Joint Publishing Company
| date = 2006-03-01
| isbn = 9787108024367
| url = http://findbook.tw/book/9787108024367/basic
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110311165442/http://findbook.tw/book/9787108024367/basic
| archive-date = 2011-03-11
| access-date = 2016-12-29
| language = zh
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://dav0611.pixnet.net/blog/post/37019172
| title = 【中國評論】兩岸大不同。誰是雷鋒？
| trans-title = [China Commentary] Big Differences Across the Taiwan Strait: Who Is Lei Feng?
| author = David, the Blogmaster
| website = Taiwan People's Shanghai Fantasia
| date = 2016-12-29
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161229141340/http://dav0611.pixnet.net/blog/post/37019172
| archive-date = 2016-12-29
| access-date = 2016-12-29
| language = zh-TW
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://terms.naer.edu.tw/detail/1312848/?index=1
| title = 雷鋒精神（大陸地區）
| trans-title = Spirit of Lei Feng (Mainland China)
| website = National Academy for Educational Research
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161229142126/http://terms.naer.edu.tw/detail/1312848/?index=1
| archive-date = 2016-12-29
| access-date = 2016-12-29
| language = zh
}}</ref> After [[Mao's death]], [[Chinese state media]] continued to promote Lei Feng as a model of earnestness and service, and his image still appears in popular forms such as on T-shirts and memorabilia.<ref>Yan Yunxiang: ''The Individual and the Transformation of Bridewealth in Rural North China'', Department of Anthropology, University of California.</ref>

The biographic details of Lei Feng's life, and especially his diary, supposedly discovered after his death, are generally believed to be propaganda creations; even the historicity of Lei Feng himself is sometimes questioned.<ref name=Fraser>John Fraser, ''The Chinese: portrait of a people'' (William Collins & Sons, 1980): "Lei Feng is an invention of the propaganda department. Perhaps there was someone once, even with the same name, who actually existed and did good deeds...But the Lei Feng all Chinese people know stretches credulity to special dimensions."</ref><ref name=Cull>Nicholas John Cull et al., ''Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia'', (ABC-CLIO, 2003), {{ISBN|1576078205}}. Quote: "Lei Feng, a soldier whose diary was alleged to have been found posthumously, was touted by the party as a model citizen; his diary—almost certainly concocted by party propagandists—is filled with praise of Mao and accounts of Lei Feng's efforts to inspire revolutionary zeal among his comrades".</ref> The continuing use of Lei in government propaganda has become a source of cynicism and even derision amongst segments of the Chinese population.<ref>Fraser, p 100. Quote: "Lei Feng...is also a laughingstock among many Chinese youths, for the simplest of reasons: he never existed, at least not in the form served up by the Party".</ref> Nevertheless, Lei's function as a propaganda icon has survived decades of political change in China.<ref name="Military Celebrity in China"/>

==Life==
[[File:Lei Feng was a boy.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lei Feng as a young man]]
The current biography of Lei Feng as given in China's state media says that he was born in [[Wangcheng District|Wangcheng]] (near the town of [[Leifeng Subdistrict|Leifeng]], [[Changsha]], Hunan, named in his honour).  According to [[China Network Television|CNTV]], Lei lost all of his family before the establishment of the People's Republic, becoming an orphan. His father died when he was just five (killed by the invading Japanese Army),<ref>Chi-Yue Chiu and Ying-Yi Hong, Social Psychology of Culture, [[Psychology Press]] (2006), {{ISBN|978-1-84169-086-5}}, p. 236</ref> his elder brother, who was exploited as a child labourer, died a year later, and his younger brother passed soon afterward.  Finally, his mother died by suicide after being "dishonored by a landlord."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.cntv.cn/program/china24/20120309/123307.shtml |title=The Legacy of Lei Feng: Part I CCTV News – CNTV English |date=9 March 2012 |access-date=19 September 2015 |archive-date=18 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018012938/http://english.cntv.cn/program/china24/20120309/123307.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Lei Feng 1962-02-18.jpg|thumb|Lei Feng speaking at the [[Communist Youth League of China|Communist League]] conference in February 1962, months before his death]]
In the autumn of 1958, [[:zh:鞍山鋼鐵集團|Anshan Iron and Steel Group]] recruited workers in Changsha, Hunan Province. Lei Feng was recommended and joined the Angang Mining Company's Gongchangling Iron Mine as a bulldozer operator.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

He became a member of the [[Communist Youth League of China|Communist youth corps]] when he was young and joined a transportation unit of the People's Liberation Army at the age of twenty. According to his official biography, Lei died in 1962 at the age of 21 (22 by Chinese [[East Asian age reckoning]], by which a newborn is age 1 at birth), when a telephone pole, struck by an army truck, hit him as he was directing the truck in backing up.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.invest.china.cn/english/DO-e/28188.htm |title=Chinese Treasure Spirit of Lei Feng |publisher=En.invest.china.cn |access-date=19 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050637/http://en.invest.china.cn/english/DO-e/28188.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>

==Popular image==
[[File:LeiFeng.poster.jpg|thumb|right|Lei Feng, Chinese poster by Qiu Wei ({{lang|zh-hans|丘玮}}). Caption reads: "Follow Lei Feng's example; love the Party, love Socialism, love the people".]]
Lei Feng was not widely known until after his death. In 1963, ''Lei Feng's Diary'' was first presented to the public by [[Lin Biao]] in the first of many "Learn from Lei Feng" campaigns.<ref name="Tanner">Tanner, Harold Miles. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VIWC9wCX2c8C&pg=PA522 ''China: A History'']. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company. 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-87220-915-2}}. p.522. Retrieved 13 December 2011.</ref> The diary was full of accounts of Lei's admiration for [[Mao Zedong]], his selfless deeds, and his desire to foment revolutionary spirit. Famously, he pledged that his only ambition was "to be a rustless screw" in the revolutionary cause.<ref name=Cull/> Lin's use of Lei's diary was part of a larger effort to improve Mao's image, which had suffered after the [[Great Leap Forward]].<ref>[[Jonathan Spence|Spence, Jonathan D.]] ''[[The Search for Modern China]]''. New York: [[W. W. Norton and Company]], 1999. {{ISBN|0-393-97351-4}}. p. 566.</ref> Western scholars generally believe that the diary was forged by Party officials under Lin's direction.<ref name=Cull/><ref name="Tanner" />

The diary contains about 200,000 words describing selfless thoughts with enthusiastic comments on Mao and the inspiring nature of the Party.<ref>[http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/92-2-106.shtml Osaarchivum.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414003053/http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/92-2-106.shtml |date=14 April 2010 }}</ref> The campaign began at a time when the Chinese economy was recovering from the [[Great Leap Forward]] campaign. In 1964 the Lei Feng campaign shifted gradually from doing good deeds to a cult of Mao.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

{{Blockquote|When Lei Feng died in the line of duty, he was only 22, but his short life gives concentrated expression to the noble ideals of a new people, nurtured with the communist spirit, and also to the noble moral integrity and values of the Chinese people in the new period. These are firm faith in communist ideals, political warmheartedness for the party and the socialist cause, the revolutionary will to work arduously for self-improvement, the moral quality and self-cultivation of showing fraternal unity and taking pleasure in assisting others, the heroic spirit of being ready to take up cudgels for a just cause without caring for one's safety, the attitude of seeking advancement and studying hard, and the genuine spirit of matching words with deeds and enthusiastically carrying out one's duties.| Editorial|''[[People's Daily]]'', 5 March 1993<ref name="ms1">{{cite web |url=http://www.morningsun.org/living/heroes/leifeng_readings.html |title=Living Revolution: Lei Feng Readings |access-date=13 September 2007 |work=Morning Sun: A film and website about Cultural Revolution|publisher=Long Bow Group, Inc |year=c. 2003 }}</ref>}}

Chinese leaders have praised Lei Feng as the personification of altruism. Leaders who have written about Lei Feng include [[Deng Xiaoping]], [[Zhou Enlai]], and [[Jiang Zemin]]. His cultural importance is still reproduced and reinforced by the media and cultural apparatus of the Chinese party-state, including emphasizing the importance of moral character during Mao's era. Lei Feng's prominence in school textbooks has since declined, although he remains part of the national curriculum. The phrase ''huó Léi Fēng'' ({{lang|zh|活雷锋}}; lit. "living Lei Feng") has become a noun (or adjective) for anyone who is seen as selfless, or anyone who goes out of their way to help others.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The CCP's construction of Lei Feng as a celebrity soldier is unique to the PRC and differs from the more typical creation of military heroes by governments during times of war. In the PRC, Lei Feng was part of continuing public promotion of soldiers as exemplary models, and evidence of the People's Liberation Army's role as social and political support to the Communist government.<ref name="Military Celebrity in China">{{cite book | last=Edwards | first=Louise | title=Celebrity in China | chapter=Military Celebrity in China: The Evolution of ‘Heroic and Model Servicemen’* | publisher=Hong Kong University Press | date=2010 | pages=21–43 | isbn=978-962-209-087-3 | doi=10.5790/hongkong/9789622090873.003.0002}}</ref>

===Historicity===
Details of Lei Feng's life have been subject to dispute. While someone named Lei Feng may have existed, scholars generally believe the person depicted in the campaign was almost certainly a fabrication.<ref name=Fraser/><ref name=Cull/><ref name="Tanner"/> Some observers noted, for instance, that the campaign presented a collection of twelve photographs of Lei Feng performing good deeds. The photographs were of exceptionally high professional quality, and depicted Lei—supposedly an obscure and unknown young man—engaging in mundane tasks.<ref name=Fraser/><ref name="Jacobs2012"/>

The lauded details of Lei Feng's life according to official documents led him to become a subject of derision and cynicism among segments of the Chinese populace.<ref name=Fraser/><ref name="Jacobs2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/world/asia/lei-feng-day-draws-chinese-cynicism.html|title=Chinese Heroism Effort Is Met With Cynicism |date=5 March 2012 |first=Andrew |last=Jacobs |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A7 |access-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> As [[John Fraser (journalist)|John Fraser]] recalled, "Any Chinese I ever spoke to outside of official occasions always snorted about Lei Feng."<ref name=Fraser/>

A 2008 [[Xinhua]] survey noted that a large number of elementary school students have vague knowledge of Lei Feng's life, and that 32 percent of the surveyed have read Lei's diary.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2008-03/05/content_7719593.htm |title=一小学九成学生不了解雷锋事迹 教师称很无奈 |work={{lang|zh-hans|今日早報}} |publisher={{lang|zh-hans|新華網}} |date=5 March 2008 |access-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126181411/http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2008-03/05/content_7719593.htm |archive-date=26 November 2013  }}</ref>

===Contemporary cultural importance===
[[File:Lei Feng Bust in Beijing 雷锋 (cropped).jpg|left|upright|thumb|A bust of Lei Feng in [[Beijing, China]], 2019]]

5 March has become the official "Learn from Lei Feng Day" ({{lang-zh|s={{linktext|学|雷|锋|日}}|p=Xué Léi Fēng Rì}}). This day involves various community and school events where people go to clean up parks, schools, and other community locations. Local news on that day usually has footage from these events.<ref>{{cite web |last=Martinsen |first=Joel |url=http://www.danwei.org/people/lei_feng_2009.php |title=Lei Feng heritage for the whole world |publisher=Danwei.org |access-date=19 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430041916/http://www.danwei.org/people/lei_feng_2009.php |archive-date=30 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Lei Feng is especially honoured in [[Changsha]], [[Hunan]], and in [[Fushun]], [[Liaoning]]. The [[Leifeng Subdistrict#Attractions|Lei Feng Memorial Hall]] (in his birthplace, now named for him, [[Leifeng Subdistrict|Leifeng]]) and Lei Feng statue are located in [[Changsha]]. The local hospital carries his name. There is also a Lei Feng Memorial Hall, with a museum, in Fushun. Lei Feng's military unit was based in Fushun, where he died. His tomb is located on the memorial grounds. To commemorate Lei Feng, the city of Fushun named several landmarks in honor of him. There is a Lei Feng Road, a Lei Feng Elementary School, a Lei Feng Middle School and a Leifeng bank office.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

There is a common misconception that Lei Feng was well known in the US and honored at [[West Point]]. The myth has been traced to a 1981 [[April Fool's Day]] article that [[Xinhua News Agency]] reporter Li Zhurun mistook for a real article. Li issued a retraction in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=April Fooled: No, Chinese Communist Icon Lei Feng Is Not Loved by the U.S. Military |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-CJB-25520|access-date=22 August 2021|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=6 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chinese Communist hero Lei Feng not beloved by US cadets after all|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/news/chinese-communist-hero-lei-feng-not-beloved-us-081441055.html|access-date=17 September 2021|publisher=[[Yahoo! Sports]]|date=6 January 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Lei Feng Tomb.jpg|right|thumb|{{ill|Fushun Lei Feng Memorial|lt=Lei Feng's tomb|zh|抚顺市雷锋纪念馆}}]]

Lei Feng's story continues to be referenced in popular culture. A popular song by [[Jilin]] singer Xue Cun (雪村) is called "All Northeasterners are Living Lei Fengs" ({{lang-zh|s=东北人都是活雷锋|hp=Dōngběi Rén Dōu Shì Huó Léifēng|links=no}}).{{efn-lr|Lusby gives "''Dōngběi Rén Dāng Huó Léifēng''" ({{lang|zh-hans|东北人当活雷锋}}) which is less commonly used than "''Dōngběi Rén Dōu Shì Huó Léifēng''" ({{lang|zh-hans|东北人都是活雷锋}}).}} A 1995 release,{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} originally notable only for its use of [[Northeastern Mandarin]], it shot to nationwide fame when it was combined with [[kitsch]] animations on the Internet in 2001.<ref name="cw2">{{cite journal|author=Jo Lusby|date=4 December 2006|title=A Man for the Northeast: Sudden pop star Xue Cun and his meteoric (animated) rise to fame|journal=City Weekend}} <!--
The Google Cache link is 'broken'. The URL is retained for those who are familiar with the Internet Archive. url=http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:Li2Vuf3HKvEJ:www.cityweekend.com.cn/articles/cw-magazine/profiles/Profile_XueCun/+%22Xue+Cun%22+Lei+Feng%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=uk&client=firefox-a The URL is to the Google Cache, since the article is no longer available from the ''City Weekend'' website.--></ref> In March 2006, a Chinese organization released an online game titled ''[[Learn from Lei Feng Online]]'' (学雷锋) in which the player has to do good deeds, fight spies, and collect parts of Mao Zedong's collection. If the player wins, he or she gets to meet Chairman Mao in the game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/16/content_4308138.htm |title=Xinhua – English |agency=Xinhua News Agency |date=16 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417045739/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/16/content_4308138.htm |archive-date=17 April 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 21st century his image has been used to sell items including, in one case, condom packaging.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asiasentinel.com/society/comrade-condom/ |title=Comrade Condom |work=[[Asia Sentinel]] |date=8 November 2006 |first=Justin |last=Mitchell |access-date=19 September 2015}}</ref>

By the 2010s, interest in Lei Feng had devolved into [[kitsch]], with his face still commonly appearing on t-shirts, stickers, and posters, but interest in his life story and diary minimal, as ticket sales to feature-length biographical films, ''Young Lei Feng,'' ''Lei Feng’s Smile'' and ''Lei Feng 1959,'' released on Learn from Lei Feng Day, failed to produce any takers at all in some cities. Reportedly, party cadres in rural areas have been charged by the [[State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television]] with organizing group viewings.<ref name=NYT031113>{{cite news|title=In China, Cinematic Flops Suggest Fading of an Icon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/world/asia/in-china-unpopular-films-suggest-fading-of-icon.html|access-date=12 March 2013|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 March 2013|first=Dan|last=Levin}}</ref>

==Learn from Lei Feng Campaign==
[[File:Lei Feng Museum.jpg|thumb|right|Lei Feng Memorial Hall, Wangcheng District, Changsha, Hunan]]
[[File:观城中学男生宿舍通往运动场的路.jpg|thumb|Banner outside the dormitory at [[:zh:观城中学|Guancheng Middle School]], Cixi, Zhejiang:
"A rose given leaves a lingering fragrance — Learning from Lei Feng helps me grow."」
]]

===Purpose===
The 'Learn from Lei Feng' campaign is a political education initiative vigorously promoted by the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. It forms part of the state's efforts in promoting Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, Party ideology, and communist moral education.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://sd.infobase.gov.cn/bin/mse.exe?seachword=&K=b2&A=11&rec=199&run=13
|title=共产主义道德品质及理想教育
|trans-title=Communist Moral Character and Ideological Education
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126193608/http://sd.infobase.gov.cn/bin/mse.exe?seachword=&K=b2&A=11&rec=199&run=13
|archive-date=2013-11-26
|url-status=dead
|language=zh}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://theory.people.com.cn/BIG5/49150/49152/17290199.html
|title=中央軍委委員、解放軍總政治部主任：堅持用雷鋒精神培養塑造官兵
|trans-title=Member of the Central Military Commission and Director of the General Political Department of the PLA: Persisting in Using Lei Feng Spirit to Cultivate and Shape Soldiers
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061741/http://theory.people.com.cn/BIG5/49150/49152/17290199.html
|archive-date=2016-03-04
|url-status=dead
|language=zh}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://theory.people.com.cn/BIG5/49150/49152/17290248.html
|title=教育部部長、黨組書記：積極創新推進學校學雷鋒活動
|trans-title=Minister of Education and Party Secretary: Actively Innovating and Promoting Lei Feng Activities in Schools
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074134/http://theory.people.com.cn/BIG5/49150/49152/17290248.html
|archive-date=2016-03-04
|url-status=dead
|language=zh}}
</ref>

===Liaoning Province===
[[File:Lei Feng in 1960 in Anshan.jpg|thumb|In 1960, Lei Feng gave a lunchbox to his comrade Wang Yantang. (As recorded in Lei Feng's diary on 21 October 1960: 'I noticed Comrade Wang Yantang sitting by himself, watching everyone else eating lunch. He told me, "I ate two lunchboxes this morning and didn’t bring one today." So, I offered him the lunchbox I had brought, even though I was a bit hungry. Seeing him eat his fill was my greatest joy...')]]

Following his death, Lei Feng was posthumously honored as an outstanding Young Pioneers counselor across the country.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1960_1969/200704/t20070417_19086.htm
|title=共青团中央关于追认雷锋同志为全国优秀少先队辅导员的决定
|trans-title=Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League on Posthumously Recognizing Comrade Lei Feng as an Outstanding Young Pioneers Counselor Nationwide
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414164612/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1960_1969/200704/t20070417_19086.htm
|archive-date=2016-04-14
|url-status=dead
|language=zh}}
</ref>
Liaoning initiated a province-wide campaign to learn from Lei Feng. On 23 October, the Fushun Municipal Youth League Committee issued a notice titled 'Notice on Organizing Youth to Visit the Lei Feng Exhibition Room and Conduct Class Education.' The Liaoning Provincial Youth League printed 400,000 copies of 'Chairman Mao's Good Soldier' and reprinted 70,000 copies of comic strips depicting Lei Feng's deeds. Additionally, they produced 800 sets of photos for grassroots-level small exhibitions in cooperation with the Liaoning Photo Agency, promoting the Lei Feng learning movement across the province. This initiative caught the attention of Hu Yaobang, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League at the time. He emphasized the importance of this activity as a model of noble communist ideological qualities and instructed that it should be established as an important measure in the ongoing communist education. On 15 February 1963, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League issued a notice titled 'Notice on Widely Conducting the "Learn from Lei Feng" Educational Campaign Among Youth Nationwide.' The notice stated, 'Comrade Lei Feng's brilliant life has set an example for Chinese youth, with a firm proletarian stance and noble communist moral character. The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League believes that local youth organizations should follow the experience of Liaoning and widely promote the "Learn from Lei Feng" educational campaign among youth.' The Central Youth League's publication, 'China Youth,' published Mao Zedong's inscription in support of the campaign.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_study/200704/t20070414_17549.htm
|title=六十年代共青团与学雷锋活动
|trans-title=The Communist Youth League and the "Learn from Lei Feng" Movement in the 1960s
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507004650/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_study/200704/t20070414_17549.htm
|archive-date=2012-05-07
|url-status=dead
|language=zh}}
</ref>

===Nationwide===
[[File:Lei Feng 14.jpg|thumb|Lei Feng with elementary school students from Jianshe Street, Fushun.
（According to records, while serving as a youth counselor, Lei Feng often spent his spare time participating in the students' extracurricular activities. This photo was later staged as a re-enactment.）]]

The nationwide "Learn from Lei Feng" campaign began with Mao Zedong's inscription, "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng."
On 5 March 1963, People's Daily published Mao's call on its front page. On the second page, an article by [[Luo Ruiqing]] stated: "The most fundamental and prominent reason why Lei Feng became a great soldier is that he repeatedly read Chairman Mao's books, sincerely followed Chairman Mao's words, acted at all times according to Chairman Mao's instructions, and wholeheartedly strove to be a good soldier of Chairman Mao."5 March was designated as the national "Learn from Lei Feng Day."
On 15 March 1963, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League issued a notice titled "On Extensively and Deeply Launching the Learn from Lei Feng Campaign Among Youth Across the Province," which called for people to "earnestly study Chairman Mao's works, follow Chairman Mao's words, and act in accordance with Chairman Mao's instructions."
In 1964, Luo Ruiqing remarked, "Wherever Chairman Mao's works are well studied—be it by individuals or units—the work is done well. This is true of the Daqing Oil Field, the ‘Model Eighth Company,’ Lei Feng, [[:zh:郭兴福|Guo Xingfu]] as well." In Issue 21 of China Youth magazine in 1964, readers were urged to "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng" and to "earnestly follow Chairman Mao’s instructions."<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.globalview.cn/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=17726
|title=李维忠：老老实实听毛主席的话
|trans-title=Li Weizhong: Earnestly Follow Chairman Mao’s Instructions
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328215149/http://globalview.cn/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=17726
|archive-date=2013-03-28
|url-status=dead
|language=zh
}}</ref>
Some scholars argue that Lin Biao's interpretation of the Learn from Lei Feng campaign, which emphasized being a "good soldier of Chairman Mao," shifted the revolutionary standard from loyalty to the cause and the people, to loyalty to the Party, and ultimately to personal loyalty to Mao Zedong, contributing to the development of the [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.people.com.cn/9801/20/current/newfiles/d1010.html
|title=总政治部发出通知要求全军深入开展学雷锋活动
|trans-title=The General Political Department issued a notice requiring the entire army to carry out in-depth activities to learn from Lei Feng
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092429/http://www.people.com.cn/9801/20/current/newfiles/d1010.html
|archive-date=2016-03-04
|url-status=live
|language=zh
}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://citizen.hld.gov.cn/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=72517
|title=那个年代学雷锋的特殊记忆
|trans-title=Special Memories of Learning from Lei Feng in That Era
|language=zh
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101000000/http://citizen.hld.gov.cn/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=72517
|archive-date=2019-11-01
|url-status=dead
|access-date=2019-11-01
}}</ref>

From 1965 onwards, ideological and political education in schools centered on the study of Mao Zedong's works, following Lin Biao's directive of "active learning and application, integrating study with use, prioritizing immediate use, and achieving immediate results." Everyone was required to write study notes. Various groups dedicated to learning from Lei Feng emerged, as well as numerous stories of people doing good deeds and becoming 'unsung heroes' by following his example.{{fact|date=November 2025}}

===Timeline===
The current "Learn from Lei Feng" movement primarily involves activities organized through schools for students and the military for officers and soldiers.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} These activities mainly include cleaning, offering visiting and comforting and similar actions, with the goal of promoting the "Spirit of Lei Feng".{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} The activities typically take place on Lei Feng's birthday, the anniversary of his death, Learn from Lei Feng Day (5 March), or other special occasions. These events usually last only one day and are sometimes referred to as '''One-Day Lei Feng''' activities.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Initiating Organization !! Official Document !! Related Events
|-
|November 1960||[[Shenyang Military Region]][[:zh:中国人民解放军基本建设工程兵|People's Liberation Army Infrastructure Engineering Corps]]||"Instruction on Launching the 'Learn from Lei Feng, Catch up with Lei Feng' Campaign in the Troops"; "Report on Using Lei Feng's Exemplary Deeds as Living Teaching Materials to Support Current Troop Education"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.fdzx.com.cn/xlzx/rskm/lf.htm
|title=学雷锋大事记
|trans-title=Chronology of Learning from Lei Feng Events
|access-date=2012-03-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006060839/http://www.fdzx.com.cn/xlzx/rskm/lf.htm
|archive-date=2008-10-06
|url-status=dead
|language=zh
}}</ref>||
|-
|15 February 1963||[[Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China]]||"Notice on the Nationwide Campaign to Promote 'Learning from Lei Feng' Among Young People"||After the [[Great Leap Forward]], during the [[Great Chinese Famine]]
|-
|5 March 1963||[[Mao Zedong]]||Inscription "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng"||10th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee: "Strengthen Class Education for the Youth"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1960_1969/200704/t20070417_19085.htm|title=青团中央书记处关于各地开展"向雷锋同志学习"活动向中央的情况简报|trans-title=Brief Report from the Central Secretariat of the Communist Youth League on the Activities of "Learning from Comrade Lei Feng" in Various Regions|accessdate=2012-03-09|archivedate=2016-03-06|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306050020/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1960_1969/200704/t20070417_19085.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|5 March 1977||[[People's Daily]]||"Learn from Comrade Lei Feng"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.qstheory.cn/tbzt/2012tbzt/xxlfjs/zl/201202/t20120228_141784.htm
|title=《人民日报》向雷锋同志学习
|trans-title=People's Daily - Learn from Comrade Lei Feng
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304163854/http://www.qstheory.cn/tbzt/2012tbzt/xxlfjs/zl/201202/t20120228_141784.htm
|archivedate=2012-03-04
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>||Down with the [[Gang of Four]]， ending the [[Cultural Revolution]]
|-
|21 July 1977||[[10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]||"Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party"<ref>{{Cite web |title=中国共产党第十届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报 |trans-title=Communiqué of the 3rd Plenary Session of the 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64168/64562/65368/4429440.html |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055047/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/64168/64562/65368/4429440.html |archivedate=2016-03-04 |accessdate=2012-03-09 |language=zh-hans}}</ref>||Welcoming the [[11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party]]
|-
|21 February 1981||[[Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China]]||"Notice on Further Carrying Out the Lei Feng Study and Promoting New Trends Activities"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1980_1989/200704/t20070420_21378.htm
|title=共青团中央关于进一步开展学雷锋树新风活动的通知
|trans-title=Notice from the Communist Youth League Central Committee on Further Developing the Campaign to Learn from Lei Feng and Promote New Civic Virtues
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2016-03-04
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304171525/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1980_1989/200704/t20070420_21378.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||
|-
|25 December 1989||[[Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China]]||"Ten Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Ideological and Political Work"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1980_1989/200704/t20070418_19663.htm
|title=关于加强和改进思想政治工作的十点意见
|trans-title=Ten Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Ideological and Political Work
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2018-05-21
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521054549/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1980_1989/200704/t20070418_19663.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||[[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]]，[[Anti-bourgeois liberalization]]
|-
|9 January 1990||[[Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China]]||"Notice on Further Carrying Out the Activities of Learning Lei Feng's Spirit and Becoming Youths with Four Virtues"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1990_2002/200704/t20070420_20790.htm
|title=共青团中央关于进一步开展学雷锋精神做四有青年活动的通知
|trans-title=Notice from the Communist Youth League Central Committee on Further Promoting the Spirit of Lei Feng and Becoming Youth with Four Qualities
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2012-11-08
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108202437/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1990_2002/200704/t20070420_20790.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
|-
|15 February 1990||[[Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]、[[Hunan Provincial People's Government]]、[[Hunan Military District]]||"Notice on Mobilizing All Military and Civilian Forces in the Province to Deeply Study the Spirit of Lei Feng and Make Contributions to Socialist Construction and Reform" ||1989 political turmoil<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/75289/5428485.html
|title=人民日报：学习雷锋，重要的是要抓住实质
|trans-title=People’s Daily: Learning from Lei Feng Means Grasping the Essence
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2016-03-04
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120525/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/75289/5428485.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
|-
|21 February 1991||[[Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China]]||"Opinions on Deepening the Campaign to Study Lei Feng"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1990_2002/200704/t20070420_20766.htm
|title=共青团中央关于深入开展学雷锋活动的意见
|trans-title=The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League's Opinions on Deepening the Campaign to Learn from Lei Feng
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2012-11-08
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108204026/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1990_2002/200704/t20070420_20766.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||
|-
|12 February 1992||[[Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China]]、[[All-China Youth Federation|ACYF]]、[[All-China Students' Federation|ACSF]]、[[Young Pioneers of China]]||"Opinions on Deepening the Campaign to Study Lei Feng"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1990_2002/200704/t20070418_19840.htm
|title=关于深入开展学雷锋活动的意见
|trans-title=Opinions on Deepening the Campaign to Learn from Lei Feng
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2012-11-08
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108204331/http://www.gqt.org.cn/695/gqt_tuanshi/gqt_ghlc/his_wx/his_wx_1990_2002/200704/t20070418_19840.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||
|-
|18 October 2011||[[Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP]]||"Decision on Several Major Issues Concerning Deepening Cultural System Reform and Promoting the Great Development and Prosperity of Socialist Culture"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2011-10/25/content_1978202.htm
|title=中央关于深化文化体制改革若干重大问题的决定
|trans-title=Decision of the Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning the Deepening of Cultural System Reform
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2012-02-11
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211202012/http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2011-10/25/content_1978202.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||Sixth Plenary Session of the [[17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]
|-
|2 March 2012||[[General Office of the Chinese Communist Party]]||"Opinions on Deepening the Campaign to Study Lei Feng" (Zhongbanfa [2012] No. 7)<ref>{{Cite web |title=中共中央办公厅《关于深入开展学雷锋活动的意见》 |trans-title=General Office of the CCP Central Committee's "Opinions on Deepening the Campaign to Learn from Lei Feng" |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64093/64387/17282033.html |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080241/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64093/64387/17282033.html |archivedate=2016-03-04 |accessdate=2012-03-09 |language=zh}}</ref>||[[Wang Lijun incident]]，in anticipation of the [[18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party]]，building the [[:zh:社会主义核心价值体系|socialist core value system]] 
|-
|21 February 2012||[[All-China Federation of Trade Unions]]||"Deepening the Campaign to Study Lei Feng" (Zong Gong Fa [2012] No. 14)<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.bjzgh.gov.cn/template/10004/file.jsp?cid=-1&aid=23538
|title=中华全国总工会关于深入开展学雷锋活动的通知
|trans-title=Notice from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions on Deepening the Campaign to Learn from Lei Feng
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123456/http://www.bjzgh.gov.cn/template/10004/file.jsp?cid=-1&aid=23538
|archivedate=2016-03-04
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>||
|-
|27 February 2012||Party Committees of Departments of All Central State Organs||"Notice on Deepening the Campaign to Study Lei Feng"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64114/75510/75512/17258894.html
|title=中央国家机关工委关于深入开展学雷锋活动的通知
|trans-title=Notice from the Party Committee of Central State Organs on Deepening the Campaign to Learn from Lei Feng
|accessdate=2012-03-09
|archivedate=2016-03-04
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081902/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64114/75510/75512/17258894.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>||
|-
|4 December 2016||Publicity Department of the CCP Central Committee, National Civilization Office of the CCP Central Committee, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and China Association for Science and Technology||"Implementation Opinions on Carrying Out Lei Feng Volunteer Services in Public Cultural Facilities"<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016-12/04/content_5142838.htm
|title=关于公共文化设施开展学雷锋志愿服务的实施意见
|trans-title=Implementation Opinions on Carrying Out Lei Feng Volunteer Services in Public Cultural Facilities
|website=中国政府网
|publisher=State Council of the People's Republic of China
|accessdate=2025-05-03
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101000000/https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016-12/04/content_5142838.htm
|archivedate=2022-01-01
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[Comrade Ogilvy]]
* [[Dong Cunrui]]
* [[Wang Jinxi]]
* [[Former Residence of Lei Feng]]
* [[List of campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party]]
* [[Learn from Lei Feng's Good Example]]
* [[Zhang Side]]
* [[Pavlik Morozov]]
* [[Alexey Stakhanov]]

==Notes==
{{notelist-lr}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Edwards, L. (2010). "Military Celebrity in China: The Evolution of 'Heroic and Model Servicemen'". In Jeffreys, Elaine & Edwards, Louise (eds.), ''Celebrity in China'', Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong pp.&nbsp;21–44. {{ISBN|962-209-088-5}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lei Feng}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013150236/http://leifeng.org.cn/ Lei Feng Museum Website in Fushun, Liaoning (Chinese)]
* [http://chineseposters.net/themes/leifeng.php Propaganda posters of Lei Feng] from Dutch academic collections
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lei, Feng}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in China]]
[[Category:Campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Chinese communists]]
[[Category:Fushun]]
[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
[[Category:Legendary Chinese people]]
[[Category:People from Changsha]]
[[Category:People's Liberation Army personnel]]
[[Category:Propaganda in China]]
[[Category:Propaganda legends]]
[[Category:Asian people whose existence is disputed]]