With the exception of his own mausoleum going up in the middle of Tiananmen Square, the scene is little changed from when Mao reviewed Red Guards at the height of his power. The architect of Chinese socialism can remain blissfully ignorant of the changes being wrought upon his revolutionary utopia – save that Audis and BMWs seem to be crowding out the familiar Red Flag limos on Chang’an Avenue. Would Mao be aghast if he discovered that foreigners had re-colonized China with lattes and handbags while less-scrupulous locals gleefully enriched themselves by displacing the poor to sell each other overpriced houses? Probably. But in Tiananmen Square, as real Mao lies embalmed in a crystal coffin, portraiture Mao lacks the peripheral vision to see all that counter-revolutionary hustle.

Not so in the Changsha’s Better Life Department Store, where someone has seen fit to hang Mao’s portrait where it daily must view the consumerist spectacle of the ground floor cosmetics and wristwatch kiosks:

Sure, Hunan-based Better Life probably hung the portrait simply out of respect for their native son. But I would also believe it if someone told me that Better Life’s CEO is a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist who always believed Mao’s communist fantasies were folly and, now swollen with riches from selling jewelry and clothes to China’s ovine masses, has decided to take a victory lap by hanging a portrait where Mao’s weary, unblinking stare will forever be greeted by the former proletariat scrambling for earthly pleasures on the ruins of his communes.

Actually I might also believe the opposite scenario, in which Better Life contained a closeted leftist who – full of self-loathing for having joined those who walk the capitalist road – has assaulted the headquarters from within by hanging the stern portrait of Mao to watch in silent reproach of China’s wayward lambs. In this case the effect could be accentuated if our leftist diehard added a tear in the corner of Mao’s eye. It could recall the crying American Indian from those Keep America Beautiful commercials, except rather than litter, it will be the sight of urbane Chinese browsing skin-whitening creams that bring tears to Mao’s ruddy cheeks.

Sad, sad Mao.

Warner Brown studies real estate trends in Shanghai, but personality tests say he should have been a film critic. His previous article for Beijing Cream was about a Chinese version of The Wolf of Wall Street.

Remember last week’s senseless beating of an old man in Zhengzhou, Henan province just because he dared to criticize Mao Zedong? A similar case sprung up recently in Beijing, featuring a significantly higher-profiled Maoist.

As exposed by @1798旅行者, the incident began Tuesday when an old man out for a walk took issue with the slogan, “Chairman Mao, we miss you.” He pointed out that it was unreasonable to pin desires for national dignity on Mao. A younger man who heard this strode up to the elder and slapped him twice across the face, accusing him of insulting Chairman Mao. Both began calling the other a traitor.

The next morning, netizens identified the younger man as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics professor Han Deqiang, a well known economist and better-known founder of Utopia, a Maoist organization whose website remains shut down since April (read about it here). (UPDATE, 11:52 am: Joel Martinsen in the comments has pointed out that Utopia is not only back up, but features Han’s self-written defense of his actions in an article titled, “Why did I strike this traitor?”)Judging by Han’s previous work, including a public lecture titled, “Save China by resisting the US: start preparing for war” — prompting comments such as, “China’s real No. 1 enemy is itself” — he would exactly be the type to shoot first and ask later, even if the target is an elderly man.

This post on Sina Weibo, published yesterday at 11:02 am, already has nearly 49,000 forwards and more than 23,000 comments. I’ve looked at a couple of pages and seen enough trash to make me support nuking comment sections. There’s all the predictable name-calling, with some saying traitors deserve to be killed on the spot. There are those who call Han a wolf in sheep’s clothing, while others voicing their support of him and his actions. @青哥儿 points out that, “Han dog only picks the weakest to fight, let’s see him try to fight a young person.” Yes, can we set a place and time to see Han get his ass kicked?

Alas, we understand how the powder keg of emotion, collective and individual, could have erupted in violence, forcing Han’s hand to strike an elderly man. On one side you had the anti-Japan protests, which brought together society’s more irrational elements and fooled individuals into believing that violence is condonable when the target is Japanese. On the other side you have a scholar inculcated with Maoist thought, which dictates slapping around even suspected roadie rightists is one’s patriotic duty.

Also, Han is a dipshit. Let’s not forget that. There’s your trump, outweighing Maoism or neoconservatism or nationalism or anything else. To slap a stranger for expressing an opinion, you just have to be a real piece of shit. So, yeah. We eagerly await this “public intellectual’s” comeuppance.

Though China’s modern-day Maoists may advocate larger government, wealth redistribution, and a return to a backward agrarian society, they strike me, by and large, as Bible Belt conservatives in their longing for past glories and comforts, their love for a transcendent leader, and their fondness of ideology. They also have this annoying habit of cherry-picking only the best parts from Mao’s rule and forgetting that millions were purged, starved to death, and slandered/slaughtered by their coworkers, students, neighbors, friends. But hey, no cadre corruption! Yay!

This Financial Times video paints these Maoists as generally convivial, song-loving people, but all the same — I’m glad they don’t have a vote in this country.

Video description:

As China prepares for a once-in-a-decade leadership transition, many of the country’s Maoists are longing for a time gone by. The FT’s Kathrin Hille joins a group of Maoists as they travel to the birthplace of Mao Zedong and listens to their grievances with today’s Communist party.

(H/T Alicia)