Lei Feng’s Youth Years 雷锋的少年时代 (1973) #

Lei Feng’s Youth Years 雷锋的少年时代 (1973), adapted by Liu Hanzhen 刘含真, illustrated by Qian Guisun 钱贵荪, translated by Astrid Y. Xiao, Jiu Song, and Aijia Zhang, Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1973.¹

Introduction to the text #

Astrid Y. Xiao

Lei Feng 雷锋 (1940-1962) is a well-recognized symbol of the Chinese Revolution and a national moral role model. He has been widely depicted in non-fiction stories, posters, comics (including lianhuanhua), animations, music, and other genres since the 1960s. Born into a rural Hunan family in 1940, Lei Feng’s early years were marked by the turmoil of World War II (parts of which are known in China as the War of Resistance against Japan) and the Chinese Civil War (also known as the War of Liberation). His family suffered severe oppression by Japanese imperialists (日本帝国主义, Riben diguozhuyi, panel 1; 日本侵略者, Riben qinlüezhe, panel 2), Guomindang reactionaries (国民党反动派, Guomindang fandongpai, panels 1 & 2), traitors (汉奸, hanjian, panel 1), and the rural landlord class (Chapter 1 & 2 of the present lianhuanhua). Orphaned young, Lei Feng’s life was transformed with the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, which afforded him a chance to receive free education. His early involvement in the Young Pioneers and the Communist Youth League paved the way for his service in the People’s Liberation Army. Here, Lei Feng’s loyalty to the Communist Party and Chairman Mao Zedong was recognized, and he was selected as a model for “studying Chairman Mao’s works” (学习毛主席著作, xuexi Maozhuxi zhuzuo) in the early 1960s. From then on, Lei Feng’s tragic childhood, his dedication to studying, his simple and hardworking lifestyle, his passionate involvement in socialist construction, and his supreme altruism were emphasized in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda. Published in 1973, this lianhuanhua is one of the propagandistic pieces clearly aimed at young readers (“Dear Little Friends”, Preface and Epilogue).

Opening the first page of Lei Feng’s Youth Years reveals a photocopy of Chairman Mao’s inscription “Learn from Comrade Lei Feng” (向雷锋同志学习, xiang Leifeng tongzhi xuexi), which was first published in People’s Daily on March 5, 1963. This placement marks the lianhuanhua as a product timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Mao’s directive. Throughout the Cultural Revolution, many publications prominently displayed Mao’s quotations and inscriptions to demonstrate the respective work’s allegiance to the Communist Party’s ideology, its revolutionary zeal, and its compliance with the prevailing political demands. The lianhuanhua uses Lei Feng’s childhood as a narrative thread to weave through the epochs, such as wars, the founding of New China, the Land Reform Movement (土地改革运动, tudi gaige yundong), and the Agricultural Collectivization Campaign (农业集体化运动, nongye jitihua yundong). Throughout these changing times, Lei Feng’s loyalty, reverence, and gratitude remain constant. On the first page of Chapter 4, little Lei Feng joins the Young Pioneers and pledges, “I am a Young Pioneer of Chairman Mao, and I will make the red scarf even redder through my actions!” (panel 33). The red scarf is a symbol of Young Pioneers, which represents communist ideals and revolutionary struggle. In the image, Lei Feng clenches his right fist, gently touches the red scarf worn on his chest with his left hand, and smiles as he looks ahead. Behind him, readers can see a flying Young Pioneer flag and bustling scenes of socialist agricultural and industrial construction from the 1950s, with dense wheat fields and busy industrial facilities. Although the lianhuanhua is illustrated in black and white ink/pen style, the Young Pioneer flag dominating the background of this page is undoubtedly vibrant red.

Readers should not forget that the original intended audience for this lianhuanhua was children—specifically, those under 12 years old in primary school, as older children in middle school would gradually transition from Young Pioneers to members of the Communist Youth League. The Preface and Epilogue straightforwardly present the CCP’s expectations for children of the 1970s, including political, educational, and moral requirements. For example, in Chapter 5, Lei Feng stops the landlord Ye Zhenqin from recklessly cutting the collective’s rice paddies and wasting rice (panels 50-55). This action not only highlights Lei Feng’s revolutionary qualities of “Loving the Collective” (热爱集体, Chapter 5 title page) and struggling against the landlord class, but also conveys a simple moral principle against wasting food. Thus, although the political aspect is always the first principle in propagandistic works from the Cultural Revolution period, Lei Feng’s Youth Years was also designed as a comprehensive guide for children on how to treat their “life, studies, classmates, and the collective” (Preface).

About the translation #

In this translation, most proper nouns such as names, political factions, and historical events are rendered using the transliteration norms prevalent in mainland China (pinyin transliteration or specific noun translation) instead of the Wade-Giles method. For instance, “国民党” is translated as “Guomindang” rather than “Kuomintang” (panels 1 & 2).

While the Chinese measure 15 li (十五里地, panel 24) does not exactly correspond to 15 miles, as one li equals approximately 0.31 miles. It has been equated here to enhance comprehension for English-speaking readers. The translators believe this can also illustrate the extensive distance of Lei Feng’s journey to school and highlight his diligence.

The term “解放军叔叔” (jiefangjun shushu) is translated in different contexts as either “uncle soldiers” (panel 15) or “PLA uncles” (panels 15 & 16). In Chinese, this expression is a familiar and affectionate term used by children for PLA soldiers that symbolizes their closeness, admiration, and complete trust. Hence, “uncle” has been retained in the translation to capture the endearing and respectful connotations.

Read the translated lianhuanhua #

Front and back cover
Frontmatter
Preface
Chapter 01
Page 01
Page 02
Page 03
Page 04
Page 05
Page 06
Page 07
Page 08
Page 09
Page 10
Page 11
Chapter 02
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Chapter 03
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Chapter 04
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Chapter 05
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Epilogue

This translation was produced by PhD students at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Heidelberg University, supervised by Lena Henningsen. We acknowledge the support of the ERC-funded project “Comics Culture in the People's Republic of China” (CHINACOMX, Grant agreement ID: 101088049). We thank our colleagues Matthias Arnold and Hanno Lecher from the Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS), Heidelberg University, for providing us with high resolution scans of the comics which are part of the Seifert collection. ↩︎