Along with the model performances and model works of art, the Communist Party also heavily promoted model heroes and workers for the masses to emulate. These figures— primarily People’s Liberation Army soldiers, Red Guards, or industrial workers— were held up for their selflessness, labor, and devotion to the party. Many of the soldiers, such as Liu Yingjun and Qiu Shaoyun were celebrated for sacrificing their lives while saving others or forwarding the revolutionary cause of the Communist Party. Other model figures were workers, who were recognized for their contributions towards industrializing the nation. For example, the “Iron Man” Wang Jinxi, was known for his tireless work ethic--continuing in spite of inclement weather and exhaustion--as the leader of a work team drilling for oil in Daqing, one of China’s main petroleum sites. Many of these model workers faced great hardship, often toiling without adequate equipment and appropriate clothing for the harsh climate.
Lei Feng, an orphan adopted by the Party, was perhaps the most famous of the model heroes. As a teenager, he joined the People’s Liberation Army and devoted himself to doing good deeds for his comrades, such as donating his savings to a family stricken by flood and darning the socks of his fellow officers. After his untimely death in 1962 at the age of 22, the Party published his diary and Chairman Mao called on the public to “Learn From Lei Feng.” His diary became the subject of mass study while the Party produced posters, statues, and comic books with his image and life story. However, given the huge amount of written work Lei left behind, scholars have doubts whether Lei Feng actually existed. Figures such as Lei Feng highlight the question of what was actually fact or fabrication in the materials issued by the Communist Party, especially regarding their “model” heroes and workers.