You may be hard done by these days to find a Mao trinket hanging from a cabbies rear view mirror, or a Chairman Mao lighter among the collectables at Beijing's Hong Qiao market. But if you've been inside a CD store recently, you may have noticed an unlikely revolutionary gem among the new releases.

It's a hip-hop tribute to the late leader and founder of the Communist Party of China, Chairman Mao, and it features the words of the revolutionary leader as lyrics. "In our struggle there will be sacrifices, fatal incidents will be common but when we think of the people and their pain, then dying for them means dying for the right cause..." Backed by break and dance beats, these and other political slogans make up the album's content, featuring 20-something hip-hop stars and one rap singer doing his rendition of The Two Musts.

A shopper flips through a new book on the late Chairman Mao Zedong at a bookstore in Shanghai December 20, 2003. Various events including exhibitions, concerts and movies are being organized to mark the 110th anniversary of Mao's birthday on December 26. [AP]

The album is one of many releases in honor of the late leader's 110th birthday, celebrated on December 26. A statesmen, a poet, and a calligrapher, Chairman Mao founded and lead the Communist Party of China from October 1, 1949 to his death on September 9, 1976.

Along with the CD, China's publication authority has selected 67 books relating to Mao Zedong to be published and reprinted, as well as publishing the second part of the biography of Chairman Mao by the Party Literature Research Center. This release will feature memoirs of those who had direct contact with Mao, the late Chairman's manuscripts, and minutes from meetings and talks from 1949-76.

A 20-part television series will also air depicting the life of the late leader through examination of his poems. The TV crew is said to have made a six-month trek across thousands of kilometers to trace Mao's life.

Mao's hometown, seizing the opportunity of the 110th birthday as a means to improve tourism in the region, has launched a website, www.china-shaoshan.com, featuring a schedule of birthday celebrations and activities such as a convention, a series of performances, and a nationwide calligraphy and article competition with the theme "Mao lives on in people's hearts."

"Mao's not in my heart," says Eva Gao, a sales representative for a multinational firm. "He passed away before I was even born - it's my parents who can relate to Mao and what he stands for." For those born post-1976, this may ring true. But the government is intent on keeping the spirit of the revolutionary leader alive with the flurry of publications, and planned celebrations. "I wouldn't be buying any Mao memorabilia," asserts Gao. "It means nothing to me."

THE PEOPLE SPEAK ABOUT MAO:

School kids: Who was Mao?

Aged around 30: What impression and memory do you have of Mao? Do you think his legacy is relevant to us?

Elderly: Do you still cherish the memory of Mao? Why? Can you recite any of Mao's poems or quotes?

Wang Ruixue, manager

"I was born in 1978. In my memory when I was young there were many badges of him at home. We didn't live through the revolution though, so what we know of him is from textbooks and TV."

Li Dianfei, Middleschool student

The Chairman left us such beautiful poetry and quotations such as the slogan above the blackboard: "Study Hard, Make Progress Everyday."

Mr. Wang, sales

I have no time to think of Mao because there are too many day to day realities. I can recite Mao's poetry, but to me it means nothing. All I can remember from the days of Mao is that I never needed to pay to see the doctor.

Huihui Zhang, Bartender

"I only remember the mole on his face the most, his hairstyle is rather special too."

Simone Chan, Gallery staff

I remember him in a movie when the PRC was first founded. He was speaking at Tiananmen and his voice was very strange to me. I remember his face only from Mao badges and memorabilia. I think that his memory, and his legacy is slowly fading from the nation's consciousness.

Will Tomlins, student

I just know that he was born in Hunan province from the countryside. He started the long march, and one way or another he ended up in power of our communist state. I think he plays a very small part in the modern Chinese life, at the moment, the country is moving away from his philosophy about Communism.

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