Why is China Resurrecting Hero Worship in the 21st Century?
A state-driven hero cult that strongly emphasizes sacrifice, patriotism, and a profound sense of collective duty is still being aggressively developed and promoted in China in 2025. This massive campaign helps to further solidify political power under Xi Jinping’s leadership and is an important component of the Chinese Communist Party’s larger ideological strategy.
The shaping of national memory, where history is deliberately rewritten to fit current political narratives and state objectives, is at the heart of this endeavor. Using meticulously planned commemorative events that pay tribute to martyrs from the past and present, the state reinterprets what it means to serve the country.
Via Scroll
By publicly recognizing individuals who exhibit extraordinary devotion to the community and the state, the campaign seeks to foster unity among citizens, instill shared values, and elevate a collective identity that supports China’s long-term social cohesion and growing influence on the world stage.
Modernization of Sacrifice and Community Devotion
Today’s acclaimed figures are frequently regular people, in contrast to the revolutionary heroes of Mao Zedong’s time, who were admired for their ideological fight against capitalism and imperialism. These include first responders, firefighters, and even regular people who put their lives in danger to save others.
Via The Conversation
Peaceful sacrifice for communal harmony is prioritized over class conflict. Vincent Chang, a university lecturer, notes that the change was deliberate and motivated by concerns that China may follow the Soviet Union’s example of eschewing conventional values and objectives. This changing definition of heroism aims to better reflect the goals of contemporary governance.
State-Sanctioned Recognition and Legal Protection
The status of these new heroes is formalized through an official and legally regulated framework. Once someone is designated a martyr, their families are granted access to material and social benefits. These can include enhanced educational opportunities, employment assistance, housing support, and even free public transportation.
Via The Economist
Symbolic benefits like a diploma and a memorial stone erected in a martyrs’ cemetery are also associated with this position. Rituals of bowing and flower-laying ceremonies are examples of commemorative customs that have become commonplace expressions of public homage. In some areas, pupils travel great distances to take part in these activities, teaching them the importance of perseverance and allowing them to physically remember sacrifice.
Integration of Digital Platforms and AI
The hero cult does not remain confined to physical monuments and community gatherings. The digital domain has increasingly become a crucial tool for extending the influence of state narratives. Online commemorations allow citizens to lay virtual flowers or observe memorials via video links.
Via Wikipedia
Professional services are offered to carry out physical rituals on behalf of the digitally present during the coronavirus pandemic, which has increased the popularity of this type of remote homage. Artificial intelligence has been used more recently to mimic dialogue with martyrs who have passed away. The goal of these virtual exchanges is to preserve the hero’s memory and make it approachable, especially for younger generations who are more used to using technology.
Grassroots Participation and Traditional Roots
Although local communities frequently support the campaign, it is primarily planned from the top down. According to Chang, the shift to celebrating national heroes was somewhat easy because ancestor worship has strong cultural foundations in Chinese society.
Via The Strategist
Local governments frequently select and commemorate figures whose deeds resonate within the immediate community. This localized approach reinforces the legitimacy of the state narrative while allowing organic participation. The interaction between centralized policy and grassroots enthusiasm creates a hybrid memorial ecosystem, where both state and society contribute to the hero narrative.
Overseas Commemorations and Diplomatic Messaging
An important aspect of this strategy is the spread of hero worship outside of China. Finding the resting places of Chinese heroes and erecting or maintaining monuments there are active tasks for Chinese embassies and consulates.
Via the China-Global Science Project
These locations include the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which was destroyed by NATO in 1999, and Tanzania and Zambia, where many Chinese engineers and laborers perished while building the Tanzania-Zambia Railway in the middle of the 20th century. Three Chinese journalists were murdered in the latter case, and memorial services there are held to both remember the deceased and quietly criticize the military activities of the West.
The Strategic Value of Memory Politics
The construction of the hero cult is deeply embedded in China’s broader approach to memory politics. The government actively seeks to control public understanding of history, using official narratives to reinforce legitimacy and national identity.
Via The Hindu
This entails criminalizing opposing viewpoints in addition to honoring heroes. Laws have been passed that forbid criticizing or slandering martyrs who have received official recognition. Such limitations are consistent with more general authoritarian practices, where historical interpretation is treated more as a state security issue than as a topic for public discussion.
According to Vincent Chang, given the current geopolitical environment, this drive is more critical. The leadership of China views historical continuity and ideological clarity as vital resources as it establishes itself as a global superpower.
Via NEWS10 ABC
The state’s version of history, enshrined through its commemoration practices, serves to align public values with the long-term national vision. Any deviation from the sanctioned narrative is treated as a potential threat to stability, echoing the memory control strategies employed by other authoritarian regimes.
Global Influence on Historical Commemoration
China’s memory politics strategy is not a standalone phenomenon. International conversations about how countries recall their pasts are being influenced by it more and more. China’s memorial practice model could be used as a guide as the world’s memorial practices change, either as a warning or as a model to follow.
Via HubPages
Expectations regarding the significance of monuments, public history, and the validity of state narratives may change as a result of the close integration of political power and historical memory. China’s domestic ideological project thus has ramifications for international standards of historical participation.
Xi Jinping and the Larger Cult of Leadership
The hero cult of 2025 is closely tied to a broader trend in Chinese politics: the development of a personality cult around Xi Jinping. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has centralized authority and infused political discourse with his ideological doctrine, known as Xi Jinping Thought.
Via Asia Society
This worldview has been incorporated into university curricula nationwide, substituting party devotion for traditional scholarly values. For example, Fudan University changed its charter to emphasize loyalty to Party leadership and exclude any mention of independent thought. Both nationally and globally, proponents of academic freedom have criticized these actions.
Public displays of allegiance to Xi have become more complex. Media outlets are dominated by images of Xi as a smart and kind leader, from hit songs to elaborate dance displays. During a televised event in March 2017, Xi shared an unlikely personal story about carrying 110 kg of wheat across many miles without switching shoulders.
Via The Quint
This story, while unverifiable, was widely broadcast as part of an image-building campaign. Similarly, when Xi was re-elected in 2018, state television showed members of the National People’s Congress openly weeping with joy. These displays contribute to an atmosphere where loyalty to the leader becomes synonymous with patriotism itself.
Institutionalization of Loyalty and Control
Legal and procedural reforms have been implemented in several industries as a result of the increased focus on ideological consistency. A major move toward codified loyalty was signaled by the incorporation of Xi Jinping Thought into the CCP’s constitution and then the state constitution. Media outlets, educational institutions, and even tech firms have joined this ideological movement.
Via the Independent
To guarantee that Xi’s image and policies rule the digital public sphere, prominent Chinese applications like Toutiao and Sina must spread articles about him. Alibaba released Xuexi Qiangguo, a learning app, to spread its philosophy. The app swiftly surpassed even entertainment platforms as the most downloaded app in the nation.
These activities, according to critics, are a reflection of authoritarian inclinations, where political obedience rather than civic education is the goal of historical memory. The role of the state in defining martyrdom and heroism goes beyond merely upholding a tradition; it involves creating a reality that facilitates the concentration of power. In this situation, legitimizing the present becomes inextricably linked to respecting the past.
Via The New Yorker
Memory as a Tool of National Cohesion
The Chinese hero cult seeks to strengthen national cohesion by coordinating individual selflessness with official ideology. The campaign is based on the idea that political stability and social harmony depend on collectivism and patriotism.
The state establishes a moral framework that incentivizes cooperation and discourages dissent by elevating those who embody these principles. This endeavor is the result of a calculated strategic move: people who respect leadership and selflessness are less prone to question authority.
Via CEPA
The state’s investment in this narrative, both in material resources and political capital, underscores its importance to China’s future. As the country navigates the final stages of its rise to global prominence, the elevation of martyrs and heroes serves not only as a tribute to the past but as a guidepost for the present and the future.
Discover Why China Is Reinventing Hero Worship Under Xi
In 2025, China’s developing hero cult demonstrates a purposeful and all-encompassing approach to forming social ideals via sacrifice, remembrance, and patriotism. By combining digital innovation, grassroots involvement, and rigorous top-down control, the Chinese government has created a compelling hero narrative that advances its larger political objectives.
Via CNN
This campaign seeks to bring a diverse populace together around common values while reaffirming the Party’s and its leadership’s pivotal position. This project will continue to have important ramifications for civic identity, historical memory, and global influence as it grows both domestically and abroad.
