The Myth of Mao

Some misunderstandings do acquire historical dimensions. In the celebrated interview he granted Edgar Snow, Mao Tsetung allegedly described himself as “a lonely monk walking in the rain under a leaking umbrella.” With its mixture of humorous humility and exoticism, this utterance had a tremendous impact on the Western imagination, already so well attuned to the oriental glamour of “Kung Fu” TV series. Snow’s command of the Chinese language, even at its best, was never very fluent; some 30-odd years spent away from China had done little to improve it, and it is no wonder that he failed to recognize in this “monk under an umbrella” (ho-shang to san) evoked by the Chairman, a most popular Chinese jo...