Last April, Xi Jinping first introduced the concept of the so-called “great man of the country” during his visit to Shaanxi Province, and since then, “great man of the country” has unusually become the biggest political and official high-frequency word in the CCP. At the conclusion of the recent National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Communist Party’s Xinhua News Agency also published an editorial mentioning Xi’s “the great of the country” again. According to some scholars, Xi Jinping’s “the greatest of nations” is related to his attempt to build momentum for long-term rule at the 20th Communist Party Congress, which connotes a cult of the individual. It is also believed to be the design of Wang Huning.
Hu Ping, editor-in-chief emeritus of Beijing Spring, said on the Voice of America program that the CCP’s emphasis on the “Greatest of States” is intended to reinforce the personal cult of Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping did not specify the meaning of the phrase “the greatest of nations,” and there is no way to trace the origin of the phrase, but because it lacks a clear connotation, it is easy for people to make associations, leaving room for those who would like to patronize and praise him.
Hu Ping said: “The country of the great is only to emphasize the ‘country’, ‘big’, the so-called China is a big country well, the rise of a big country. We are in a big era, a century of unprecedented changes. To grasp the big things, to have a big picture view, big heart, big pattern, big spirit, big role. Finally, when it comes down to a sentence that is not stated, but implies this meaning, that is, the need for a great leader, a great commander, on this meaning. This statement is nothing but an attempt to stimulate the national pride, sense of mission, institutional confidence, several self-confidence, as well as to strengthen the personal worship of the leader. Regarding this kind of statement about Xi, emphasizing what country ah, big ah, big country, this statement has been popular in China for some years. I remember that the Shanghai Writer Wang Anyi wrote a book called ‘Lords everywhere’. In it, there is a young man nicknamed ‘Da Wang’, in fact, he is doing some road blocking small business, under the two minions. However, this king was also very vocal and liked to make a big speech. He talked about the problem of a big country, he said ‘China is good, good in a big country. What we revere is the word ‘great’. It refers to the weather. The United States is also big, but the president of the United States is elected, which is not interesting. All day long, negotiating around, counting votes everywhere, which has the weather of the kingdom? So this king is the most worshiped is the king, the most worshiped figure is Mao Zedong. This is the most important thing to do. It is the belief that China is great, a great country, China is now going to be the world leader. One of the unspoken things that follows this series of visions is that we have a great commander, a great leader, reinforcing Xi Jinping’s personal position of power, reinforcing his personal worship. I think this is what it means to be the great leader of the country.”
After Xi Jinping introduced the concept of the “Greatest of States,” the CCP’s official media and imperial think-tank writers began an intensive process of exegesis and interpretation. The circle of cumbersome testimonies is getting bigger and bigger.
According to Hu Ping of Beijing Spring, the Communist Party’s high-profile reference to “the greatness of the state” is actually a way to build momentum for Xi Jinping’s re-election as general secretary at the 20th Communist Party Congress.
He said, “Now that the “Greatest of States” is being raised, he is indeed building up public opinion for his re-election as general secretary at the 20th National Congress. The company’s ambition is not just to be re-elected at the 20th National Congress, but to be even more ambitious than that. It is true that he has a sense of being one of the best. Now speaking of the greatness of the state is tantamount to throwing out a signal, or throwing out a tool, a means. Then the following then proceeded to various people have gone on to elaborate on this phrase in a big way. The company’s main goal is to provide a platform for the development of the company’s business. So he released this sentence at this Time, also has such a meaning.”
Another commentator, Zhang Jie, said the so-called “great man of the country” is just a new word wrapped in an old Cultural Revolution-style slogan.
Commentator Situ Jian told the station that it was not Xi Jinping who came up with the half-understood phrase, but Wang Huning, the “third-generation state teacher,” who designed it. Xi Jinping’s cult of the individual is basically the work of Wang Huning. But he thinks it is like all the CCP “theories” that are spiritual garbage and will become a turn-off for the people.
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