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Mocking public sculpturePosted by Joel Martinsen, June 19, 2006 10:04 PM
![]() Goddess of Noodles at Chang'an University. At the front gate of Chang'an University is this Rainbow of Youth statue, known as the "Noodle Goddess." The Northwest Institute of Political Science and Law has a statue of Justice. Since she holds the traditional sword and scales raised above her head as if to attack, people describe the work as "A Mistress Wants Revenge." The Chengdu University of Technology has a statue of a woman "Running to the New Century." Students call it "Beautiful Woman Running Naked." (These and other photos are available at the links below). ![]() Peking University's pean to science and democracy. In this sculpture at Peking University, an "S" and a "D" represent Science and Democracy, the "Mr. Sai and Mr. De" of the May 4 Movement. A ball rests on the "S." The vulgar interpretion for this goes, "Science may be worth shit, but Democracy isn't even worth shit" (科学还顶个球,民主连个球都不顶). ![]() Workers Unite! Even Mao Zedong is not spared, though the ubiquity of the "Waving Mao," "Gazing Mao," and "Saluting Mao" statues doesn't do too much to keep a lid on mockery. Beijing's two remaining statues left over from the flurry of cult-of-personality image-building in 1967-1969 are located opposite each other in Haidian District. The Chairman standing in the front courtyard of the China University of Geosciences keeps a watchful eye on his counterpart across Xueyuan road at the University of Science and Technology. And in Chengdu, where mahjong is a favorite pastime of the locals, a statue of Mao with his arm extended in an open-hand salute is said to be giving a warning: "Comrades, don't bet more than 5 kuai!" Links and Sources
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