In August 1968, factory worker Wang Xiaoping and many other workers across China received a mysterious gift from the country’s communist leader, Chairman Mao Zedong - a glass box encasing a golden wax replica of a mango. People tried to preserve the fresh mangoes in formaldehyde, ate the fruit, and commissioned wax replicas of their prize. In one factory, workers initiated a strange ritual of peeling and boiling their mangoes to create a “holy” broth. Fables formed that the fruit ensured a long life like the Peaches of Immortality from Chinese mythology.
Mao’s gift was actually part of a much darker plan - the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long political and ideological movement intended to erase capitalist thoughts and cultural traditions from Chinese society. Mao called on the Red Guards, a student-led paramilitary group, to help enact this plan. The Red Guard acted above law and order and held “struggle sessions” - public spectacles designed to shame so-called class enemies.
Mao thanked the factory workers who helped dissolve the Red Guard with a crate of 40 mangoes. However, this reward was quickly tainted by the ideology of the Cultural Revolution. Workers were scolded for not holding their replicas securely and a man who remarked that the mango was “nothing special” and “looked like a sweet potato” was arrested, tried, and executed.
The mango fever eventually faded from official propaganda after the Red Guard was dissolved and participants were sent to the countryside for re-education. Wax from the replicas were repurposed for candles during power outages. Today, antique mango trays and medallions can be found at Beijing flea markets. The story of Mao’s mangoes is a minor one compared to the decade of painful history that has been suppressed and is still not openly discussed across China. Former Red Guards have tried to challenge this policy by publicly reflecting on and apologizing for their actions, but they still do not criticize Mao Zedong. It remains to be seen when this history will be openly and freely discussed in the current political climate of China.