Lai Ning (; 20 October 1973 – 13 March 1988) was a Chinese teenager who died fighting a forest fire in Shimian County, Sichuan. Lai Ning's actions were deemed heroic by the Chinese government and Lai has been celebrated as a hero and martyr in contemporary China.

Personal life and death

Lai Ning was a fourteen-year-old schoolboy living in Shimian County where he was regarded as a loner by his classmates. On March 13, 1988, a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

was threatening a nearby forest and schoolchildren were mobilized to help fight the fire. Lai voluntarily assisted the

firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

efforts for five hours. Lai was eventually overcome by the flames and killed in the fire.

Legacy

Lai Ning was later declared a "revolutionary martyr" by the Chinese government for his role in combating the wildfire to protect his town. Over the next year, his story was used increasingly in Chinese

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

as a model of courage and duty for Chinese youth. This was especially important in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests when the Chinese government hoped to gain support from Chinese teenagers and promote an alternative example of youth in China. Deng Yingchao declared that "only by plunging into studies of Lai Ning can you become the sound new masters of your country in the 21st century" in the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...

''. Since that time, Lai Ning has been commemorated with posters in school classrooms and statues in town squares. In the 1990s, Lai's story was taught in Chinese textbooks to teach students about the importance of protecting Chinese society. The propaganda surrounding Lai Ning was sometimes poorly received within China, and some teachers believed that the calls for emulation were outdated tactics from the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

era. A miniseries depicting Lai Ning's life was aired in the years following his death and a film was released in 1993.

Personal life and death

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading