Opinion | Why the relocation of a peasant rebel leader’s statue in Beijing has stirred debate in China

Until a few days ago, a huge statue on the road from downtown Beijing to the Great Wall in Badaling could not be missed. It honoured Li Zicheng, the peasant revolt leader who broke into the Forbidden City on April 25, 1644, and forced the last Ming dynasty emperor to commit suicide.

Li’s bronze statue is considered a contemporary piece of art. Standing atop a tall granite stone foundation on a busy intersection, it was not hard to guess that Li must be an important historic figure for China.

But the landmark statue of Li, who is also known as Dashing King, was quietly removed last week, with the official reason given as the need for road improvements. It will be relocated hundreds of miles away at a tourist spot in the inland province of Shaanxi, where Li was born and started his revolt against the mighty Ming dynasty. While the relocation received little coverage from China’s official press, it stirred huge interest and debate on the Chinese internet over whether the country should treat rebels like Li as heroes.

For the People’s Republic, which was founded in 1949 after a Communist Party victory against the corrupt Kuomintang regime, rebel leaders like Li are traditionally enshrined as heroes. Chairman Mao Zedong was a well-known fan of Li. Mao had shown sympathy for Li and other rebels in Chinese history, even the fictional ones, as he echoed their heroic actions to rise up against injustice and repression. The spirit of revolting against a powerful yet decadent dynasty lives on through China’s revolutionary history. As Mao said, “where there is oppression, there is resistance”.