Mao Zedong was a master propagandist; nearly everyone agrees that there was no Lei Feng, or that if there was, he did almost nothing ascribed to him. However, posters, plays, operas, and films extolled his heroism, and there are even statues of the rosy-cheeked, muscular hero. He was supposed to be the archetype of the new Chinese citizen. Many kids grew up idolizing the invented hero.