Lei Feng, a modest soldier devoted to hard work and helping people, was made a national hero by Mao Ze-Dong in 1963. The "Lei Feng Spirit" has been promoted by chinese propaganda through "Learn from Lei Feng" campaigns.
Lei Feng was born in 1940, into a poor peasant family. He died "on duty" on a car accident at the early age of 22. Lei Feng left a diary, a fake probably, wherein he had written that he "wanted to work diligently to become a good soldier of the Mao Zedong era, and a model party member". He further stated that he wanted to be the "revolutionary screw that never rusts". Some opportune photographes showed him accomplishing various good actions.
Although the Lei Feng character was most certainly a propaganda invention, he is still known and praised by almost every chinese.
